The International Code Council and the National Association of Home Builders released a new report detailing the most commonly found code violations according to U.S. code officials. The 2019 Common Code Noncompliance Report highlights for builders and remodelers the items code officials are most likely to flag during inspection and plan review.

The 2019 report is an update to a similar survey from 2006 and 2012 to Code Council members that is part of an ongoing effort to improve the quality of construction in residential and commercial buildings. The survey will help builders and remodelers focus more intently on potential problem areas before and during construction, thereby contributing to the overall satisfaction of their customers and saving time and money.

The survey found:

• Code violations have shown an overall upward trend.
• Technology has made some inroads into the development, review and issuance of construction plans. More can be done to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the construction process.
• Code officials identify workers ignoring the manufacturer’s installation instructions as the greatest cause of code violations.
• All types of new homes with code violations have significantly increased compared to the previous survey.

More than 1,100 U.S. code officials responded to the survey. The majority – 70% – have more than 10 years of experience in code enforcement. They come from many different building safety disciplines and communities with varying population sizes. They have experience in residential and commercial construction.

To download the full 2019 report, click here.