Many jurisdictions rely on “model” codes to provide the framework for local fire, building, housing, property maintenance, plumbing, electrical, energy, and mechanical codes. Currently, these model codes are developed by the International Code Council (ICC), which was founded in 1994 by three regional code associations. ICC has moved away from a regional approach to code development, toward the development of national model codes. The drawback to this national approach is that the codes are less able to account for local and regional factors such as climate and housing type. For current information on model code adoptions by state and local jurisdictions, see www.iccsafe.org/government/adoption.html.

The Alliance for Healthy Homes and the National Center for Healthy Housing submitted several proposals to the International Code Council in August 2007 to increase the health-protectiveness of the International Property Maintenance Code (IPMC), which is the model code that hundreds of local and state jurisdictions use as the standard requirements for residential structures.

These proposals were first considered during hearings on February 18, 2008, in Palm Springs, CA. Two were accepted with modifications: Pest control in multi-unit housing complexes and clothes dryers.

Accepted Proposals:

403.5 Clothes dryer exhaust. Clothes dryer exhaust systems shall be independent of all other systems and shall be exhausted outside the structure in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions label.

Exception: Listed and labeled condensing (ductless) clothes dryers.

308.4 Multiple occupancy. The owner of a structure containing two or more dwelling units, a multiple occupancy, a rooming house or a nonresidential structure shall be responsible for extermination in the public or shared areas of the structure and exterior property. If infestation is caused by failure of an occupant to prevent such infestation in the area occupied, the occupant and owner shall be responsible for extermination.

These proposals only require a majority vote by the full ICC assembly when it meets in Minneapolis, MN in September 2008.

Revised Proposals Submitted in June 2008:

In June 2008, NCHH and the Alliance submitted six proposed modifications to its proposals that were disapproved by the Committee. These modifications were designed to address the concerns of the Committee.

• PM4 – Revised proposal for requiring repair of exterior deteriorated paint in pre-1978 buildings using lead-safe work practices as defined by EPA’s Renovation, Repair and Painting Rule.
• PM6 – Revised proposal for requiring repair of interior deteriorated paint in pre-1978 buildings using lead-safe work practices as defined by EPA’s Renovation, Repair and Painting Rule and requiring correction of underlying source of moisture problems causing paint failure.
• PM3 – Revised proposal to change the definition of extermination, renaming the requirement “pest elimination,” eliminating references to poison spraying and fumigation, and adding references to all rodents and water sources.
• PM14 – Revised proposal to maintain maximum water temperature in showers and tubs at maximum of 120°F
• PM7 – Revised proposal to require a carbon monoxide alarm where there is an attached garage or a fuel burning furnace, water heater or appliance.
• PM13– Revised proposal to require that bathrooms in dwellings other that single-family units have a smooth, hard, nonabsorbent surface to permit the floor to be easily kept clean and sanitary. Non-permanent bathroom mats would be allowed.

The organizations also support a revised proposal by ICC’s Hazard Abatement in Existing Buildings Committee chaired by Wayne Jewell of Southfield, MI to establish a new Health and Sanitation Chapter in the IPMC. It would incorporate health standards for asbestos, carbon monoxide, radon, lead, potable water, and arsenic-treated lumber in the property maintenance code.

ICC’s full assembly will consider the proposals at its meeting in Minneapolis, September 19-23, 2008. A 2/3 majority vote of the government officials eligible to vote is needed for a proposal to be added to the code.

The chart below highlights provisions found in model codes that address several attributes of a healthy home: dry (water and moisture control); toxin-free; well ventilated (to ensure adequate indoor air quality); pest-free; and other (comfortable, for example). Brief summaries of the code sections are provided in the linked files, grouped according to topic (dry, etc.). (Explanatory notes or comments are in parentheses.) If you prefer, a PDF version features the table and summaries in one document.

About the Codes

• The IPMC applies to existing residential and commercial structures and premises.

• The IRC regulates the construction, alteration, repair, use, and occupancy of detached one- and two-family dwellings and townhouses not more than three stories high. While the section numbers in the code are preceded by a letter, e.g., “R” for the administrative, definitions, and building, planning, and construction portions of the code, “N” for the energy conservation portion, etc., those prefixes have been omitted from this document.

• The IBC governs new construction in residential buildings four or more stories high.

• The IECC sets forth alternative compliance approaches for new construction in both residential (one-and two-family buildings, and multi-family buildings three or less stories in height) and commercial buildings (including residential buildings four or more stories high). For residential buildings, these approaches include a systems approach, which considers the entire building and its energy-using systems as a whole; an approach based on the performance of components in the building envelope; an approach based upon the performance of the building envelope as a whole; and others. Commercial buildings can comply using a prescriptive approach, which sets standards for the building envelope, mechanical, lighting, and service water-heating subsystems; a total building performance approach; or an energy cost budget approach. Therefore, the code provisions cited in this table may not be required in a particular building if that building is constructed using an alternative approach to compliance.

• The IMC governs the design, installation, maintenance, alteration, and inspection of permanently installed mechanical systems used to control environmental conditions within buildings. The IMC does not require the removal and replacement of existing mechanical systems, although work performed on existing systems must conform to the code’s requirements for new work.