§ 156.18 Minimum Structure Standards For All Rental Housing

1. Early Warning Fire Protection System. All dwelling units and rooming units shall be provided with smoke detectors as approved by the Building Official. Smoke detectors shall be installed in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions. Dwelling units shall have smoke detectors located on each floor level, including basements. Multi-family and rooming houses shall have smoke detectors in each dwelling unit or rooming unit and in common corridors, stair towers, and stairways constructed prior to 1978. Smoke detectors shall be operable at all times, and when actuated, the detector shall provide an alarm for the dwelling unit or rooming unit. An owner or owner’s agent of a multiple unit residential building, rooming house, duplex, or single-family dwelling shall supply light-emitting smoke detectors, upon request, for a tenant with a hearing impairment. New construction and remodeling shall be in accordance with the International Building Code.

2. Lighting of Public Halls and Stairways.

A. Public passageways and stairways in dwellings accommodating two to four dwelling units or rooming units shall be provided with a convenient wall-mounted light switch which activates an adequate lighting system.

B. Public passageways and stairways in buildings accommodating more than four dwelling units or rooming units shall be lighted at all times with an adequate artificial lighting system, except such artificial lighting may be omitted from sunrise to sunset where an adequate natural lighting system is provided. Whenever the occupancy of a building exceeds 100 persons, the artificial lighting system as required herein shall be on an emergency circuit.

3. Fire Extinguishers. Fire extinguishers which are approved by the Fire Marshal shall be provided within every single-family dwelling, dwelling unit within a duplex, and dwelling unit within a multiple dwelling. Multiple dwellings shall have fire extinguishers located within each laundry room and central mechanical room; except where these rooms are contiguous, they may be served by one fire extinguisher. Laundry rooms and central mechanical rooms which are equipped with an automatic sprinkler system are exempt. The minimum size fire extinguisher is a 2-A 10-B:C. Fire extinguishers must be properly mounted and in an area of easy access. Fire extinguishers with a classification less than 2-A 10-B:C or lacking an ABC rating shall be replaced with a 2-A 10-B:C or larger unit by July 31, 1994. Rooming houses are required to have a 2-A 10-B:C rated fire extinguisher supplied on each floor level, including habitable basement areas, and in each kitchen. Fire extinguishers supplied in areas of public access shall be contained within an approved tamper-proof cabinet.

4. Early Warning Fire Protection System. All dwelling units and rooming units shall be provided with smoke detectors as approved by the Fire Marshal. Smoke detectors shall be installed in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions. Dwelling units shall have smoke detectors located on each floor level, including basements. Multi-family and rooming houses shall have smoke detectors in each dwelling unit or rooming unit and in common corridors, stair towers, and stairways constructed prior to 1978. Smoke detectors shall be operable at all times, and when actuated, the detector shall provide an alarm for the dwelling unit or rooming unit. An owner or owner’s agent of a multiple unit residential building, rooming house, duplex, or single-family dwelling shall supply light-emitting smoke detectors, upon request, for a tenant with a hearing impairment. New construction and remodeling shall be in accordance with the Uniform Building Code.

5. Toilets, Lavatory Basins and Baths.

A. At least one toilet and one lavatory basin shall be supplied for each eight persons or fraction thereof residing within a dwelling containing a rooming unit or units and/or Type III dwelling unit or units, including members of the operator’s family whenever they share the said facilities; provided, in a rooming house or where rooms or Type III dwelling units are let only to males, flush urinals may be substituted for not more than one-half of the number of required toilets.

B. At least one bath shall be supplied for each eight persons or fraction thereof residing within a dwelling containing a rooming unit or units and/or Type III dwelling unit or units, including members of the operator’s family whenever they share the use of said facilities.

C. Communal toilets and baths shall be located on the same floor or the floor immediately above or below the rooming unit or Type III dwelling unit.

6. Lead-Based Paint. Every owner or operator of a dwelling unit or rooming unit being let for rent and/or occupancy shall, on forms provided by the City, certify that the dwelling is in accordance with HUD lead-based paint regulations, 24 CFR, Part 35, issued pursuant to the Lead-Based Paint Poisoning Prevention Act, as amended.

7. Communal Kitchens. If a communal kitchen is supplied, it shall comply with the following requirements:

A. The minimum floor area of a communal kitchen shall be 60 square feet.

B. The minimum floor area of a communal kitchen in which roomers are permitted to prepare and eat meals shall be 100 square feet.

C. It shall contain a refrigerator with an adequate food storage capacity.

D. It shall contain an approved kitchen sink.

E. It shall contain a stove or range.

F. It shall include at least one cabinet of adequate size suitable for the storage of food and eating and cooking utensils.

G. It shall contain at least six square feet of surface area easily cleanable and suitable for the preparation of food.

H. It shall contain a table and adequate chairs for the normal use of the facilities if a communal dining room is not supplied.

I. Every communal kitchen shall be located within a room accessible to the occupants of each rooming unit sharing the use of such kitchen, without going outside the dwelling and without going through a dwelling unit or rooming unit of another occupant.

8. Communal Dining Rooms. Every dwelling or rooming house within which the occupant of any rooming unit is permitted to prepare meals or cook within a communal kitchen containing less than 100 square feet of floor area, as provided in subsection 7 of this section, shall contain a communal dining room which complies with all of the following requirements:

A. Every communal dining room shall be located on the same floor of the rooming house as the communal kitchen, and such dining room shall be as nearly adjacent to the communal kitchen as is practicable.

B. Every communal dining room shall be located within a room accessible to the occupants of each rooming unit sharing such dining room, without going outside the dwelling and without going through a dwelling unit or rooming unit of another occupant.

C. It shall contain a table and adequate chairs for the normal use of the facilities.

D. Every communal dining room shall contain not less than 70 square feet of floor area.

9. Shades, Draperies and Window Coverings.

A. Every window in rooms used for sleeping purposes in rooming units and furnished dwelling units shall be supplied with shades, draperies, or other devices or materials which, when properly used, will afford privacy to the occupants.

B. Every window in rooms used for sleeping purposes in unfurnished dwelling units shall be supplied with hardware necessary to support shades, draperies, or other devices or materials which, when properly used, will afford privacy to the occupants.

10. Kitchen Stoves and Refrigerators. Kitchens or kitchenettes in multiple dwellings, rooming houses, and duplexes shall be supplied with a stove or range and a refrigerator by the owner or operator.

11. Tie-Downs. In the case of manufactured housing, the housing shall be securely anchored by a tie-down device which distributes and transfers the load posed by the unit to appropriate ground anchors so as to resist wind overturning and sliding.