Consumers over-confident in building codes in disaster-prone areas, study finds

In light of their recent research findings on building codes, the non-profit Federal Alliance for Safe Homes (FLASH) announced a new transparency initiative to address missing or outdated building codes across the United States, titled No Code. No Confidence.

FLASH conducted consumer research surveys that revealed an alarming problem. Americans are highly confident that building codes are already “in place” even though most communities at-risk for disaster are without necessary structural codes and standards for safe and optimal building performance, FLASH discovered.

A new whitepaper, Why Americans Aren’t Concerned About Building Codes (even though they should be), outlines the research methodology and its findings, which led to the launch of the FLASH initiative No Code. No Confidence. and InspectToProtect.org.

The new website provides current residential building code statuses, and the paper previews new Public Service Announcements, animations, and other program elements.

FLASH’s mission outlined

The launch of FLASH’s new InspectToProtect.org and its conclusive whitepaper were propelled by two major research findings about consumer behavior along with the reality of inadequate building codes in at-risk areas across the U.S.

Firstly, FLASH found that while most consumers are not concerned or interested in building codes, they strongly rejected the idea that these codes may be absent or inadequate. Specifically, eight in ten respondents wrongly assumed that they are at least “moderately” protected by building codes.

Another two-thirds of respondents stated they would be very or extremely concerned to learn they had no code at all, using words such as “terrified” to describe the scenario, FLASH detailed.

Further research of residential building codes in over 23,000 U.S. cities and towns facing floods, high wind, hurricane, seismic, or tornado hazards revealed only 7,265 of the 23,000 communities had building codes with disaster-resistant provisions incorporated for both commercial and residential codes.

The main conclusion: 69% of evaluated U.S. communities facing one or more of these weather hazards is doing so without current, relevant structural building codes, FLASH says.

“The research validates what we have always believed. Consumers are largely unaware of the dangerous gap between building code adoption, enforcement, and disaster risk,” FLASH President and CEO Leslie Chapman-Henderson said in a statement. “They do not understand that they may live in a community without the protection of current, modern building codes and standards. That is why we’re providing them with a way to find out where they stand.”

Empowering residents with knowledge

Offering a preventative tool, FLASH launched InspectToProtect.org to provide residents with an accessible resource to identify building codes used in their community currently.

Users can input their address to see a map with a color-coded analysis of red, yellow, green, or black, which indicate residential code versions based on the best available, verified national data, and reflect the status of the International Residential Code (IRC) model adoption.

FLASH advises consumers to contact their local building or planning department to learn about the code enforcement requirements as well as they may be voluntary, mandatory, or nonexistent.

The complete FLASH whitepaper detailing the research findings, methodology and solutions is available to download online, and the InspectToProtect.org initiative is up and running.

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