Birmingham's Building Safety: The Rules That Matter

Every city handles building safety a little differently. In Birmingham, Alabama, there are 6 distinct rules that residents and property owners should be aware of. Some are stricter than what neighboring cities enforce, and others are more relaxed. Here is what you need to know.

Elevator Maintenance

Under Birmingham's Technical Codes, every elevator and escalator in the city, existing or new, must be kept in a safe and sanitary condition, with all required safety devices maintained in good working order. That maintenance duty falls on the building's owner or designated agent, and the Building or Fire Official can order unsafe work stopped immediately.

Key details: Maintenance duty holder: owner or designated agent. Standard: safe and sanitary condition, devices in good order. Fire-safety inspections: Fire Official, per NFPA 101 (2015). Stop-work power: Building, Code, or Fire Official. Appeals body: Elevator Board of Appeals.

Failing to maintain an elevator or escalator system in safe, sanitary working order, or continuing work on one after a stop-work notice under Section 102.3, is enforced by the Building, Code or Fire Official. A permit issued for elevator work can be revoked under Section 102.4 for misrepresentation in the application or for work done in violation of the Technical Codes, and unaddressed unsafe conditions can trigger the unsafe-building abatement process.

Childcare Center Rules

Birmingham requires a zoning certificate of operation for any child care center, defined as a facility caring for 13 or more children, before it can open, and keeps centers out of multifamily buildings, capping residential-district signage and restricting playgrounds to the rear yard. The Department of Planning, Engineering and Permits issues and inspects the certificate under Article VI, Section 17 of the zoning ordinance.

Key details: Definition: 13+ children = child care center. Zoning certificate: Required before operation begins. Spacing rule: 1,000 ft from another facility in residential districts. Signage cap (residential): 18 sq ft, 4 ft ground sign height. Multifamily buildings: Centers not allowed.

Operating a child care center without a valid zoning certificate of operation, exceeding the 1,000-foot spacing rule, or running a center out of a multifamily unit violates Section 17 and is enforced the same way as other zoning violations under Article VII. A certificate is revoked immediately if the state or county license lapses, and the operator must reapply as a new applicant under all current regulations before resuming.

Building Inspections

Before any Birmingham building permit closes out, the Building and Fire Officials must sign off on a fixed sequence of inspections under Code of Ordinances Sec. 7-1-3, Section 105.6: footing and foundation, concrete slab, framing, lath and gypsum board, and a final inspection. Contractors must give 24 hours' notice before each stage, and no work may be covered until it is released.

Key details: Notice required: 24 hours before each inspection. Enforcing agency: Building and Fire Officials, Dept. of Planning, Engineering & Permits. Special inspection fee: $50.00 per additional inspection. Final inspection: Required before Certificate of Occupancy. Penalty: Misdemeanor, separate offense each day.

Continuing work after a stop work order, or building past an inspection stage without the required sign-off, exposes the permit holder to prosecution under Section 114, Violations and Penalties: a misdemeanor, with each day the violation continues counted as a separate offense, punished within the limits of Section 1-1-6 of the General Code. The Building Official may also withhold further permits from anyone who has not completed inspections on previously started work.

Plumbing Permits

Birmingham enforces the International Plumbing Code, 2015 Edition, for every plumbing installation in the city, adopted at Sec. 7-1-2(c) of the Technical Code. A permit from the Building Official is required before any plumbing work begins, and the master plumber must schedule underground, rough-in, and final inspections in sequence under Section 105.9.

Key details: Adopted code: International Plumbing Code, 2015 Edition. Permit required: Sec. 7-1-3 § 103, before plumbing work. Underground inspection: Before backfill (§105.9.1). Sewer test acceptance: Jefferson County Environmental Services (§105.9.8). Master plumber notice: 48 hours before final inspection (§105.9.4).

Installing or altering plumbing without the required permit violates Sec. 7-1-3, Section 103. If work starts before the permit is issued, Section 104.2 doubles the fee, with an added $50.00 penalty for each repeat violation within twelve months. The Building Official may withhold further permits until earlier violations are corrected, and any Technical Code violation is punishable under the city's general penalty, Sec. 1-1-6, by a fine up to $500.00 or up to six months in the city jail, with each day of a continuing violation a separate offense.

Building Permits

Birmingham law bars anyone from erecting, enlarging, altering, repairing, moving, converting, or demolishing a building, or installing electrical, gas, fire protection, mechanical, or plumbing systems, without first getting a permit from the Building and/or Fire Official under Code of Ordinances Sec. 7-1-3, Section 103. A short list of minor jobs, like painting or shingle repair on single-family homes, is exempt.

Key details: Permit required for: Erect, alter, repair, move, demolish structures/systems. Key exemptions: 13 listed, e.g. shingles, small accessory sheds. Application lapse: Deemed abandoned after 6 months unfiled. Work-start deadline: Must start within 90 days of issuance. Fee if work starts first: Doubled under Sec. 104.2.

Working without the required permit doubles the normal fee under Section 104.2, and repeat violations within any 12-month period add a flat $50.00 on top of the doubled fee for each additional violation. The Building Official can also withhold further permits from anyone until all work previously started without a permit is properly permitted, and violating Section 103 is separately a misdemeanor under Section 114, punished as a separate offense for each day it continues.

Electrical Permits

Birmingham requires a permit from the Building Official before any electrical installation, alteration or repair, under the city's Technical Code, which adopts the 2014 National Electrical Code. Work must be done by a licensed master, journeyman or apprentice electrician, and starting work before the permit issues doubles the required fee.

Key details: Adopted code: National Electrical Code, 2014 Edition. Permit required: Sec. 7-1-3 § 103, before any electrical work. Apprentice registration fee: $35.00 per year (§111.3.11). Journeyman/master renewal fee: $35.00 / $50.00 per year (§111.3.12). Work started before permit issued: Fee doubled (§104.2).

Installing, altering or repairing an electrical system without the required permit violates Sec. 7-1-3, Section 103. If work starts before the permit issues, Section 104.2 doubles the fee, with an added $50.00 penalty for each repeat violation within twelve months. The Building Official may withhold further permits until earlier violations are corrected, and any Technical Code violation is punishable under the city's general penalty, Sec. 1-1-6, by a fine up to $500.00 or up to six months in the city jail, workhouse or hard labor, with each day of a continuing violation a separate offense.

The Bottom Line

Birmingham's building safety rules are a mixed bag. Some areas are strict, others are relaxed, and the details matter. The best approach is to check the specific rule that applies to your situation rather than assuming Birmingham is broadly strict or permissive.

These rules come from Birmingham's publicly available municipal code. For complete penalty schedules, exemption details, and answers to common questions, see the individual ordinance pages throughout this guide.