Housing & Building Maintenance

See also: Buildings Unfit for Human Habitation, Vacant Building Standards

What Is It?

Our Housing and Building Maintenance Code applies to all buildings in the City of Seattle. It contains minimum standards for structural integrity, heat, ventilation, electrical equipment, fire safety including exit requirements, and security for housing units. Our code also contains duties of owners and tenants, the Just Cause Eviction Ordinance, and standards for vacant building maintenance.

Our ordinance requires that you:

• Meet minimum maintenance standards for rental properties
• Protect vacant buildings from unauthorized entry and weather
• Follow rules regarding residential tenancies
• Repair or demolish a building that has been declared unsafe to live in (called “unfit for human habitation” in the code)

What It Isn’t

This ordinance does not cover:

• Rental housing registration and inspection
• Building construction requirements; see the Seattle Building Code and Seattle Residential Code
• Detailed requirements of the Boiler & Pressure Vessel, Electrical, Energy, Mechanical, Plumbing, and other technical codes
• Rules for legalizing illegal units

Read the Code

Read the Seattle Municipal Code (SMC) section on housing and building maintenance, SMC 22.200 - 22.208.

Proposed Changes

None at this time.