Decatur, AL Rental Property Rules: Repairs & Habitability (2026)

Decatur City Code § 7-291 adopts the International Property Maintenance Code, 2009 Edition, under Code of Alabama § 11-45-8, and then rewrites parts of it for the City of Decatur. Section 103 of the model code is amended so that the Community Development Department serves as the department of property maintenance inspection. Subsection 103.5 is deleted in its entirety. The section does not carve out a separate rental clause: the amendments speak of dwellings, habitable rooms and premises, so the same standards bind an owner-occupant and a landlord.

Three local rewrites carry numbers. Subsection 605.2 requires at least two separate and remote receptacle outlets in every habitable space of a dwelling, at least one grounded-type or ground-fault-protected receptacle in every laundry area, at least one receptacle in every bathroom, and ground fault circuit interrupter protection on any bathroom receptacle. Subsection 304.14 requires approved tightly fitting screens of not less than 16 mesh per inch on every door, window and outside opening required for ventilation of habitable rooms, and a self-closing device on every screen door used for insect control. Screen doors are not required where air curtains or insect repellent fans are used, and dwellings with central air conditioning are exempt. Subsections 602.3 and 602.4 are completed with the dates October 1st and April 1st respectively.

Subsection 302.8 bars any unregistered or inoperable motor vehicle from being parked, kept or stored on any premises, and bars vehicles in major disassembly or being stripped. Painting is prohibited outside an approved spray booth, but major overhaul and body work is allowed inside a structure or enclosed area designed and approved for it.

On appeals, section 111 names the board the "Community Preservation Board," while item (13) of the same section provides that the Board of Appeals referenced in that code section is the Board of Appeals for Construction Industries. The history note shows the section was last amended by Ord. No. 22-4519 on 6-6-22.