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AIA Virginia > Membership News > 2021 Virginia Building and Fire Regulations

In November 2021, the Board of Housing and Community Development initiated the 2021 Code Development Cycle with the issuance of Notices of Intended Regulatory Action (NOIRAs) for the Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code (USBC), Virginia Statewide Fire Prevention Code (SFPC), Industrialized Building Safety Regulations (IBSR), and the Virginia Amusement Device Regulations (VADR). After many months of meetings and important work by numerous DHCD partners, the Board of Housing and Community Development approved the final 2021 Virginia building and fire regulations at their August 28th meeting.

Some of the significant changes included in the final regulations are:

VIRGINIA CONSTRUCTION CODE (VCC)

  • Electrical Energy Storage Systems. Safety requirements and minimum safeguards for the installation of electrical energy storage systems have been incorporated.
  • In-Building Emergency Communications. A reference to the IFC has been made for the technical provisions and installation requirements for in-building emergency communication systems. The antiquated language of “radiating cable” has been replaced with “cabling” to allow for greater design flexibility.
  • Children’s Play Structures. Clarification that children’s play structures installed inside buildings are subject to the children’s play structures section in Chapter 4 of the VCC.
  • Online Permit Applications. Jurisdictions shall not be forced to accept applications by mail when an online permit application option exists.
  • Proactive Permit Cancellation. Permits are allowed to be cancelled or discontinued by the building official at the request of the permit holder or the owner.
  • Unsafe Buildings or Structures. Distinctions are now made between “buildings that are a threat to public safety during construction” and “unsafe buildings or structures” and clarifies the compliance paths for each.
  • Oversight of Family Day Homes. Oversight for Family Day Homes has been transferred from the Department of Social Services to the Department of Education.
  • Fire Walls and Separate Buildings. Clarification that fire walls create separate buildings for application of Chapter 9 of the VCC and other provisions beyond allowable height and area.
  • Party Walls and Fire Walls on Lot Lines. Party walls and fire walls are now required on lot lines dividing buildings for ownership purposes.
  • I-1 and I-3 Corridor Fire Resistance Rating. Corridor fire-resistance rating of sprinklered I-1 occupancies has been increased to 1-hour.
  • Tornadic Wind Design Considerations. Tornado provisions and design parameters have been incorporated as Virginia is now designated as a tornado prone region.
  • Solar Heat Gain Coefficients. The VA amendments to SHGCs have been removed.
  • Dampers and Grease Ducts. The use of dampers where grease ducts serving a Type I hood are installed is prohibited.
  • Heating and Cooling Equipment in Commercial and Residential Alterations. New heating and cooling equipment that are part of alterations to be sized in accordance with the VECC.
  • Integral Test Ports. The list of acceptable pressure test ports has been expanded beyond a simple tee fitting by recognizing integral test ports in devices that meet the intent of the code.
  • A2L, A2, A3, B1, and B3 Refrigerants. New referenced standards for A2L, A2, A3, and B1 refrigerants have been incorporated.
  • One-Step Solvent Cement. One-step solvent cement in the green color may be used for joints in CPVC piping.
  • Food Waste Grinders. Food waste grinders may be connected to grease interceptors if the discharge passes through a solids interceptor first.
  • NFIP Correlations. Several definitions have been updated to correlate with the National Flood Insurance Program minimum requirements.
  • ADU Sound Transmission. Accessory dwelling units are exempt from the sound transmission requirements between dwelling units.
  • Exterior GFCI Protection. GFCI protection for outdoor HVAC units is no longer required.
  • Electric Resistance Heat. Electric resistance heating as the primary heat source is prohibited if a heat pump can be installed. Supplemental electric heat for heat pumps is only allowed to energize when the outdoor temperature is below 40ºF.

VIRGINIA EXISTING BUILDING CODE (VEBC)

  • Elevation Certificates. Elevation certificates shall be prepared by a certified land surveyor or registered professional engineer licensed in Virginia.
  • Accessibility and Change of Occupancy. The trigger for accessibility to be used to determine a change of occupancy has been removed since there are no change of occupancy driven accessibility requirements.
  • Structural Concrete. ACI 562 is now referenced for assessing, designing, and repairing structural concrete.
  • EERO. There is now a pointer to the VRC for requirements regarding the operational constraints of emergency escape and rescue openings.
  • Toilet Facilities and Drinking Fountains. Clarification has been provided on how to apply the accessibility provisions to existing toilet facilities and drinking fountains.
  • Institutional Occupancies. Clarifies the applicability of the VEBC to I-2 and I-3 occupancies.

VIRGINIA PROPERTY MAINTENANCE CODE (VPMC)

  • VMC to VPMC. The short title of the Virginia Maintenance Code (VMC) has been revised to the Virginia Property Maintenance Code (VPMC) to resolve the historical and practical issue of confusion with the Virginia Mechanical Code (VMC).
  • Unsafe Structure vs Structure Unfit for Human Occupancy. The unsafe building provisions have been simplified and the definition for Structure Unfit for Human Occupancy has been incorporated within the Unsafe Structure definition.
  • Elevator Periodic Tests. The applicability of Appendix N of ASME A17.1, regarding schedules for periodic tests and inspection frequencies, has been clarified.
  • Existing Fire Protection Systems. The inspection, testing, and maintenance of existing fire protection systems have been removed from the VPMC since they exist within the SFPC.
  • SFPC Applicability. Multiple provisions in the IPMC and VPMC that fall under the jurisdiction of the fire official have been removed.

VIRGINIA STATEWIDE FIRE PREVENTION CODE (SFPC)

  • Fire Code Edits. Unenforceable 2021 IFC construction provisions have been removed, or revised to maintenance or operation type requirements.
  • Electronic Delivery of NOVs. Allows the option of transmitting a notice of violation via email.
  • Electrical Energy Storage Systems. Maintenance and operational provisions for electrical energy storage systems have been incorporated.
  • Stand-alone Alcohol-based Hand Rub Dispensers. The provisions have been revised to clarify that all alcohol-based hand rub dispensers, not just wall mounted ones, are regulated under the SFPC.
  • Annual Inspection Tag or Sticker. Fire protection systems subject to an annual inspection or test are now required to be marked with an inspection tag or sticker indicating latest inspection status.
  • Permissible Fireworks. The sale or retail display of permissible fireworks must comply with the applicable requirements of NFPA 1124-06.

VIRGINIA INDUSTRIALIZED BUILDING SAFETY REGULATIONS (IBSR)

  • Change of Occupancy. Clarification has been made that a building official may approve a change of occupancy of a registered industrialized building.
  • Unregistered Industrialized Buildings. Options for the approval of unregistered industrialized buildings have been clarified.
  • Moved Buildings with Active Violations. It has been clarified that the building official only has to submit a report to the SBCO for moved buildings with active violations and no report is required if there are no active violations.

VIRGINIA AMUSEMENT DEVICE REGULATIONS (VADR)

  • Serious Injury/Illness. A new definition has been added for Serious Injury/Illness.
  • Non-Mechanized Playground Equipment. Non-mechanized playground equipment is not considered an amusement device.

The next steps in the process will be to obtain the statutory authority letter from the Office of Attorney General for adoption of the final regulations and then obtain permission from the Secretary of Commerce and Trade and the Governor’s Office to publish the final regulations. After these approvals, the final regulations for the SFPC, USBC, VADR and IBSR will be published in the Virginia Register. The anticipated effective date of the final regulations is December 1, 2023.

As many of you may have noticed, Spanish versions of the 2018 Virginia regulation pamphlets are currently available on the DHCD website. It is of great significance that all of the 2021 Virginia code books, published by ICC, will also be translated into Spanish!

Development of 2021 Code Change Training is underway and live in-person classes are expected to be available beginning in October, so be on the lookout for additional information from the Virginia Building Code Academy.

As always, please feel free to contact the State Building Codes Office staff with any questions you may have.

State Building Codes Office: sbco@dhcd.virginia.gov or 804-371-7150