Knox County, TN Rental Property Rules: Repairs & Habitability (2026)
Key Facts
- Adopted code
- 2018 International Property Maintenance Code
- Heat supply section
- IPMC Sec. 602.3, seasonal dates deleted
- Work-space heat section
- IPMC Sec. 602.4, seasonal dates deleted
- Enforcing agency
- Knox County Code Administration
- Appeal window
- 20 days to Board of Zoning Appeals
- Appeal citation
- Sec. 111.1 as amended
Summary
Knox County's 2018 International Property Maintenance Code amendments delete the model code's seasonal heating window, so a landlord's duty to supply heat runs every day of the year, not just during a fixed cold-weather season. Code Administration enforces this in unincorporated Knox County outside Knoxville and Farragut.
Sec. 10-92. - Amendments. The code adopted by this article is amended as provided in this section (the section identifiers contained within these amendments conform to the 2018 International Property Maintenance Code): ... Section 602.3 Heat supply. Delete "during the period from [DATE] to [DATE]" Section 602.4 Occupiable work spaces. Delete "during the period from [DATE] to [DATE]"
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 23).
Full Breakdown
Knox County adopted the 2018 IPMC by reference under Sec. 10-91 of the county code, then amended specific sections in Sec. 10-92. 4 to a seasonal date range that each adopting jurisdiction fills in on its own. Knox County's amendment deletes that bracketed date-range language from both sections outright, removing the seasonal on/off switch the model code assumes. In practice that means a rental dwelling's furnace, boiler, heat pump or other heating facility must be able to hold the code's minimum temperature standard on any day of the year, including a warm October afternoon or an unseasonably cold night in May, rather than only inside a fixed winter window.
14, governing insect screens, was amended the same way, deleting its own bracketed seasonal dates so screening requirements likewise apply year-round rather than only in warm months. 4. 4 allows the appeal to proceed on the papers without a full open hearing since Knox County deleted that requirement's last sentence.
Violations & Fines
A code official who finds a unit without adequate heat issues a compliance order; noncompliance is a violation of the code punishable under Section 106.4's penalty schedule, referenced directly in the lot-cleanliness penalty provision as the countywide enforcement mechanism for IPMC violations. An owner or occupant aggrieved by an order has twenty days from service to file a written appeal with the code official for a hearing before the Board of Zoning Appeals, which may affirm, reverse or modify the order; further appeal from the Board's decision runs by certiorari to the courts.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Knox County require heat only in winter?
Who enforces the heat-supply rule in unincorporated Knox County?
How do I appeal a heat-supply violation order?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Knox County
Compare Knox County to another location·View the Tennessee rental property rules overview
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