Minimum Standards and Maintenance Standards By-law — full text

This is the exact embedded text of the captured official document. Snapshot 90bd75006477 · verified 2026-06-05 · original document · archived snapshot · unofficial consolidation, the official version is held by the municipal clerk.

BYLAW 1 BE IT RESOLVED that the following be and the same is hereby adopted and enacted as a By-Law of the Town of Shelburne when and if the same has received the approval of the Minister of Municipal Affairs, and that the Town Clerk be and is hereby instructed to forward the same to the Minister and request his approval. Section 1. This By-Law shall be known as and may be cited as the "Minimum Standards and Maintenance Standards." Interpretation 2. In this By-Law: 2.1 The "OWNERS" of buildings in the Town of Shelburne shall maintain those buildings in the accordance with standards contained in Sections 4, 5, and 6 of this By-Law. 2.2 The "OCCUPANTS" of all dwellings in the Town of Shelburne shall maintain that portion of their dwelling within their exclusive possession in accordance with the standards contained in Sections 7 and 8 of this By- Law. 2.3 All Buildings and Repairs or Alterations made to any buildings shall be performed in compliance with the standards as contained in the Town of Shelburne Buildings by-Law. 2.4 The standards of this By-Law are minimum standards and this By-Law shall not be construed so as to lessen the requirements prescribed for buildings, construction, repairs, alterations or any other thing contained in any other Town of Shelburne By-Laws. 2.5 The standards of this By-Law do not cover year to year maintenance. Definitions 3. For definitions of words used in this By-Law that are not included in this Section, reference should be made to a standard dictionary. TOWN OF SHELBURNE Minimum Standards and Maintenance Standards By-Law BYLAW 2 3.1 The words and terms underline in this Section have the following means in this By-Law: ACCESSORY BUILDING - means detached subordinate building or structure on the same lot as the main building. ALTER - means any change in the structural component of a building or any increase in the volume of a building. BUILDING - includes any structure whether temporary or permanent used or built for the shelter, accommodation or enclosure of persons, or any part of the structure that includes the land and premises appurtenant thereto and all mobile homes, mobile buildings, mobile structures and erections thereon whether theretofore or hereafter erected and includes vacant property. BUILDING INSPECTOR - means the Officer appointed by the Town of Shelburne to be the Inspector of Buildings in the Town of Shelburne. COUNCIL - means the Town Council of the Town of Shelburne. DWELLING - includes any buildings, part of a building, trailer, or other covering or structure, the whole or any portion of which has been used, is used or is capable of being used for the purpose of human habitation with the land and premises appurtenant thereto. DWELLING UNIT - means a room or suite of rooms occupied or capable of mean occupied as an independent and separate housekeeping establishment. EXCLUSIVE POSSESSION - means the occupancy of a dwelling by other than the owner by notice of a written lease or by notice of the consent of the owner. HABITABLE ROOM - means any room in a dwelling unit used or intended to be used for living, sleeping, cooking or eating purposes. NON-HABITABLE ROOM - means any area off a building other than a habitable room in a dwelling or dwelling unit and includes the following: 1. A bathroom or shower room 2. A toilet room 3. A laundry room 4. A boiler or furnace room 5. A pantry 6. A closet 7. A corridor or hall BYLAW 3 8. A foyer 9. A stairway 10. A lobby 11. A recreation room used as a common room for all tenants in a building, or other space used to access, service or maintenance of the dwelling. OCCUPANT - means any person over the age of 19 years in possession of the property. OWNER - includes any one of combination of the following: 1. A person who is entitled to possession as tenant in fee simple 2. A mortgage in possession 3. Where the mortgagee of land is not in possession the person entitled to the equity of redemption 4. A person managing or receiving the rent of the land or premises, whether on his own account or as agent or trustee of any other person 5. A person who is assessed for the building on the assessment roll of the Town as of the date of alleged violation. PERSON - includes any person, male or female and any body corporate and includes a partnership. REPAIR - includes the taking of such action to bring any property under the jurisdiction of this By-Law to the standards contained in this By-Law. YARD - includes an unoccupied space on the same lot with a building extending along the length of the street, rear lot line or side lot lines. Standards for Yards and Accessory Buildings YARDS 4. Yards shall be kept clean and free from all debris, thistles and noxious weeds. SEWAGE AND DRAINAGE 4.1 Sewage or organic waste shall be discharged into the Town sanitary sewer system where available, otherwise into a private sanitary sewer system approved by the Board of Health. 4.2 Adequate surface water drainage shall be provided over the whole area of the property together with suitable arrangements for its disposal without erosion. BYLAW 4 WALKS, STEPS, DRIVEWAYS AND PARKING AREAS 4.3 Steps, walks, driveways and parking areas and similar areas of a yard shall be maintained to afford safe passage under normal use and weather conditions. GARBAGE ENCLOSURES 4.4 All buildings shall be provided with a garbage enclosure and shall be maintained in a clean and sanitary condition. ALL BUILDINGS 4.5 All buildings shall be maintained in good repair and free from hazards or conditions which may affect health or cause fire or accidents. Standards for Dwellings and Dwelling Units FOUNDATIONS 5. Foundations shall be masonry, concrete or other acceptable material and designed to adequately support the loads imposed and provide a normally dry basement or crawl space. Foundations shall be free of open cracks and defective mortar joints or masonry. BASEMENTS AND UNHEATED CRAWL SPACES 5.1 Every basement, cellar, crawl space and similar space shall be adequately ventilated to the outside air and adequately drained. STRUCTURAL SOUNDNESS 5.2 Structural components of a dwelling unit shall be free from serious deterioration, loose jointing, sagging or bulging and shall be capable of sustaining safely the weight of the dwelling unit and any load to which it may be normally subjected. DAMPNESS 5.3 The interior floors, ceilings and walls shall be kept free from dampness arising from the entrance of moisture through an exterior wall or roof or through a cellar, basement or crawl space floor. BYLAW 5 PEST PREVENTION AND CONTROL 5.4 A dwelling unit shall be kept free of rodents, vermin and insects at all times, and appropriate extermination measures shall be taken as necessary. ENCLOSED SPACE ACCESS - ACCESS AND VENTING 5.5 An access opening of at least one foot eight inches (1'8") by two feet four inches (2'4") shall be provided, when required, to attics, crawl spaces and other enclosed spaces. Where mechanical equipment is enclosed, the access opening shall be sufficiently large to permit the removal and replacement of the equipment. Enclosed attic, roof and crawl spaces shall be vented to the exterior. FLOORS 5.6 Every floor shall be reasonably level and smooth and maintained in good condition. Resilient or non-absorption flooring or the equivalent shall be provided in bathrooms, kitchens and laundry rooms. Where flooring has become worn, damaged, cracked or holed so that it retained dirt or is an accident hazard, it shall be repaired, replaced or removed. EXTERIOR WALLS 5.7 Exterior walls and their components shall be adequate to support the loads imposed upon them and shall be maintained to prevent their deterioration due to the weather or insects. All exterior walls shall have an acceptable cladding or covering, free of holes, cracks or excessively worn surfaces, to prevent the entry of moisture into the structure and provide reasonable durability. INTERIOR WALLS AND CEILINGS 5.8 Every wall and ceiling finish shall be maintained in a clean condition free from holes, loose coverings or other materials or defects which may increase the spread of fire. Where fire resistant walls exist between separate dwelling units, they shall be maintained in a condition which retains their fire resistant quality. Load bearing walls or columns shall be adequate to support the loads imposed upon them. ROOFS 5.9 All roof construction components shall provide adequate support for all probable loads, and form a suitable base for the roof covering. A roof including the fascia board, soffit, cornice and flashing shall be maintained BYLAW 6 in a watertight condition so as to prevent leakage of water into the dwelling. DOORS 5.10 Existing doors and frames shall be in sound condition and operate satisfactorily. Entrance or exterior doors in dwelling units shall be capable of being locked from both inside and outside. WINDOWS 5.11 Windows, including hardware, shall provide acceptable light and ventilation, operate satisfactorily and be in an acceptable condition with no loose glass, defective putty, or hardware. Sashes and frames to be in sound condition and to be fitted with locks. PORCHES, STAIRS, BALCONIES 5.11 Every porch, stairway or balcony in or appurtenant to a building shall be maintained in good repair, free from holes, cracks, excessive wear and defects which constitute a safety hazard. Stairs and balconies to have appropriate handrails or safety rails of at least three feet high. EGRESS 5.12 Every dwelling or dwelling unit within a building shall have a safe, continuous and unobstructed passage from the interior of the dwelling or dwelling unit to the exterior and shall not pass through a room contained in another dwelling unit. HEATING 5.13 Every dwelling or dwelling unit shall be equipped with a suitable heating system capable of maintaining an indoor temperature of 21 degrees Celsius. The heating system shall be maintained in good working condition so as to be capable of heating the dwelling unit safely to the required standard. Where a heating system or part thereof or any auxiliary heating system or unit burns solid or liquid fuel, a place or receptacle for storage of the fuel shall be provided and maintained in a convenient and safe location few from fire and accident hazards. Fuel fired heating appliances shall be located in areas and locations so as not to create a fire or accident hazard or obstruct an egress from a dwelling or dwelling unit. Chimney, smoke pipes, connections, etc. shall be maintained in good working order and be capable of conveying spent gases to the exterior of the building safely. BYLAW 7 ELECTRICAL SERVICES 5.14 Electrical facilities complying with the standards of the Nova Scotia Power Commission and the 1980 electrical Code shall be provided for all residential accommodation. PLUMBING 5.15 All plumbing, pipes, fixtures, etc. shall be in sound condition. All water pipes and appurtenances thereto shall be protected from freezing. The plumbing system shall provide satisfactory hot and cold water supply, drainage, venting and operation of fixtures. LIGHT AND VENTILATION a) Every habitable room shall be provided with one or more windows facing directly on a street, yard or court, or a system of mechanical ventilation acceptable to the Building Inspector may be used in lieu of such window or windows. b) Every bathroom or room containing a toilet or urinal shall be provided with ventilation by means of one or more windows facing upon the street or into a court, yard, or air well; or be means of one or more windows opening into a vent shaft which extends to and through the roof or into a court, yard, or air well; by means of a separate duct or non-combustible material not less than twelve square inches in cross- section, which extends independently of any duct used for other purposes, to and through the roof, or by ventilating sky light, or by such other approved means of mechanical ventilation approved by the Building Inspector. BATHROOMS AND TOILET ROOMS 5.17 All bathrooms and toilet rooms shall be located within and accessible from within the building and shall be fully enclosed and have a lockage door to provide privacy and passage set to CMHC number. Where practicable, a wash basin shall be located in the same room as the water closet. KITCHENS 5.18 Every dwelling unit shall contain a kitchen area equipped with a sink, served with hot and cold running water, storage facilities and a counter top work area. Space shall be provided for a stove and a refrigerator. BYLAW 8 GENERAL SHARED FACILITIES 6.1 Where a building contains more than one dwelling unit and heating, storage, refuse disposal and other facilities are shared; renovations, alterations and repairs shall satisfy the requirements of the Town of Shelburne Building By-Law. FIRE PROTECTION 6.2 All construction materials shall be designed to prevent or retard the spread of fire and prevent the passage of flame, smoke and hot gases through open or concealed spaces within the building, sufficient exits from the building shall be provided to assure safe egress in case of fire. OCCUPANTS STANDARDS 7.1 All parts of a building which are occupied by a person other than the owner as defined herein and which are in exclusive possession of the occupant as defined herein, shall be kept free from rubbish, garbage and other debris, objects and conditions that are health, fire or accident hazards. 7.2 All garbage, rubbish and other debris shall be placed in suitable wet proof containers, properly fastened and stored in garbage enclosures provided by the owner. Loose papers shall be bundled and tied and placed in cartons so that they can be easily handled and not blown away. 7.3 The occupant of a dwelling unit shall maintain a safe, continuous and undisturbed passage from the interior of the dwelling unit to the exterior of the dwelling unit. 7.4 Cooking, heating and domestic hot water equipment owned and installed by the occupant shall be maintained in good working order and repair. 7.5 The occupant shall not use any area of the dwelling not under his care of control for sleeping purposes which is a non-habitable room. 7.6 The occupant shall not prepare or store food in a room containing a urinal or water closet. BYLAW 9 MINIMUM SPACE AND ROOM DIMENSIONS 8.1 No part of a dwelling except a habitable room as defined herein shall be used for sleeping purposes shall have a floor area, of at least sixty square feet and shall have at least forty square feet of floor area for each occupant of the age of twelve and over and at least twenty-five square feet of floor area for each occupant under the age of twelve years occupying such rooms provided. ENFORCMENT 9.1 Whenever the Building Inspector determines that there are reasonable grounds to believe that there has been a violation of any of the provisions of this By-Law, he shall give written notice of such alleged violation to the owner or occupants as the case may require of the dwelling or premises containing such a violation as here-in after provided. Such notice shall: 1) Contain a statement of the point or points of non-compliance with this by-law, and 2) Fix a period of time in which such owner or occupants as the case may require, must complete whatever remedial action is necessary to eliminate the point or points of non-compliance with this By-Law and if the remedial action is completed within the required time, then the non-compliance with this By-Law shall not be offense. 9.2 In the event of the failure of the owner or occupants so served with notice from the building Inspector to remedy the violation described in the notice within the fixed time period, the Council may instruct the Clerk to serve notice on the owner or occupier requiring him to remedy the violation described in such notice within thirty days after service. Such notice shall be sufficiently served when it has been posted on the building or may be personally served upon the person named therein. 9.3 In the event of the failure of the person so served with notice to remedy the violation within thirty days after such service, the person shall be liable to the penalties provided by Section 228, Chapter 309 of the Towns Act. I, H.C. Blades, Clerk of the Town of Shelburne, do hereby certify that the foregoing is a true copy of a By-Law passed by the Town Council of the town of Shelburne at a meeting duly held and convened on the 13th day of April, A.D., 1982. GIVEN under the hand of the Town Clerk and under the corporate seal of the Town of Shelburne this 14th day of April, A. D., 1982.