no window or bathroom vent in rental house

Question

I just moved into a rental condotownhouse and discovered that there is no vent fan or window in the master bath.  My landlord says they cant afford to put one in... isnt it a regal requirement?  I am in Oregon.

Answer 1

Hi Shemomo,

• It is a code violation; you can see the IRC (International Residential Code) paragraph at the following link - http://publicecodes.cyberregs.com/icod/irc/2009/icod_irc_2009_15_sec007.htm ( copy of the paragraph listed below).

 

SECTION M1507 MECHANICAL VENTILATION 

 

M1507.1 General. Where toilet rooms and bathrooms are mechanically ventilated, the ventilation equipment shall be installed in accordance with this section. 

 

M1507.2 Recirculation of air. Exhaust air from bathrooms and toilet rooms shall not be recirculated within a residence or to another dwelling unit and shall be exhausted directly to the outdoors. Exhaust air from bathrooms and toilet rooms shall not discharge into an attic, crawl space or other areas inside the building. 

 

M1507.3 Ventilation rate. Ventilation systems shall be designed to have the capacity to exhaust the minimum air flow rate determined in accordance with TABLE M1507.3 

 

TABLE M1507.3

MINIMUM REQUIRED EXHAUST RATES FOR ONE- AND TWO-FAMILY DWELLINGS 

Bathrooms-Toilet Rooms: Mechanical exhaust capacity of 50 cfm intermittent or 20 cfm continuous

 

• General ventilation requirements are listed here - http://publicecodes.cyberregs.com/icod/irc/2009/icod_irc_2009_3_par083.htm?bu2=undefined

R303.3 Bathrooms.

Bathrooms, water closet compartments and other similar rooms shall be provided with aggregate glazing area in windows of not less than 3 square feet (0.3 m2), one-half of which must be openable. 

 

Exception: The glazed areas shall not be required where artificial light and a mechanical ventilation system are provided. The minimum ventilation rates shall be 50 cubic feet per minute (24 L/s) for intermittent ventilation or 20 cubic feet per minute (10 L/s) for continuous ventilation. Ventilation air from the space shall be exhausted directly to the outside.

 

Depending on the age of this property and the local building code that was applied / adopted at the time of blueprints approval its owner may or may not be required to perform such updates. You can go back to 2000 IRC here - http://publicecodes.cyberregs.com/icod/irc/index.htm