One of my pet peeves are building permits that don’t have a set expiration date. Most of the building codes have their permits expire 180 days after no […]
Building Codes / Code Enforcement / property maintenance
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Tough enforcement of building codes critical to prevention of damage
A recent article by an insurance group discusses how important it is to enforce tough building codes. As an example, it uses Hurricane Andrew. Insurance companies like tough […]
Building Codes / Code Enforcement / Court cases / Liability
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City tears down building without owner’s knowledge
An owner of a building in Chicago received a big shock when his building was torn down without his knowledge. He alleges in a civil lawsuit against the […]
Building Codes / Court cases
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Washington’s Building Code not preempted by federal conservation act
When someone uses the defense of preemption, it means that a law is not valid because federal law does not allow states or local governments to regulate an […]
Building Codes / Code Enforcement / Court cases / Law Enforcement and Codes / property maintenance / rental inspections
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Minnesota appeals court upholds rental inspection ordinance
A very important decision has just come down from the Court of Appeals of Minnesota involving the constitutionality of rental inspections. The case is McCaughtry v. City of […]
Building Codes / Foreclosure / Ordinances / Politics / Politics and building codes / property maintenance
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Politics and the foreclosure crisis
One of the biggest problems facing local governments these days is finding the resources to maintain vacant properties. These homes are empty because of the foreclosure crisis and […]
Code Enforcement / property maintenance / Zoning
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Facebook and code enforcement
Every time I teach I learn something. I was in Cedar Rapids at the end of last week doing a presentation at the IowACE meeting. One of the […]
Building Codes / Code Enforcement / Fire Prevention / Politics / Politics and building codes / training
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Fire prevention in South Carolina
One of the true joys of teaching around the country is that I learn so much from the people I meet. My recent trip to South Carolina is […]
Fire Prevention
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Greetings from South Carolina
I am teaching this weekend at the Southeastern Fire School in Columbia, SC. The campus here is incredible. Many of the training classes are taking place out of […]
Building Codes / Code Enforcement / Court cases / Fire Prevention / property maintenance
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Tip for the day: service of notices or citations
One of the constant problems I run into with defendants is trying to make sure proper service of notices or citations occurs. Too frequently defendants refuse to accept […]