Building codes

Residential and nonresidential building codes are a set of construction standards created by professional engineers, architects, and interior designers, established as codes and adopted by local, state, and federal governments to reduce the natural and manmade risk to buildings and their occupants. The adoption of modern building codes ensures that a residential or nonresidential building is constructed using the latest construction practices, making it more likely to withstand a natural disaster such as a flood. There are resources available to homebuyers and nonresidential building owners that a real estate agent can direct their clients to, and make use of themselves.

Inspect to Protect is a search tool that finds the current building codes adopted in an area based on searching a property’s address. In addition to learning if the building code is up-to-date, this tool also shows a community’s disaster history, which can provide important information about flooding.