# Window Less Room



## Fernando (Aug 6, 2019)

Hello, 

I am a university student. I am pretty ignorant to this subject so I created an account to post this question. 

I signed a lease on campus for this August. It is set for a 3 bed room apartment. However, one of the rooms is windowless.  It’s basically an empty room with a door. I have heard that this is illegal and not considered a bed room. However, where I see these types of responses (from previous researching) have been for more smaller residential spaces. My apartment is in the 5th floor of a 7 story apartment building ( I think this makes the space a commercial building not residential). 

So my question is, is it legal to have a bedroom with no windows and only one form of entry/exit in an apartment building that is 7 stories (5th floor), if it is legal, is it still considered a bedroom?


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## cda (Aug 6, 2019)

Welcome 

Yes is residential

Is this run by the university or a private company owns it??

The windowless bedroom,,, is it the only bedroom in the unit, or are there other bedrooms also??

If I am in the bedroom, is the door/ front door also in the same room, like a studio apartment??


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## cda (Aug 6, 2019)

Is this an older building, say more than ten years??


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## mtlogcabin (Aug 6, 2019)

Only basements and the first 3 stories above grade plane are required to have emergency escape and rescue windows
However the room is still required to have natural or mechanical ventilation and natural light.

1205.2 Natural light.
The minimum net glazed area shall be not less than 8 percent of the floor area of the room served.
1205.2.1 Adjoining spaces.
For the purpose of natural lighting, any room is permitted to be considered as a portion of an adjoining room where one-half of the area of the common wall is open and unobstructed and provides an opening of not less than one-tenth of the floor area of the interior room or 25 square feet (2.32 m2), whichever is greater.
Exception: Openings required for natural light shall be permitted to open into a sunroom with thermal isolation or a patio cover where the common wall provides a glazed area of not less than one-tenth of the floor area of the interior room or 20 square feet (1.86 m2), whichever is greater.


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## Rick18071 (Aug 6, 2019)

The building only needs to meet the code that was in existence when the building was built. If you know what code that was it would help. The 2015 IBC only requires one exit door from an apartment with 10 or less occupants

If there is a light bulb you don't need natural light:

*1205.1 General. *Every space intended for human occupancy
shall be provided with natural light by means of exterior
glazed openings in accordance with Section 1205.2 or shall
be provided with artificial light in accordance with Section
1205.3. Exterior glazed openings shall open directly onto a
public way or onto a yard or court in accordance with Section
1206.
*1205.3 Artificial light*. Artificial light shall be provided that
is adequate to provide an average illumination of 10 footcandles
(107 lux) over the area of the room at a height of 30
inches (762 mm) above the floor level.


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## Pcinspector1 (Aug 6, 2019)

A habitable room width is 7-ft in any plan dimension. A bedroom is a habitable room needing to meet this requirement.


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## Rick18071 (Aug 6, 2019)

1203.1 General. Buildings shall be provided with natural
ventilation in accordance with Section 1203.4, or mechanical
ventilation in accordance with the International Mechanical
Code.


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## TheCommish (Aug 6, 2019)

how big is the room? or is it a larger closet?


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## Fernando (Aug 6, 2019)

Owned by a private company. 


cda said:


> Welcome
> 
> Yes is residential
> 
> ...




It is owned by a private company 
There a more bedrooms in the apartment but they have windows 
No, the door this bedroom has leads to a hallways for the living room/bathroom


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## Fernando (Aug 6, 2019)

cda said:


> Is this an older building, say more than ten years??


 
The building itself is old but I was told that it was fully renovated from interior.


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## Fernando (Aug 6, 2019)

TheCommish said:


> how big is the room? or is it a larger closet?



My guess it’s about 10x8. It is listed as bedroom in the lease but honestly I don’t know if it fits the definition.


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## Fernando (Aug 6, 2019)

Rick18071 said:


> The building only needs to meet the code that was in existence when the building was built. If you know what code that was it would help. The 2015 IBC only requires one exit door from an apartment with 10 or less occupants
> 
> If there is a light bulb you don't need natural light:
> 
> ...





So it is considered a bed room? It does not need a door or window connecting to the exterior? Even for safety?


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## mtlogcabin (Aug 6, 2019)

Rick18071 said:


> If there is a light bulb you don't need natural light:
> 
> *1205.1 General. *Every space intended for human occupancy
> shall be provided with natural light by means of exterior
> ...



Rick
Thanks for the correction
That's what happens when I don't read the whole section.


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## cda (Aug 6, 2019)

Fernando said:


> Owned by a private company.
> 
> 
> 
> ...




I will agree with the other replies,
Legal, just not a room I would want to sleep in.

Even if you had a glass window, it might not be open able,  are the bedrooms with windows open able??

And being a building with a fire sprinkler system, if maintained, the loss of life in a sprinkled building is non existent to very low.

Normally one to three sprinklers will control a fire..


Important thing is is there a smoke alarm in the bedroom,,,,,  and outside the bedroom???????????


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## Rick18071 (Aug 6, 2019)

The 2015 International Building Code (IBC) does not have a definition or uses the term "bed room" but does use the term "room used for sleeping purposes".

You need to know what codes if any are used in your area. The IBC where adopted is only used for construction and not for buildings where there are no changes being made. Your building may have been built before there were any codes. Some places still have no codes.

If the jurisdiction has adopted the 2015 International Maintenance Code (IMC), most haven't, there is the following:

402.1 Habitable spaces. Every habitable space shall have
not less than one window of approved size facing directly to
the outdoors or to a court. The minimum total glazed area for
every habitable space shall be 8 percent of the floor area of
such room. Wherever walls or other portions of a structure
face a window of any room and such obstructions are located
less than 3 feet (914 mm) from the window and extend to a
level above that of the ceiling of the room, such window shall
not be deemed to face directly to the outdoors nor to a court
and shall not be included as contributing to the required minimum
total window area for the room.
Exception: Where natural light for rooms or spaces without
exterior glazing areas is provided through an adjoining
room, the unobstructed opening to the adjoining room
shall be not less than 8 percent of the floor area of the interior
room or space, but a minimum of 25 square feet (2.33
m2). The exterior glazing area shall be based on the total
floor area being served.

403.1 Habitable spaces. Every habitable space shall have
not less than one openable window. The total openable area
of the window in every room shall be equal to not less than 45
percent of the minimum glazed area required in Section
402.1.
Exception: Where rooms and spaces without openings to
the outdoors are ventilated through an adjoining room, the
unobstructed opening to the adjoining room shall be not
less than 8 percent of the floor area of the interior room or
space, but not less than 25 square feet (2.33 m2). The ventilation
openings to the outdoors shall be based on a total
floor area being ventilated.

But I never found out how an inspector can enforce the requirements for windows in the IMC if the rooms were built without them. Maybe someone could answer?


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## Pcinspector1 (Aug 6, 2019)

Rick, IPMC


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## Yikes (Aug 6, 2019)

I'll take a stab at summarizing it:  
In the typical model codes that are enforced in many jurisdictions, if the 7 story residential building were built today, bedroom windows are required (with exceptions) for 3 different reasons:
1.  For light, unless artificial lighting is provided (e.g. light fixtures) .
2.  For ventilation, unless artificial ventilation is provided (e.g. fresh air from a duct, or the room has an exhaust fan that pulls air into the room via the gap underneath the bedroom door).
3.  For emergency escape, unless the room is above the 3rd story or is in a building that is noncombustible (e.g. concrete or steel structural frame construction).​
You did not tell us the building location (city, state) nor what year it was constructed, so we don't know which specific code applies to your situation.  However, your room is at the 5th story, and if it also has artificial light and ventilation, there is a high likelihood it does comply with whichever code is in effect.

One other clue: does your windowless room have a smoke detector in it?  If not, it is likely that it was not originally considered a bedroom, since most municipalities require bedrooms to have smoke detectors.


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## ADAguy (Aug 7, 2019)

Good analysis Yikes.


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