Rhode Island General Laws 45-24.3-9. Minimum thermal standards for heating
No person shall occupy, as owner or occupant, or let to another for occupancy, any dwelling or dwelling unit, for the purposes of living, which does not comply with the following requirements:
(1) Every dwelling must have heating facilities properly installed and maintained in safe and working condition, and capable of safely and adequately heating all habitable rooms, bathrooms, and water closet compartments in every dwelling unit located at a distance of eighteen inches (18″) above the floor level under average winter conditions to a temperature of at least sixty-eight degrees (68 °) fahrenheit.
(2) Unvented flame space heaters are prohibited in any dwelling or dwelling unit except as provided in § 45-24.3-9.2. No owner or occupant shall install, operate, or use a space heater employing a flame that is not vented outside the structure in an approved manner, except those unvented portable space heaters which conform to the provisions of § 45-24.3-9.2. Portable electric heaters, approved under the appropriate local or state electrical and/or fire prevention code, are acceptable where they meet the above provisions of this section.
History of Section.
P.L. 1970, ch. 325, § 1; P.L. 1981, ch. 268, § 1.
Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws 45-24.3-9
- Approved: means approved by the local or state authority having administrative authority. See Rhode Island General Laws 45-24.3-5
- Dwelling: means any enclosed space which is wholly or partly used or intended to be used for living or sleeping by human occupants; provided, that "temporary housing" as defined in this section, shall not be regarded as a dwelling. See Rhode Island General Laws 45-24.3-5
- Occupant: means any person, over one year of age, living, sleeping, cooking, or eating in, or actually having possession of, a dwelling unit or a rooming unit, and/or structure, except that in dwelling units a guest will not be considered an occupant. See Rhode Island General Laws 45-24.3-5
- Owner: means any person who, alone or jointly or severally with others:
(a) Has legal title to any dwelling, dwelling unit, or structure with or without accompanying actual possession thereof; or
(b) Has charge, care, or control of any dwelling, dwelling unit, or structure as owner or agent of the owner, or an executor, administrator, trustee, or guardian of the estate of the owner. See Rhode Island General Laws 45-24.3-5
- Person: means and includes any individual, firm, corporation, association, or partnership. See Rhode Island General Laws 45-24.3-5
- Space heater: means a self-contained, automatically controlled, fuel burning appliance of either the circulating type or the radiant type. See Rhode Island General Laws 45-24.3-5
- Structure: means all structures used or intended to be used for commercial, business, or industrial use or occupancy. See Rhode Island General Laws 45-24.3-5