Downey, CA Rental Property Rules: Repairs & Habitability (2026)

Section 8401 adopts the Uniform Housing Code, 1997 Edition, published by the International Conference of Building Officials, "in its entirety," making it Downey's local minimum-habitability standard for residential structures. The only carve-out is Chapter 1 of the UHC, deleted by § 8402, whose administrative, permitting, and enforcement functions are instead handled by Chapter 1 of Downey's own Building Regulations article rather than the model code's original administrative chapter.

The City ties this adopted standard directly into its nuisance and code-enforcement machinery: § 5902(B) declares that any building, structure, or the premises it sits on is a public nuisance if it exhibits any of the conditions listed in Chapter 10 of the 1997 Uniform Housing Code, the chapter that defines substandard buildings. The same nuisance section separately cross-references Health and Safety Code § 17920.3, the State Housing Law's own substandard-building list, so a rental unit can be found in violation under either the adopted UHC criteria or the state statute.

Once a condition meeting the UHC Chapter 10 standard is documented, it runs through Downey's general nuisance abatement procedure: a formal notice under § 5906, a right of appeal to a hearing officer under § 5909, and, if uncorrected, City-ordered abatement with costs charged back to the responsible party, on top of the misdemeanor penalty under § 5903. The Building and Safety Division and Community Development Department administer inspections and enforcement under this adopted Housing Code.