Tianacizu wis laws, stalvis, the Builde not) THE BUILDING LAW OF THE CITY OF BOSTON. BEING ACTS OF 1907, CHAPTER 550, AS AMENDED, ALSO SPECIAL ACTS RELATING TO BUILDINGS THE BUILDING LAW OF THE CITY OF BOSTON. CHAPTER 550, ACTS OF 1907-AS AMENDED. AN ACT RELATIVE TO THE CONSTRUCTION, ALTERATION AND MAINTENANCE OF BUILDINGS IN THE CITY OF BOSTON. Be it enacted, etc., as follows: SECTION 1. There shall be in the city of Boston a department to be called the building department, which shall be under the charge of the building commissioner. The commissioner, who shall have had at least five years' experience as an architect, a builder, or a civil engineer, shall be appointed by the mayor, for a term of five years. He shall receive such salary as shall be fixed by the city council, with the approval of the mayor. The present officers and employees of the building department, except the board of appeal, shall hold their several offices and positions until removed or discharged according to law. The commissioner may, with the approval of the mayor, appoint such number of inspectors, employees, and assistants as the city council shall, from time to time, determine. No person shall be appointed as inspector of construction who has not had at least five years' experience as a builder, civil engineer, or architect, or as a superintendent or foreman or a competent mechanic in charge of construction. The commissioner may appoint as his deputy an inspector in the department who shall, during the absence or disability of the commissioner, exercise all the powers of the commissioner. No officer or employee connected with the department shall be interested in the doing of work or the furnishing of material or appliances for the construction, alteration, or maintenance of any building, or in the making of plans or of specifications therefor, unless he is the owner thereof or a member of a board within the building department. No such officer or employee shall be engaged in any work which is inconsistent with his duties or with the interests of the department. [1913, c. 704, sect. 1.] The clerk of the department shall, under the direction of the commissioner, keep a record of the business of the department, and the commissioner shall submit to the mayor a yearly report of such business. The records of the department shall be open to public inspection. The commissioner may require plans and specifications of any proposed structure or for the alteration of any structure or building to be filed with him, duplicates of which, when approved by the commissioner, shall be kept at the building during the progress of the work. Such duplicates shall be open to the inspection of any inspector in said department. The commissioner shall grant permits for the construction, alteration, removal or tearing down of buildings or structures, and for plumbing, gas fitting, and the setting and maintenance of steam boilers and furnaces when applications for the same are made and filed in conformity with law. All permits issued by the commissioner shall be on printed forms approved by him. If the commissioner finds that the terms of a permit are being violated, he may, after notice mailed to the person to whom the permit was issued, order the whole or any part of the work, which is being done under the permit, to be stopped, and such work shall not be resumed until the terms of the permit have been complied with. All applications for permits under the provisions of this act shall be in writing, on forms furnished by the department. The commissioner may require the material facts set forth in the same to be verified by the oath of the applicant; he may also require, in his discretion, a survey of a lot on which any proposed building is to be erected to be filed with the application. Every application shall state the name and address of the owner. SECT. 2. The commissioner, or one of his inspectors, shall examine as often as is practicable every building in the course of construction or alteration, and shall make a record of all violations of this act and of all other matters relative thereto. The publication of such records with the consent of the commissioner shall be privileged. SECT. 3. The commissioner, or one of his inspectors, shall examine any building reported as dangerous or damaged, and shall make a record of such examination, stating the nature and estimated amount of the damage, and the purpose for which the building was used, and in case of fire the probable origin thereof; and shall examine all buildings in respect to which applications have been made for permits to raise, enlarge, alter, or repair, and shall make a record of every such examination. SECT. 4. The commissioner, or one of his inspectors, shall inspect every building or other structure or anything attached to or connected therewith which he has reason to believe is not provided with sufficient means of egress in case of fire satisfactory to the commissioner, exists in violation of any provision of this act or is unsafe or dangerous to life, limb, or adjoining buildings, and if he finds it not provided with sufficient means of egress in case of fire satisfactory to the commissioner, or to exist in violation of any provision of this act, or unsafe or dangerous, he shall forthwith in writing notify the owner, agent, or any person having an interest therein, to secure the same, to provide sufficient means of egress in case of fire or to comply with the provision of this act which is |