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Building Inspection is open to the public by appointment only.

For more on appointments and other services, please see the Building Inspection Services page.

Occupancy Standards

City ordinances and state codes outline these standards. Occupancy is complex, and this page is only a guide.

The tables below deal only with zoning rules. In zoning, "family" means a group of related people. For instance: parents, children, foster children, grandparents, aunts, etc.

Visit the assessor’s website to find the zoning district for an address.

 

Single-family Unit
If the dwelling unit is a occupancy can be OR
owner-occupied unit in Madison a family AND max four (4) unrelated roomers max five (5) unrelated individuals? 
single-family rental unit in Madison  a family N/A

single-family rental unit in zoning districts:

SR-C1, SR-C2, SR-C3, TR-C1, TR-C2, TR-C3, TR-C4, TR-R and TR-P

a family AND one (1) unrelated roomer max two (2) unrelated individuals
single-family rental unit in all other zoning districts that allow dwelling units a family AND max four (4) unrelated roomers max five (5) unrelated individuals? 

 

NOTE: If the dwelling unit is in a building with more than one unit, it's not a single-family dwelling.

Non-single-family dwellings

For dwellings that are not single-family units, these space rules also apply:

If the building has units needs to provide
two or more units
  • 150 sq. ft. for the first dweller
  • 100 sq. ft. for each additional dweller
three or more units
  • 150 sq. ft. for the first dweller
  • 100 sq. ft. for each additional dweller

AND

  • 400 cubic feet of sleeping space per adult
  • 200 cubic feet of sleeping space per child

A 10 ft. by 10 ft. bedroom, with a standard eight-foot ceiling, lodges two (2) adults. The same sized room could lodge four (4) children.

 

To find the livable area of a dwelling unit:
  1. Find the total square footage.
  2. Subtract the area of closets, hallways, bathrooms and utility rooms.

Bedrooms, dens, studies, dining rooms, and kitchens count towards the livable space.

Last Updated: 02/08/2022

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