Inspections of apartment complexes exceeding three floors are now required during the construction phase. Under the kyu-taishin construction regulations, a structure is meant to resist and not collapse in the event of a seismic intensity scale (Shindo-scale) of at least 5, however considerable damage may occur. Before you start work on your apartment complex, make sure you find out if any inspections were done recently. The developer should provide this information. The law requires that all apartments within a building must be of a similar size and style, and be of a quality that will not deteriorate over time. Each unit must also have access to a common area which includes the kitchen, dining room, living room, and bathroom. This is intended to ensure that tenants have equal access to services such as laundry rooms and storage space. The building codes require apartment buildings to have fire walls between each floor to prevent flames from spreading from one unit to another. The law also requires that all doors and windows into an apartment must have proper locks and seals to prevent smoke and heat from escaping. The building codes list minimum requirements for apartment buildings. The actual code that is being followed when building a new apartment complex will be indicated by a sticker placed on the front door of each unit. These stickers are issued by the builder and they are usually available from local building offices or from the contractor who built the complex.