Substandard Buildings

The City of Breckenridge has been proactive in addressing substandard housing.
This doesn’t mean that the property is just unattractive or outdated.
Substandard housing poses a risk to the health, safety or physical well-being of its occupants,
neighbors, or anyone who visits. It increases the risk of disease and crime, among other things.

Chapter 5 of our Ordinances define minimum standards for buildings: 

Minimum standards

A building is considered not to meet the minimum standards of the city for continued use and occupancy,
regardless of its date of construction, under any of the following conditions:
1. Any building that is dilapidated, substandard, or unfit for human habitation and
a hazard to public health, safety and welfare, including, but not limited to:

a. Any building with roof, ceiling, floors, walls, sills, windows, or foundation, or any
combination thereof, rotted or decayed, and falling apart; or that is uninhabitable due to obsolescence
and/or deterioration caused by neglect, vandalism, fire damage, old age, or the elements;
b. Any building intended for human occupancy that is in danger of falling and injuring persons or property;
c. Any building that is a fire menace because it is in a dilapidated condition,
as described in subsections (1)a. and b. above or that is likely to become a fire menace or be set on fire;
d. Any building that is in unsanitary condition and is likely to create disease
because of the presence of insects, rodents or vermin;
e. Any building that is damp and in unsanitary condition and is likely to create disease and sickness because of
being in the condition in subsection (1)a., b., c. or d. above, or for other reasons;
f. Any building intended for human occupancy that does not contain a minimum floor area
of at least one hundred fifty (150) square feet of floor space for one (1) occupant and
one hundred (100) square feet of floor space for each additional occupant;
g. Any building that has holes, cracks or other defects in it, or does not have railings for stairs,
steps, balconies, porches, and elsewhere, thereby constituting a danger to persons or property;
h. Any building intended for human occupancy that is not weather tight and watertight, or
that does not have a moisture-resistant finish or material for the flooring or subflooring
of each bathroom shower room and toilet room;
i. Any building occupied by humans that does not have in operating condition a connection to
discharge sewage from the structure or land into a public sewer system (where such is available),
a toilet connected to a water source and to a public sewer system (where such is available),
connection to potable water at adequate pressure, and a kitchen sink, bathtub or shower,
and lavatory connected to a cold and hot water source;
j. Any building occupied by humans that does not have in operating condition heating equipment
capable of maintaining a minimum inside temperature of sixty-eight (68) degrees Fahrenheit
between November 1 and April 15 of each year in each room;
k. Any building intended for human occupancy that does not have exterior windows and doors that
are easily opened to provide air ventilation and are covered with screens for keeping out insects,
or air conditioning equipment capable of maintaining a maximum inside temperature of eighty-five (85) degrees Fahrenheit or twenty (20) degrees lower than the outside temperature, whichever is warmer, between April 16 and October 31 of each year; or
l. Any building intended for human occupancy that does not have operating supply lines for electrical service, if electric service is available within three hundred (300) feet of the building, or that does not have operating electrical circuits and outlets sufficient to safely carry a load imposed by normal use of appliances and fixtures.

2. Any building that is not occupied by its owners, lessees or other invitees and is not secure from unauthorized entry so that it could be entered or used by uninvited persons or children regardless of its structural condition.

3. Any building that is boarded up, fenced or secured if:

a.The building constitutes a danger to the public even though secured from entry; or
b. The means used to secure the building are inadequate to prevent unauthorized entry or use of the building.

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