On November 10, 1999, Governor Tom Ridge signed into law Act 45 of 1999-The Uniform Construction Code Act (the "Act"). Citing the need to promote uniformity, to provide standards for the design, construction and alteration of buildings and to eliminate municipal codes that are restrictive, obsolete, conflicting and duplicative, the Act provides for minimum statewide standards for new construction in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. According to the Act, the Department of Labor and Industry (the "Department") must issue regulations by May 3, 2000, adopting a statewide Uniform Construction Code (the "Uniform Code"). The Uniform Code largely will be based on the 1999 Building Officials and Code Administration International, Inc. National Building Code ("BOCA Code") and will become effective 90 days after the Department issues the regulations.
The 1999 BOCA Code is a nationally recognized set of standards dictating the kinds of materials builders can use on construction projects and setting forth standards to apply to new construction and renovation projects. The BOCA Code has been adopted widely in Pennsylvania and in the rest of the northeastern United States. By adopting the BOCA Code as Pennsylvania’s Uniform Construction Code, the state legislature sought to ensure the application of uniform modern construction standards and regulations throughout Pennsylvania.
As a general rule, the Uniform Code will apply to the construction, alteration, repair and occupancy of all buildings in Pennsylvania. The Act does not apply to:
(i) new buildings and renovations for which a building permit has been issued prior to the effective date of the Act;
(ii) new buildings and renovations on which a contract for design or construction has been signed prior to the effective date of the Act;
(iii) certain utility and miscellaneous new structures that are accessory to detached one-family dwellings; or
(iv) any agricultural building.
The Act states that building permit applicants for detached one and two-family dwellings will be able to choose to comply with either the latest addition of the International One and Two-Family Dwelling Code or the Uniform Code.
The Uniform Code will apply to swimming pools and spas constructed or installed after the effective date of the Act. The Uniform Code will not apply to manufactured or industrialized housing or to governmentally identified and classified historic buildings that are considered to be safe. The Department will possess the exclusive authority to grant modifications to the Uniform Code and to decide the feasibility of implementing requirements involving accessibility for the disabled.
The Uniform Code will pre-empt municipal building code ordinances that fail to meet the Uniform Code’s minimum requirements as of the effective date of the Act. Municipal building code ordinances that were in effect as of July 1, 1999, and that equal or exceed the standards of the Uniform Code, will be "grandfathered in" until such time as they fail to meet the standards of the Uniform Code. Municipal building code ordinances, adopted by the City of Philadelphia before January 1, 1998, and that are less stringent than the Act, shall remain in effect until December 31, 2003.
Subject to a public comment period and to review by the Department, the Act does allow local municipalities to adopt even stricter building regulations where local circumstances justify doing so. After adoption of an ordinance that equals or exceeds the requirements of the Uniform Code, aggrieved parties will have 30 days to file a challenge. The Department will review challenged ordinances based on standards set forth in the Act. Local Courts of Common Pleas will hear appeals from the Department’s decisions on such ordinances.
Drafters of the Act sought to provide municipalities with discretion as to whether or not they would enforce the Act. The drafters also provided a menu of options for the administration of the Act. Municipalities that choose to administer and enforce the Uniform Code must adopt an ordinance designating this choice and must either:
1) designate a municipal code official;
2) retain the services of a Construction Code Official (an individual certified by the Department to review construction plans, inspect construction and enforce the Act) or a third-party agency;
3) cooperate with other municipalities or the Department;
4) contract with another municipality who is employing a Construction Code Official; or
5) enter into an agreement with the Department for plan reviews, inspections and enforcement of structures other than one and two-family dwellings.
Municipalities choosing not to enact an ordinance to enforce the Uniform Code must inform a permit applicant for a one or two-family dwelling unit of the owner’s responsibility to obtain the services of a Construction Code Official, and of the owner’s responsibility to perform and provide necessary inspections. These municipalities must also inform both the Department and a permit applicant for a commercial structure of the owner’s responsibility to obtain the services of the Department or a third-party agency for a plan review and all necessary inspections. The Construction Code Official, third-party agency or Department must provide final inspection reports to the owner, builder and lender, and also to the municipality, if the municipality requires a building permit or certificate of occupancy.
By adopting the Act, Pennsylvania became the 44th state to regulate construction through statewide building code.
__________________________________________
Information contained in this publication should not be construed as legal advice or opinion, or as a substitute for the advice of counsel. The enclosed materials may have been abridged from other sources. They are provided for educational and informational purposes for the use of clients and others who may be interested in the subject matter.