Caldwell, ID Building Safety: Door Locking Hardware (2026)

Caldwell adopted the 2018 International Property Maintenance Code, including Appendix A, as the city's Property Maintenance Code, then amended several sections for local enforcement. 3, "Locked Doors," is rewritten in full at Caldwell City Code § 12-09-01: means of egress doors must be readily openable from the side from which egress is to be made, without the need for keys, special knowledge or effort, except where the door hardware conforms to that permitted in the International Building Code or International Fire Code. That exception matters: the IBC and IFC allow specific hardware, such as delayed-egress locks or detention-facility hardware, only under controlled conditions, so a landlord or business cannot simply install a keyed deadbolt on an exit door and call it compliant unless it fits one of those narrow, code-referenced categories.

The amendment sits alongside other 2018 IPMC changes Caldwell made in the same ordinance, including revised minimum heat-supply temperatures of 68 degrees Fahrenheit for habitable rooms and 65 degrees for occupied work spaces, and repeal of IPMC Section 704 (fire protection systems) in favor of direct regulation under the International Fire Code and International Building Code. Under Caldwell City Code § 12-09-03, the city's Building Official is designated the Code Official responsible for enforcing every provision of the adopted Property Maintenance Code, including the locked-doors requirement, across rental housing, commercial buildings and any other covered structure. The amendments took effect with Ordinance 3305, passed December 21, 2020.