Ch. 10 Change of Occupancy — 2025 California Existing Building Code

User notes:

About this chapter : The purpose of this chapter is to provide regulations for the circumstances where an existing building is subject to a change of occupancy or a change of occupancy classification. A change of occupancy is not to be confused with a change of occupancy classification. The California Building Code defines different occupancy classifications in Chapter 3 and special occupancy requirements in Chapter 4. Within specific occupancy classifications there can be many different types of actual activities that can take place. For instance, a Group A-3 occupancy classification deals with a wide variation of different types of activities, including bowling alleys and courtrooms, indoor tennis courts and dance halls. When a facility changes use from, for example, a bowling alley to a dance hall, the occupancy classification remains A-3, but the different uses could lead to drastically different code requirements. Therefore, this chapter deals with the special circumstances that are associated with a change in the use of a building within the same occupancy classification as well as a change of occupancy classification.