What Is the International Property Maintenance Code?

The International Property Maintenance Code is a model code published by the International Code Council (ICC) that sets minimum standards for maintaining existing buildings, covering structural soundness, plumbing, heating, fire safety, sanitation, and pest control.¹ On its own it has no legal force. It becomes enforceable law only when a city, county, or state formally adopts it, which thousands of U.S. jurisdictions have done, making it the most widely used baseline for property maintenance enforcement in the country.

How a Model Code Becomes Local Law

The IPMC applies to all existing residential and nonresidential structures and all existing premises once a jurisdiction adopts it.¹ That scope is deliberately wide. A single-family home built last year and a fifty-year-old commercial warehouse both fall under the same code once a locality signs on.

Adopting jurisdictions almost always amend the code to fit local conditions. The model text itself contains blank fields where numbers would go: the specific dates of the heating season, the dollar amount of fines, the length of any jail term. Each city or county fills in its own figures. So a landlord in one city may face a different heating-season start date, or a different penalty schedule, than a landlord one county over, even when both operate under “the IPMC.” The practical takeaway: the model code tells you the shape of the rules, but the adopted local ordinance tells you the exact numbers.

What the Code Requires

Exterior Condition

All exterior surfaces, including walls, must be free of holes, breaks, and rotting material and kept weathertight. Roofs and flashing must keep rain out, and gutters, downspouts, and roof drains must stay clear so water doesn’t pool against the building. Decorative features like cornices and trim must be properly anchored.²

Windows must be sound, weathertight, and (unless fixed) easily openable. Exterior doors must be in good working order with locks that secure the entry. In rental units, deadbolts must have at least a one-inch throw and open from the inside without a key, and operable windows within six feet of the ground need sash locking devices.² Every building must display address numbers at least four inches tall with a half-inch stroke, visible from the street and contrasting with the background.³ Stairs with more than four risers need a handrail between 30 and 42 inches high, and any walking surface more than 30 inches above the floor or grade below needs a guard at least 30 inches tall.⁴

Interior Light and Space

Every habitable room must have a window facing outdoors or an open court, with glazed area equal to at least 10 percent of the room’s floor area.⁵ Living rooms must be at least 120 square feet; bedrooms must be at least 70 square feet, and 50 square feet per occupant when shared.⁶ Ceilings must reach at least seven feet in habitable rooms, hallways, and bathrooms over at least half the floor area, with lower minimums allowed in toilet rooms and basements.⁷

Plumbing

Every dwelling unit must have its own bathtub or shower, lavatory, water closet, and kitchen sink, all in safe, sanitary, working condition and connected to an approved water supply and either a public sewer or private disposal system. A kitchen sink doesn’t count as the required lavatory. Hot water must reach at least 110 degrees Fahrenheit at every required sink, lavatory, bathtub, shower, and laundry connection.⁸ That temperature is measured at the fixture, not at the water heater, so a working heater that delivers lukewarm water through long or corroded pipes still fails.

Heating and Electrical

Heating systems must be capable of maintaining 68 degrees Fahrenheit in every habitable room, bathroom, and toilet room, dropping to 65 degrees in regions where the average monthly outdoor temperature stays above 30 degrees. Portable space heaters, cooking appliances, and unvented fuel-burning heaters cannot be used to satisfy this requirement. Landlords supplying heat under a lease must hold 68 degrees during the heating season set by the local jurisdiction, with a narrow exception when the outside temperature falls below the locality’s design minimum and the system is already running at full capacity.⁹

Each dwelling unit must have three-wire, 120/240-volt electrical service rated at a minimum of 60 amperes, and the system must be free of hazards. Extension cords cannot substitute for permanent wiring.⁹ A long extension cord to reach a distant outlet both creates a fire risk and signals that the unit has an underlying code problem with receptacle placement.

Fire Safety

Smoke alarms are required in every sleeping room, on the ceiling or wall outside each sleeping area, and on every story including basements. In split-level units with no door between levels, a single alarm on the upper level may cover the adjacent lower level if that level is less than one full story below. Means of egress (hallways, stairs, exit doors) must stay unobstructed and functional.¹⁰ Carbon monoxide alarms are required in any dwelling unit with a fuel-fired appliance or an attached garage opening into the living space, installed under the International Residential Code or International Building Code.¹¹

Pest Control

Pest responsibility shifts with the property type. In a single-family home or single-tenant commercial building, the occupant is responsible for pest elimination. In a building with two or more units, the owner must keep common areas and the exterior free of insects and rodents, provide extermination services on request, and pay for extermination when multiple units are infested. Occupants must keep their own spaces sanitary, report problems, and allow the exterminator access. If only one unit is infested and the occupant’s poor sanitation caused it, the owner may bill that occupant. But if the infestation traces to a structural defect such as a gap in a wall or an unsealed pipe penetration, the owner pays regardless.¹² Owners must also exterminate before renting any structure.

Owner vs. Occupant Duties

The code assigns the structural and exterior upkeep to the owner and the day-to-day cleanliness of the occupied space to the occupant. No one may occupy, or allow another person to occupy, premises that aren’t in sanitary, safe condition, and occupants must keep the portions they control clean and safe.¹³ A lease cannot shift these obligations around in a way that overrides the code. A lease clause making the tenant responsible for roof repairs doesn’t change who gets cited when the roof leaks. The code enforcement officer issues the notice to whichever party the code assigns the duty to.

Unsafe Structures and Condemnation

When a code official determines a structure is dangerous, the IPMC provides a condemnation process. A building is “unsafe” when fire hazards, unsafe equipment, severe decay, faulty construction, or an unstable foundation make partial or complete collapse possible. It is “unfit for human occupancy” when deterioration, unsanitary conditions, vermin, or missing essential services like heat, ventilation, or plumbing make it unsuitable for people. “Unlawful” structures are those occupied by more people than the code allows or erected and occupied contrary to law.¹⁴

After condemnation, the code official posts notice, and if the owner fails to respond in the required time, a placard reading “Condemned” goes on the building. Occupying a placarded building or removing the placard is itself a separate violation, and any occupied building under a condemnation order must be vacated on the schedule the code official sets.¹⁴

Notices, Penalties, and Appeals

When a code official finds a violation, the IPMC requires a formal notice delivered either personally or by certified or first-class mail to the last known address. If the mailed notice comes back undeliverable, the officer must post a copy conspicuously on or near the property.¹⁵ Each day the violation continues after proper notice counts as a separate offense.¹ The model code leaves fine amounts and any jail terms as blanks for the local jurisdiction to fill in, so penalties vary widely from one city to the next. Some impose modest per-day fines; others authorize substantial penalties or short jail sentences for willful or repeated violations. The adopted local ordinance is the only reliable source for the exact figures.

Anyone directly affected by a decision, notice, or order has 20 days from service to file a written appeal.¹⁵ Missing that deadline usually forfeits the administrative appeal, though some jurisdictions permit late filings in limited circumstances. The appeal goes to a board of at least three members with experience in building construction, none of whom may be employees of the jurisdiction; the code official sits as a non-voting member. Filing fees range from nothing to several hundred dollars depending on the jurisdiction. The board can uphold, modify, or reverse the decision, and its ruling is generally the last administrative step before court.

1
ICC Digital Codes. 2018 International Property Maintenance Code – Chapter 1 Scope and Administration
2
UpCodes. Section 304 Exterior Structure
3
International Code Council. 2021 International Property Maintenance Code
4
UpCodes. Handrails and Guards Required
5
City of Baltimore Law Library. Section 402 Light
6
ICC Digital Codes. 2018 International Property Maintenance Code – Chapter 4 Light Ventilation and Occupancy Limitations
7
UpCodes. 2018 IPMC Chapter 4 – Light Ventilation and Occupancy Limitations
8
Town of Lyman, South Carolina. 2021 International Property Maintenance Code
9
ICC Digital Codes. 2021 International Property Maintenance Code – Chapter 6 Mechanical and Electrical Requirements
10
ICC Digital Codes. 2015 International Property Maintenance Code – Chapter 7 Fire Safety Requirements
11
Macon-Bibb County. 2018 International Property Maintenance Code
12
City of Española. IPMC Section 309 Pest Elimination
13
International Code Council. 2015 International Property Maintenance Code
14
City of Spartanburg. International Property Maintenance Code Sections 108 and 109
15
International Code Council. 2018 International Property Maintenance Code