Ohio Administrative Code › Title 4101:8 - Board of Building Standards: Residential Code of Ohio › Chapter 4101:8-1 - General Provisions › Section 4101:8-1-01 - Administration

Current through all regulations passed and filed through July 1, 2024
[Comment: When a reference is made
	 within this rule to a federal statutory provision, an industry consensus
	 standard, or any other technical publication, the specific date and title of
	 the publication as well as the name and address of the promulgating agency are
	 listed in rule
	 4101:8-44-01
	 of the Administrative Code. The application of the referenced standards shall
	 be limited and as prescribed in section 102.5 of rule 4101:8-1-01 of the
	 Administrative Code.]
SECTION
  101
GENERAL
101.1
Title.
Chapters 4101:8-1 to 4101:8-25, 4101:8-29, 4101:8-34, and
  4101:8-44 of the Administrative Code are designated as the "Residential Code of
  Ohio for One-, Two-, and Three-Family Dwellings" for which the designation
  "RCO" may be substituted. The 2018 edition of the "International Residential
  Code", first printing, Chapters 2 through 24, 29, and 44 as published by the
  "International Code Council, Inc." is used as the basis of this document as is
  incorporated fully except as modified in italic herein. References in these
  chapters to "this code", to the "residential code", or to the "Residential Code
  of Ohio" in other sections of the Administrative Code shall mean the
  "Residential Code of Ohio for One-, Two, and Three-Family
  Dwellings".
101.2
Scope.
The provisions of the "Residential Code of Ohio for One-,
  Two-, and Three-Family Dwellings" shall apply to the construction, alteration,
  movement, enlargement, replacement, repair, equipment, use and occupancy,
  location, maintenance, removal, and demolition of every one-, two-, or
  three-family dwelling, any appurtenances connected or attached to such
  buildings or structures, or any accessory structure incidental to that dwelling
  house including electrical equipment associated with bodies of water as defined
  in article 680 of NFPA 70 as referenced in part IX, chapter 44. This code also
  applies to a one-family, two-family, or three-family dwelling house that is
  used as a model to promote the sale of a similar dwelling house. No building or
  its equipment or accessories, to which the rules of the board apply shall be
  erected, constructed, or installed, except in conformity with the rules of the
  board.
This code also applies to such other
	 residential occupancies as referenced and to the extent indicated in section
	 310 of the "Ohio Building Code"or OBC.
Exceptions:
1.
Manufactured homes constructed under " 24 CFR Part 3280,"
  "Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards" and used as a dwelling or
  by a park operator to promote the sale/rental of manufactured
  homes.
2.
Multiple single-family dwelling structures more
  than three stories in height and with more than three dwelling
  units.
a.
The structure of one-, two-, and three-family dwellings
  which are more than three stories in height shall comply with the structural
  requirements of the OBC or section 106.5 of this code.
3.
Residential buildings attached to occupancies that are
  within the scope of the OBC shall comply with the requirements of the
  "OBC".
4.
Buildings or structures containing two or three
  dwelling units with a shared exit shall comply with the requirements of the
  "OBC."
5.
Buildings or structures which are incident to
  the use for agricultural purposes of the land on which said buildings or
  structures are located, provided such buildings or structures are not used in
  the business of retail trade; for the purposes of this section, a building or
  structure is not considered used in the business of retail trade if fifty per
  cent or more of the gross income received from sales of products in the
  building or structure by the owner or operator is from sales of products
  produced or raised in a normal crop year on farms owned or operated by the
  seller (see sections 3781.06 and
  3781.061 of the Revised
  Code);
6.
Agricultural labor
  camps;
7.
Type A or Type B family day-care homes, except
  for the inspection required for licensure by the "Ohio Department of Jobs and
  Family Services (ODJFS)". This required inspection shall be conducted by the
  certified building department having jurisdiction in accordance with the
  inspection checklist found on the board of building standard's
  website.
8.
Buildings or structures which are designed,
  constructed, and maintained in accordance with federal standards and
  regulations and are used primarily for federal and state military purposes
  where the U.S. secretary of defense, pursuant to
  10
  U.S.C. Sections 18233(A)(1)
  and
  18237,
  has acquired by purchase, lease, or transfer, and constructs, expands,
  rehabilitates, or corrects and equips, such buildings or structures as he
  determines to be necessary to carry out the purposes of Chapter 1803 of the
  U.S.C.
9.
Sewerage systems, treatment works, and disposal
  systems (including the tanks, piping, and process equipment associated with
  these systems) regulated by the legislative authority of a municipal
  corporation or the governing board of a county or special district owning or
  operating a publicly owned treatment works or sewerage system as stated in
  division (A) of section
  6111.032 of the Revised
  Code.
10.
Building sewer piping.
11.
Private
  water systems (including tanks, foundations, piping, and process equipment
  associated with these systems) regulated by the Ohio Department of Health in
  accordance with section
  3701.344 of the Revised
  Code.
12.
Wind turbines, pumps, site lighting, and
  flagpoles not connected to building services
  equipment.
13.
Fixed or floating docks (including the
  electrical wiring and lighting systems serving the docks not connected to
  building services equipment).
14.
Retaining
  walls, bridges, walkways or site stairs unless associated with or necessary for
  the building or the building egress to comply with the rules of the
  board.
15.
The applicable provisions of the OBC shall
  apply when installing components, equipment, and systems for which there are no
  provisions in this code.
16.
When
  buildings regulated by the OBC are permitted to use the construction
  requirements of this code, such buildings remain within the scope of the
  OBC.
101.3
Intent.
The purpose of this code is to establish uniform minimum
  requirements for the erection, construction, repair, alteration, and
  maintenance of residential buildings, including construction of industrialized
  units. Such requirements shall relate to the conservation of energy, safety,
  and sanitation of buildings for their intended use and occupancy with
  consideration for the following:
1.
Performance.
Establish
  such requirements, in terms of performance objectives for the use intended.
  Further, the rules shall consider the following:
1.1.
The
  impact that the state residential building code may have upon the health,
  safety, and welfare of the public;
1.2.
The
  economic reasonableness of the residential building
  code;
1.3.
The technical feasibility of the residential
  building code;
1.4.
The financial impact that the residential
  building code may have on the public's ability to purchase affordable
  housing.
2.
Extent of use.
Permit
  to the fullest extent feasible, the use of materials and technical methods,
  devices, and improvements which tend to reduce the cost of construction without
  affecting minimum requirements for the health, safety, and security of the
  occupants of buildings without preferential treatment of types or classes of
  materials or products or methods of construction.
3.
Standardization.
To
  encourage, so far as may be practicable, thestandardization of construction
  practices, methods, equipment, material and techniques, including methods
  employed to produce industrialized units.
This code does not prevent a local
	 governing authority from adopting additional regulations governing residential
	 structures if the regulations comply with this section.
3.1.
A local
  governing authority shall, and any person may, notify the board of building
  standards of any regulation the local governing authority adopts related to
  content within the scope of this code and request that the board of building
  standards determine whether that regulation conflicts with the state
  residential building code.
3.1.1.
Not
  later than sixty days after receiving a notice to review local regulations for
  conflict, the board shall determine, based upon a recommendation from the
  advisory committee, whether the regulation conflicts with the state residential
  building code and shall notify any person who submitted the notice and the
  local governing authority that adopted the regulation of the board's
  determination.
3.1.2.
If the
  board determines that a conflict does not exist, the board shall take no
  further action with regard to the regulation. If the board determines a
  conflict exists and the regulation is not necessary to protect the health or
  safety of the persons within the local governing authority's jurisdiction, the
  regulation is not valid and the local governing authority may not enforce the
  regulation.
3.1.3.
If the board determines that a conflict exists
  and that the regulation is necessary to protect the health or safety of the
  persons within the local governing authority's jurisdiction, the board shall
  adopt a rule to incorporate the regulation into the state residential building
  code. Until the rule becomes a part of the state residential building code, the
  board shall grant a temporary variance to the local governing authority and any
  similarly situated local governing authority to which the board determines the
  temporary variance should apply.
101.4
Reasonable application.
The rules of the board and proceedings shall be liberally
  construed in order to promote its purpose. When the residential building
  official finds that the proposed design is a reasonable interpretation of the
  provisions of this code, it shall be approved. Materials, equipment and devices
  approved by the building officials pursuant to section 114 shall be constructed
  and installed in accordance with such approval.
101.5
Jurisdiction without a certified residential building
  department.
If no
  municipal, township, or county building department is certified by the Board of
  Building Standards for residential buildings in accordance with section
  3781.10(E)  of
  the Revised Code has jurisdiction, the owner is not required to make submission
  of construction documents, seek approvals, request inspections, or obtain
  certificates of occupancy required in this
  Chapter.