Montgomery County, VA Building Safety: Building Inspections (2026)
Key Facts
- Office established
- Building Official / Inspections Department
- Public records
- Kept open for public inspection
- Annual reporting
- To the Board of Supervisors
- Appeal body
- Board of Building Code Appeals
- Further appeal
- County circuit court
Summary
Montgomery County's Building Official runs the Inspections Department, enforcing the building code and state construction law and keeping public records of every inspection. A separate Board of Building Code Appeals hears challenges to the Building Official's rulings.
Sec 8-19 Office Of The Building Official; ... Inspections Department The office of building official is hereby established. ... the building official shall administer and enforce the provisions of this chapter and the provisions of state law relating to buildings and structures within the county ... The building official shall keep or cause to be kept a record of the business of his office, which shall be open to public inspection. The building official shall annually submit a report to the board of supervisors covering the work of his office during the preceding year. ... Pursuant to Code of Virginia, section 36-105, there is hereby created a board of building code appeals whose composition, duties and responsibilities shall be prescribed in the building code. ... Appeals from the office of the building official concerning the application of the building code or refusal to grant a modification to the provisions of the building code covering the manner of construction or materials to be used in the erection, alteration or repair of a building or structure shall first lie with the board of building code appeals.
Full Breakdown
Sec 8-19 establishes the office of building official and puts that office in charge of administering and enforcing both the county's building chapter and state law relating to buildings and structures countywide. The section forbids anyone connected with the office from having a financial interest in labor, materials or plans for construction they oversee, requires the office to keep a public record of its business, and requires the building official to submit an annual report to the Board of Supervisors covering the year's work. The office is deemed to constitute the county's Inspections Department, and the Board of Supervisors may contract with another Virginia locality, another agency or a state agency approved by the Department of Housing and Community Development to carry out part or all of the inspection function.
Sec 8-21 creates a Board of Building Code Appeals, pursuant to Va. Code § 36-105, whose composition and duties are set by the building code; the Board of Supervisors may set compensation for its members and a filing fee for an appeal. Any appeal from the Building Official's application of the building code, or a refusal to modify a construction or materials requirement, goes first to that board, with a further right of appeal to the county circuit court.
Violations & Fines
Sec 8-17 sets the penalty structure for violating the building chapter, which includes the inspection and permit requirements the Building Official enforces: up to $2,500 for a first offense, $1,000 to $2,500 for a second offense within five years, $500 to $2,500 for a second offense committed five to ten years after the first, and for a third or later offense on the same property within ten years, up to ten days in jail plus a fine of $2,500 to $5,000, with no portion of that fine suspendable.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who runs building inspections in Montgomery County, VA?
Can I appeal a building inspector's decision in Montgomery County?
Are county building inspection records public?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Montgomery County
Compare Montgomery County to another location·View the Virginia building safety overview
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