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Appendix P — EMERGENCY HOUSING

Section P103

California Building Code (Title 24, Part 2) · 2022 edition · updated 2026-09-12 · California

Italicized text is a California amendment to the model code, as printed in the official publication.

P103.1 General.

Emergency sleeping cabins, emergency transportable housing units, membrane structures and tents constructed and/or assembled in accordance with this appen- dix, shall be occupied only during declaration of state of emergency, local emergency or shelter crisis.

Buildings and structures constructed in accordance with the California Building Standards Code, used as emergency housing, shall be permitted to be permanently occupied.

P103.2 Existing buildings.

Existing residential and nonresi- dential buildings or structures shall be permitted to be used as emergency housing and emergency housing facilities pro- vided such buildings or structures comply with the building code provisions and/or other regulations in effect at the time of original construction and/or alteration. Existing buildings or structures used as emergency housing shall not become or continue to be substandard buildings, as determined by the enforcing agency.

P103.2.1 New additions, alterations and change of occu- pancy. New additions, alterations and change of occu- pancy to existing buildings shall comply with the requirements of the California Building Standards Code effective at the time of addition, alteration or change of occupancy. The requirements shall apply only to and/or within the specific area of the addition, alteration or change of occupancy.

Exception: Existing buildings and structures used for emergency housing and emergency housing facilities may not be required to comply with the California Energy Code, as determined by the enforcing agency.

P103.3 Occupant load.

Except as otherwise stated in this appendix, the maximum occupant load allowed in buildings and structures used as emergency housing shall be determined by the enforcing agency, but the interior floor area shall not be less than 70 square feet (6.5 m 2 ) for one occupant. Where more than one person occupies the building/structure, the required floor area shall be increased at the rate of 50 square feet (4.65 m 2 ) for each occupant in excess of one.

Exceptions:

1. Tents. 2. Recreational vehicles and park trailers designed for human habitation that meet the requirements in the Health and Safety Code, Sections 18009.3 and 18010, as applicable. 3. For emergency housing, including emergency sleep- ing cabins, the minimum interior floor area may be reduced to 53 square feet (4.9 m 2 ) if the enforcing agency determines that 53 square feet (4.9 m 2 ) is ade- quate space for a single-occupancy sleeping unit.

P103.4 Fire and life safety requirements not addressed in this appendix.

this appendix. If not otherwise addressed in this appendix, fire and life safety measures, including, but not limited to, means of egress, fire separation, fire sprinklers, smoke alarms and carbon monoxide alarms, shall be determined and enforced by the enforcing agency.

P103.5 Privacy.

Emergency housing shall be provided with a privacy lock on each entrance door and all windows for use by the occupants.

P103.6 Heating.

All sleeping areas shall be provided with adequate heating as determined by the enforcing agency.

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▸Contents — California Building Code (Title 24, Part 2)
California Building Code (Title 24, Part 2)
  1. Chapter 2 — DEFINITIONS AND ABBREVIATIONS
  2. Appendix G — FLOOD-RESISTANT
  3. Appendix L — EARTHQUAKE RECORDING
  4. Appendix M — TSUNAMI-GENERATED
  5. Appendix N — REPLICABLE
  6. Appendix O — PERFORMANCE-BASED
  7. Chapter 1 — SCOPE AND ADMINISTRATION
  8. Chapter 3 — OCCUPANCY CLASSIFICATION AND USE
  9. Chapter 4 — SPECIAL DETAILED REQUIREMENTS BASED ON OCCUPANCY A…
  10. Chapter 5 — GENERAL BUILDING HEIGHTS AND AREAS
  11. Chapter 6 — TYPES OF CONSTRUCTION
  12. Chapter 7 — FIRE AND SMOKE PROTECTION FEATURES
  13. Chapter 7A — MATERIALS AND CONSTRUCTION
  14. Chapter 8 — INTERIOR FINISHES
  15. Chapter 9 — FIRE PROTECTION AND LIFE SAFETY SYSTEMS
  16. Chapter 10 — MEANS OF EGRESS
  17. Chapter 11A — HOUSING ACCESSIBILITY
  18. Chapter 11B — ACCESSIBILITY TO PUBLIC BUILDINGS, PUBLIC ACCOMM…
  19. Chapter 12 — INTERIOR ENVIRONMENT
  20. Chapter 14 — EXTERIOR WALLS
  21. Chapter 15 — ROOF ASSEMBLIES AND ROOFTOP STRUCTURES
  22. Chapter 16 — STRUCTURAL DESIGN
  23. Chapter 16A — STRUCTURAL DESIGN
  24. Chapter 17 — SPECIAL INSPECTIONS AND TESTS
  25. Chapter 18 — SOILS AND FOUNDATIONS
  26. Chapter 19 — CONCRETE
  27. Chapter 20 — ALUMINUM
  28. Chapter 21 — MASONRY
  29. Chapter 22 — STEEL
  30. Chapter 23 — WOOD
  31. Chapter 24 — GLASS AND GLAZING
  32. Chapter 25 — GYPSUM BOARD, GYPSUM PANEL PRODUCTS AND PLASTER
  33. Chapter 26 — PLASTIC
  34. Chapter 27 — ELECTRICAL
  35. Chapter 28 — MECHANICAL SYSTEMS
  36. Chapter 30 — ELEVATORS AND CONVEYING SYSTEMS
  37. Chapter 31 — SPECIAL CONSTRUCTION
  38. Chapter 31B — PUBLIC POOLS
  39. Chapter 31C — RADIATION
  40. Chapter 31D — FOOD ESTABLISHMENTS
  41. Chapter 31F — MARINE OIL TERMINALS
  42. Chapter 32 — ENCROACHMENTS INTO THE PUBLIC RIGHT-OF-WAY
  43. Chapter 33 — SAFEGUARDS DURING CONSTRUCTION
  44. Chapter 35 — REFERENCED STANDARDS
  45. Appendix A — EMPLOYEE QUALIFICATIONS
  46. Appendix B — BOARD OF APPEALS
  47. Appendix C — GROUP U – AGRICULTURAL BUILDINGS
  48. Appendix D — FIRE DISTRICTS
  49. Appendix F — RODENTPROOFING
  50. Appendix H — SIGNS
  51. Appendix I — PATIO COVERS
  52. Appendix J — GRADING
  53. Appendix K — GROUP R-3 AND GROUP R-3.1 OCCUPANCIES
  54. ▸Appendix P — EMERGENCY HOUSING
    Overview
    1. Section P101
    2. Section P102
    3. Section P103
    4. Section P104
    5. Section P105
    6. Section P106
    7. Section P107
    8. Section P108
    9. Section P109
    10. Section P110

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