The state of West Virginia adopted the 2018 International Property Maintenance Codes (IPMC 2018), which were in turn adopted and are enforced by the City of Charleston. The codes cover minimum standards for property to be maintained, including structure interior and exterior, utilities, fire safety and sanitation.
The City’s 20 Wards are divided between six Property Maintenance inspectors to offer each area the best personal attention. Inspectors drive their Wards daily checking for violations and are available by phone throughout the workday until 4 p.m.
Our inspectors will return your call as soon as possible, however please bear in mind that to serve you best they are roaming their areas and may be out of the office at the time of your call.
Any interior inspection requires the permission of the tenant whose name is on the lease or homeowner before the inspector may come inside using the Permission to Inspect form at right. Tenants may call at any time for an inspection of a unit that potentially has code violations, otherwise rental unit inspections are done in random batches of 75-100 units taken from the City Rental Registry. Once a tenant no longer resides in a rental unit, the inspector cannot use his/her signature for an interior inspection. Please note if you are in the process of being evicted, scheduling an inspection may not work within a court time frame. Please contact your Ward’s inspector for information.
Property owners are sent a certified letter including any violations found and the time limit to make the corrections. Inspectors use the Kanawha County Tax records to determine ownership and send letters accordingly. Should you receive a violation notice for property you no longer own, please call the inspector of record on the letter to let them know when the property was sold so they can research and contact the new owner.
It is a violation to transfer ownership without making the new owner aware of any and all violation notices sent to the deeded owner.