County and Municipal Inspectors
The Certified Professional Home Builder Guide provides you with resources for your local inspection departments. Many real estate agents and new home buyers are unfamiliar with what Georgia building codes cover, and they rely on their local county and city inspectors to check their new home for code issues and construction quality.
Under Georgia law, any structure built must comply with the mandatory codes, regardless if the local government chooses to locally enforce these codes. Georgia’s counties and cities are not required to locally adopt or enforce the statewide minimum codes. However, a statewide minimum code means just that: all construction in the state must meet the minimum codes.
Out of the 159 counties in Georgia, 25 counties issue no permits and perform no inspections, and 22 counties issue permits but perform no inspections. The remaining counties may enforce only the codes they choose to enforce. However, this places greater emphasis on the importance of choosing a CPHB who has passed an International Codes Council building codes exam.
The following is need-to-know information about building codes in Georgia:
- Building codes are legal documents that regulate construction to protect the health, safety and welfare of the occupants.
- A building code is a systematic body of laws.
- Codes are minimum standards and cannot legally be made to require construction quality that exceeds that which is necessary to furnish a reasonable degree of safety.
- Codes do NOT guarantee quality.
- Codes set requirements for plumbing, electrical, mechanical, fire safety and energy conservation.
- Only those provisions which are reasonable, practical or necessary can legally be enforced.
The Georgia Department of Community Affairs (DCA) controls code adoption for the state. Be sure to contact your local building department to find out specifics about code requirements in your area,
or here for the Construction Codes in Georgia.
