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(a) Light required. Every room or space intended for human occupancy shall be provided either natural or artificial light; provided however that all living, dining and sleeping rooms in family dwelling units; all patient rooms in institutional units; all guest rooms in hotels and motels; all day care centers offering care for children under 2 years of age; all class rooms or study rooms in Type 1 and Type 3 schools; and all habitable rooms in residential restrained care facilities shall be provided with natural light.
(b) Ventilation required. Every room or space intended for human occupancy shall be provided with natural or mechanical ventilation; provided, however that living, dining and sleeping rooms in family dwelling units shall be provided with natural ventilation. Natural ventilation shall not be substituted for mechanical ventilation in rooms or spaces where mechanical ventilation is specifically required in Chapter 18-13 or Chapter 18-28 of this Code.
(c) Multi-purpose room exemption. Notwithstanding paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section, certain rooms in single-family and multi-family dwelling units in existing buildings constructed pursuant to a permit issued prior to April 1, 1998 may be considered multi-purpose rooms, and such rooms may be exempt from either the natural light or natural ventilation requirement if all of the following requirements are met:
(i) when either natural ventilation or natural light is not provided, the room(s) are provided with mechanical ventilation in accordance with Table 18-28-403.3 of this Code and artificial light in accordance with Section 13-172-080; and
(ii) the area of such undesignated room or rooms does not exceed 15 percent of the total floor area of the dwelling unit; and
(iii) any dwelling unit with a floor area up to 1,300 square feet has at least 1 bedroom, as well as areas or rooms designated for living and dining, in addition to the multi-purpose room(s); and
(iv) any dwelling unit with a floor area over 1,300 square feet has at least 2 bedrooms as well as areas or rooms designated for living and dining, in addition to the multi-purpose room(s).
Provided, however, that the exemption for multi-purpose rooms set forth in this subsection (c) shall not apply to any newly constructed building for which a permit was issued after April 1, 1998.
(Added Coun. J. 4-29-98, p. 66679, § 1; Amend Coun. J. 9-14-16, p. 31143, § 4; Amend Coun. J. 11-9-16, p. 36266, § 26*; Amend Coun. J. 9-6-17, p. 55278, Art. II, § 44)
* Editor's note – The amendment of Coun. J. 11-9-16, p. 36266, § 26 to this section did not take into account the amendment of Coun. J. 9-14-16, p. 31143, § 4, which renders the later amendment unnecessary.