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Identification of Serious Code Violations

Disclaimer: Law, rules and regulations, not Guidelines, specify the requirements for practice and violating them constitutes professional misconduct. Not adhering to this Guideline may be interpreted as professional misconduct only if the conduct also violates pertinent law, rules and regulations.

B. Practice

5. Identification of Serious Code Violations

An architect, who identifies a serious code violation in an existing structure with which he/she is, or might be associated in a professional capacity, could have a responsibility [Regents Rule Section 29.3(a)(1)] to bring this situation to the attention of the appropriate parties. Appropriate steps to follow might include:

  • The client, tenant or owner should be informed of such violations.
  • Violations appearing to pose an imminent danger to health and safety, should be reported to the local authority having jurisdiction.
  • It is perceived by the State Education Department and the State Board for Architecture that the licensed architect has a professional obligation to document the violation to both the client/owner and the authority having jurisdiction [29.1(b)(5)] even if informing the client/owner might jeopardize receipt of the associated commission.
  • If the code violations are present in the area of a potential project, and the architect is assigned the commission, he/she should endeavor to have such violations included as an integral part of the scope of the design solution.