Inspection Procedures and Field Enforcement
Access and notice
- Entry into occupied premises requires consent or a warrant. Refusal is not itself a code violation, but it triggers legal process - an administrative search warrant or civil action - not forced entry.
- The inspector verifies; the inspector does not design. Field direction that changes the approved design must go back through plan review.
- Approved plans must be on site, and the permit must be posted.
Conducting the inspection
- Record the date, time, stage, weather where relevant, persons present, and the specific locations observed.
- Photograph conditions before they are disturbed, and label photos so they can be matched to the report.
- Distinguish "not ready for inspection" from "violation." Only the latter belongs in an enforcement file.
- Correction notices must cite the code section, describe the deficiency, and set a reinspection date. Stop-work orders are reserved for unpermitted work or imminent danger.
Enforcement sequence
- Notice of violation, opportunity to comply, reinspection, then administrative penalty or abatement.
- Due process requires that the owner learn what is wrong, under which section, and how to appeal.
Worked example
At framing inspection an inspector finds a floor-beam notch deeper than the code permits. The correct action is a written correction notice citing the notch limit and requiring an engineered repair detail, not a verbal instruction and not a project-wide stop-work. A stop-work becomes appropriate if the beam is already deflecting visibly or the framing was installed without a permit.
Traps
- Writing "failed inspection" with no code citation - unenforceable and unappealable.
- Ordering work stopped over a minor, correctable item.
- Photographing without scale or location reference, weakening the evidence later.