Pennsylvania Act 1903-57 — CITIES OF SECOND CLASS; DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY

Act text

CITIES OF SECOND CLASS; DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY
                  Act of Mar. 25, 1903, P.L. 54, No. 57               Cl. 11
                               A SUPPLEMENT

     To an act, entitled "An act creating a Bureau of Health in the
        Department of Public Safety in cities of the second class;
        defining the powers and duties thereof and the officers
        thereunder; prescribing rules, regulations and laws
        respecting the public health, and authorizing and imposing
        fines, penalties and punishments for violations thereof,"
        approved June twenty-sixth, one thousand eight hundred and
        ninety-five.

        Section 1.  Be it enacted, &c., That certain words used in
     this act shall be defined, for the purposes thereof, as follows:
        "Tenement-house" is any house or building, or portion
     thereof, which is: (a) intended or designated to be occupied, or
     (b) leased for occupation, or (c) actually occupied, as a home
     or residence for three or more families, living in separate
     apartments, and doing their cooking upon the premises.
        "Apartment" is a room or suite of two or more rooms, occupied
     or leased for occupation, or intended or designed to be
     occupied, as a family domicile.
        "Basement" is a story partly, but not more than one-half,--
     "cellar" is a story more than one-half,--below the level of the
     street or ground adjacent to or adjoining the same; where the
     grade of a street adjacent to, or of ground surrounding, a
     tenement-house varies, the mean or average grade of such street
     or ground shall be regarded as the grade of such street or
     ground, in the meaning of this act.
        Section 2.  In no tenement-house shall any room or apartment
     in the cellar be hereafter constructed, altered, converted,
     leased or occupied for living purposes, and no room or apartment
     in the basement of any such building shall be constructed,
     altered, converted, leased or occupied for living purposes,
     unless the following conditions be complied with, viz.:
        1.  Every room shall be at least eight feet six inches high,
     in every part, from floor to ceiling.
        2.  Every such room shall have a window or windows opening
     upon the street, or upon a yard or court. The total area of the
     windows in such room shall be at least one-eighth of the floor
     area of the room, and one-half of the sash shall be made to open
     the full width, and the top of each window shall be within six
     inches of the ceiling.
        3.  There shall be appurtenant to every such room or
     apartment a water-closet, conforming in design, materials and
     construction to the building and health regulations of cities of
     the second class.
        Section 3.  All such basements, used for living purposes,
     shall be specially subject to examination by the Bureau of
     Health, and if found to be damp or otherwise unfit for
     habitation, the owners thereof shall be required to put the same
     in proper condition, or abandon the same for living purposes.
        Section 4.  No room (other than basement-rooms, provision for
     which is made in section two of this amendment) in any tenement-
     house thereafter to be erected or constructed, or altered into a
     tenement-house, shall be leased or occupied for living purposes,
     unless it contains at least one window having a superficial area
     of not less than one-tenth of the floor area of the room, which
     window opens upon a street or alley, or upon a yard or court,
     having a sectional area of less than one hundred square feet;
     and no room shall be so leased or occupied in any now existing
     tenement-house, unless it contains a window of the foregoing
     dimensions, opening upon a street or alley or upon a yard or
     court having a sectional area of less than twenty-five square
     feet; or unless such room adjoins another room in the same
     apartment, which other room has such a window, opening upon such
     a street, alley, yard or court, and between which two adjoining
     rooms there is a sash-window having at least fifteen square feet
     of glazed surface, the upper half of which is made to open
     easily.
        Section 5.  No room in any tenement-house shall be leased or
     occupied for living purposes unless it be of such dimensions as
     to contain at least seven hundred cubic feet of air, nor unless
     every part of the finished ceiling of such room be at least
     eight feet distant from every part of the finished floor
     thereof: Provided, That an attic-room need be eight feet high in
     but one-half of its area.
        Section 6.  No room in any tenement-house shall be so
     occupied that the allowance of air to each person living in such
     room shall, at any time, be less than four hundred cubic feet
     for each such person more than twelve years old, and two hundred
     cubic feet for each person of twelve years or under.
        Section 7.  In all tenement-houses hereafter erected,
     whenever a connection with the city water-main is in any way
     possible (and of this possibility the Bureau of Health of said
     cities shall be the sole judge), there shall be an independent
     water supply, and at least one sink for every tenement or suite
     of rooms; and in every now existing tenement-house, or house
     that may be hereafter converted into a tenement-house, there
     shall be on every floor at least one proper sink, with running
     water, accessible to all the tenants of that floor, without
     passing through any other apartment, if there be no such sink in
     each apartment; and the space under all sinks shall have no
     woodwork enclosing the same, but shall be left entirely open.
        Section 8.  In every tenement-house hereafter to be erected,
     whenever a connection with a public sewer is in any way possible
     (and of this possibility the Bureau of Health shall be the sole
     judge), there shall be one water-closet for every tenement or
     suite of rooms which has its own independent hallway, so
     separated that its rooms do not open or connect with any other
     rooms; and in tenement-houses so constructed that a tenement may
     consist of a single room or of two rooms, there shall be at
     least one water closet for every three rooms: Provided, That in
     the case of buildings existing at the date of this act, which
     shall hereafter be altered into tenement-houses, there shall be
     one water-closet for six rooms, but not less than one for each
     floor. In every now existing tenement-house there shall be
     (subject to the possibility of connection with public sewer, as
     above set forth) at least one water-closet for every two
     apartments. Every water-closet shall be separated from every
     other water-closet, and shall have an entrance entirely
     independent of the entrance to every other water-closet. And
     every such water-closet shall be properly ventilated, in
     accordance with the regulations governing the same already in
     force in said cities. When necessary (and of this necessity the
     said Bureau of Health shall be the judge) such water closets may
     be located in the yard. Wherever located, the said water-closets
     shall conform in design, materials and construction to the
     building and health regulations of said cities.
        Section 9.  Every tenement-house, and every part thereof,
     shall be kept in good repair, and shall be clean and free from
     any accumulations of dirt, filth or garbage, or other matter, in
     or on the same, or in the yards, courts, passages, areas or
     alleys connected with or belonging to the same.
        Section 10.  No horse, cow, swine, pig, sheep, goat or
     poultry shall be kept in any tenement-house; and no tenement-
     house or part thereof, shall be used as a stable, or for the
     storage of anything dangerous to life or detrimental to health;
     nor shall any explosive, inflammable or combustible thing be
     placed or stored under any stairway in any tenement-house.
        Section 11.  Any violations of the provisions of this act
     shall subject the person or persons so offending to a fine or
     penalty of not less than ten dollars nor more than one hundred
     dollars; and any such violation of the provisions of this act,
     if continued after the first fine is imposed therefor, shall,
     for every week of such continuance, be punishable by an
     additional fine of not less than ten dollars nor more than one
     hundred dollars. All such fines and penalties shall be collected
     and enforced in the manner provided by section forty-two of the
     act to which this is a supplement.
        Section 12.  Whenever any of such cities shall have incurred
     expense in enforcing any of the provisions of this act, imposing
     duties upon persons or corporations, such cities shall have the
     right to recover the same by action of assumpsit from the owners
     or occupants of the premises, or other persons or corporations,
     failing or refusing to comply with or execute the same.
        Section 13.  The Bureau of Health of such cities shall employ
     one or more Special Tenement-House Inspectors, whose duty it
     shall be to regularly inspect the tenement-houses within the
     purview of this act, and to see that the requirements therefor
     are enforced.