Building Safety in Norfolk, VA (2026)
8 verified building safety rules for Norfolk, Virginia, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Lead Paint
Norfolk bans applying lead-containing paint, or any lead substance above 0.06 percent by weight, to surfaces of homes or facilities used by children, under City Code § 27-33. Selling lead-painted toys or furniture is also unlawful under § 27-34, with violations charged as a Class 2 misdemeanor.
Norfolk Ban on Lead Paint Near Children
Heavy RestrictionsNorfolk Code of Ordinances § 27-33
It shall be unlawful for any person in the city to use or apply or cause to be used or applied lead-containing paint, as defined in this article, or any substance containing lead in excess of six one-hundredths (0.06) of one percentum by weight to interior surfaces and to those exterior surfaces of any premises, dwelling, dwelling unit, rooming house, rooming unit or any facility occupied, used...
Elevator Maintenance
Norfolk regulates elevators as building equipment under the Uniform Statewide Building Code adopted by City Code § 11.1-1, and requires paid maintenance certificates and acceptance tests under the fee schedule in § 11.1-3: $80 per unit annually or $100 per unit on a 5-year cycle, plus acceptance test fees for new installations.
Norfolk Elevator Certificate and Test Fees
Some RestrictionsNorfolk Code of Ordinances § 11.1-3 (Elevator Fee Schedule)
New Hydraulic and Traction Elevators, Escalators (Acceptance Tests) Hydraulic Elevators $250 per unit Traction Elevators $350 per unit Escalators/Moving Walkways $350 per unit Miscellaneous Elevators (chair lifts, dumbwaiters, pneumatics, material lifts, etc.) $250 per unit Elevator Maintenance Certificates Annual Elevator Certificate $80 per unit 5-Year Elevator Certificate $100 per unit
Scaffold & Sidewalk Shed
Anyone using scaffolding or suspended apparatus over a Norfolk street to clean buildings must register with the building official and post a $5,000 bond under § 42-28. Related sections ban sandblasting a building over a public street unless dust is fully enclosed and require painters on elevated platforms to shield pedestrians from dripping paint.
Norfolk Scaffold Registration Over City Streets
Some RestrictionsNorfolk Code of Ordinances § 42-28
It shall be the duty of every person who shall use scaffolding and other apparatus suspended over the streets of the city in the conduct of his business in cleaning buildings to register with the building official, giving his name, residence and place of business, and, in case of removal from one place to another in the city, to have made a corresponding change in such register. It shall be the...
Fire Sprinkler Requirements
Norfolk requires a fire suppression system in every building fifty feet or taller, installed under the Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code and NFPA #13, and kept in full operating condition at all times. The mandate reaches buildings permitted after the ordinance's May 2000 adoption, and the fire official enforces it as a local amendment to the state Fire Prevention Code.
Norfolk High-Rise Fire Sprinkler Mandate
Some RestrictionsNorfolk Code of Ordinances § 17.1-44(30)
(30)Fire suppression systems in certain buildings: A fire suppression system shall be installed and maintained in full operating condition in any building fifty (50) feet or more in height. For the purposes of this section, a fire suppression system shall mean a mechanical system designed and equipped to detect a fire, activate an alarm and suppress a fire. For purposes of this section, the hei...
Childcare Center Rules
Norfolk sets numeric physical-safety standards for licensed family day homes under Code § 15.1-30: hot water between 105 and 120 degrees, indoor heat kept at least 65 degrees, and daily garbage removal. A smoke detector on every level and a fire extinguisher are separately required by § 15.1-33.
Norfolk Family Day Home Building Safety Rules
Some RestrictionsNorfolk Code of Ordinances §§ 15.1-30, 15.1-33
Sec. 15.1-30. - Physical environment. ... (d) Water supply. ... (5) Hot water at taps available to children shall be maintained within a range of one hundred five (105) degrees Fahrenheit to one hundred twenty (120) degrees Fahrenheit. ... (g) Heating and cooling. (1) The temperature in all inside areas occupied by children shall be maintained no lower than sixty-five (65) degrees Fahrenheit. (...
Building Permits
Norfolk adopts the Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code as its building code under Sec. 11.1-1, and Sec. 11.1-1.1 makes that code control the construction, reconstruction, alteration, conversion, repair, maintenance, or use of any structure or equipment installed in one. Every permitted activity runs through the city's own fee schedule in Sec. 11.1-3, administered by the code official.
Norfolk Building Permit Requirements
Some RestrictionsNorfolk Code of Ordinances §§ 11.1-1, 11.1-1.1 and 11.1-3
The construction, reconstruction, alteration, conversion, repair, maintenance, or use of structures and buildings within the City of Norfolk, and installation of equipment therein shall be governed by the USBC as adopted and promulgated by the Virginia State Board of Housing and Community Development, together with the local fee schedule and special climatic and geographic design criteria estab...
Electrical Permits
Norfolk regulates electrical work through the Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code, adopted citywide by City Code § 11.1-1, and charges permit fees by amperage and circuit count under the Electrical Fee Schedule in § 11.1-3. Discontinued residential service must be reinspected before restoration.
Norfolk Electrical Permit and Fee Rules
Some RestrictionsNorfolk Code of Ordinances § 11.1-3 (Electrical Fee Schedule); § 11.1-11.1
Electrical Fee Schedule Electrical Service (Single-Phase or Three Phases) 0—200 AMP $50 201—400 AMP $100 401—600 AMP $150 Each additional 100 AMP up to 1000 AMP $25 Each additional 100 AMP over 1000 AMP without limit $50 For each piece of equipment and each circuit or feeder installed, extended, relocated, or repaired $3 per circuit up to 100 circuits, then $4 per circuit... The code offi...
Building Inspections
Norfolk Code of Ordinances § 11.1-74 sets the inspection stages behind a dwelling occupancy permit: after an application is filed, the property maintenance code official inspects the unit, hands the owner a written violations list, and issues the permit only once every item is corrected. An inspection report expires if repairs are not underway within six months.
Norfolk Dwelling Occupancy Inspection Process
Some RestrictionsNorfolk Code of Ordinances § 11.1-74
(a)After receipt of an application for an occupancy permit, the property maintenance code official shall cause an inspection to be made of the dwelling or dwelling unit specified in the application, unless the dwelling or dwelling unit already is certified with section 11.1-75 below. After the inspection, the owner or his agent will be provided a list of violations, if any, that must be correct...