SECTION PM-404.0 SPACE AND USE

PM-404.1 Arrangement: Dwelling units, rooming units, dormitory units and hotel units shall be arranged to provide privacy and be separate from other adjoining spaces. Units which are constructed, altered or otherwise newly established shall comply with the requirements of Sections PM-404.1.1 and PM-404.1.2.

   PM-404.1.1 Sleeping rooms: Sleeping rooms shall be arranged so that a person is not required to pass through one sleeping room to reach another.

   PM-404.1.2 Toilet facilities: Sleeping rooms shall be arranged so that each sleeping room has access to a water closet and lavatory without being required to pass through another sleeping room.

PM-404.2 Floor area: Every dwelling unit, rooming unit, dormitory unit and hotel unit shall comply with the minimum floor area requirements of Table PM-404.2. Floor area shall be calculated on the basis of habitable room area, however, closets and halls within the dwelling unit shall be permitted to comprise a maximum of ten percent of the required minimum habitable floor area.

   PM-404.2.1 Combined spaces: Combined spaces shall be deemed to comply with the requirements of Table PM-404.2 if the total area if the combined spaces is equal to that required for separate rooms.

Table PM-404.2
OCCUPANCY AREA REQUIREMENTS

No. of Occupants	Minimum Area Requirements in Square Feet ab
	Total for Dwelling Unit	Living Room	Dining Room	Kitchen	Sleeping Room c
1	150	N/R	N/R	50	70
2	250	N/R	N/R	50	100
3	350	120	80	50	150
4	450	120	80	50	200
5	525	120	80	50	250
6	600	150	100	60	300
More than 6	600 + 75 per each add'l person	150	100	60	300 + 50 for each add'l person
Note a.   1 square foot = 0.093 m2. Note b.   For combined spaces see Section PM-404.2.1. Note c.   For prohibited sleeping spaces see Section PM-404.3.

 

PM-404.3 Sleeping prohibited: Kitchens, nonhabitable spaces and interior public areas shall not be occupied for sleeping purposes.

Exception: This provision, as it pertains to kitchens, shall not apply to single space efficiency apartment units which otherwise comply with this code.

PM-404.4 Minimum dimensions: A habitable room, other than a kitchen, shall not be less than seven feet (2133 mm) in any plan dimension. Kitchens shall have a clear passageway of not less than three feet (914 mm) between counterfronts and appliances or counterfronts and walls.

PM-404.5 Minimum ceiling heights: Habitable spaces, hallways, corridors, laundry areas, bathrooms, toilet rooms and kitchens shall have a clear ceiling height of not less than seven feet (2134 mm).

Exceptions:

   1.   Beams or girders spaced not less than four feet (1219 mm) on center and projecting below the ceiling, provided that the minimum clear height is not less than six feet eight inches (2033 mm).

   2.   Dropped or furred ceilings over not more than one-half of the minimum floor area required by this code, provided that no part of such dropped or furred ceiling is less than six feet eight inches (2033 mm) in height.

   3.   Rooms occupied exclusively for sleeping, study or similar purposes and having a sloped ceiling over all or part of the room, with a clear ceiling height of at least seven feet (2134 mm) over not less than one-third of the required minimum floor area. In calculating the floor area of such rooms, only those portions of the floor area with a clear ceiling height of five feet (1524 mm) or more shall be included.

   4.   Basement rooms in one- and two-family dwellings occupied exclusively for laundry, study or recreation purposes, having a ceiling height of not less than six feet eight inches (2033 mm) with not less than six feet four inches (1932 mm) of clear height under beams, girders, ducts and similar obstructions.

PM-404.6 Basements: No basement shall be used for habitable space, except kitchens, unless the floors and walls are substantially watertight and the space complies with this code in all other respects.