S 2911Housing

Health and Safety - State Building Code - Administration and Enforcement

Allows property owners to hire independent inspectors if government officials fail to inspect within twenty days of notification.

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Introduced Mar 4, 2026Committee Senate Housing & Municipal Government

Plain-English Summary

This legislation amends the State Building Code regarding inspections. Currently, government building officials are responsible for required inspections. Under this bill, if a building official fails to complete a required inspection within twenty calendar days of being notified by a property owner or contractor, the owner or contractor is permitted to hire a qualified independent building inspector. If an independent inspector is utilized due to this delay, the building official must accept the independent inspector's findings regarding the construction work.

For younger readers

When people build or fix houses, a government worker called a building official must check the work to make sure it is safe. This bill says that if the official takes too long—more than twenty days—to come and check the work, the owner or builder can hire a different qualified person to do the checking instead. If they do this, the government official has to accept what the new person says about the work.

Who & Where It Applies

Impacted groups

Property OwnersContractorsBuilding OfficialsIndependent Building InspectorsReal Estate Developers

Impacted communities

All

Constitutional & Fiscal Check

None Likely

Estimated cost

None

Estimated revenue

None

Bill Analysis

Both viewpoints

For Progressives

Reduces bureaucratic delays in construction projects, potentially accelerating the availability of housing stock during a housing shortage.
Provides relief to small business contractors and homeowners who often suffer financial hardship when government services are slow or unresponsive.
Increases government accountability by creating a consequence for failing to perform duties in a timely manner, encouraging better public service efficiency.
Privatizes a critical public safety function, potentially allowing profit-driven interests to override rigorous safety enforcement.
Creates a two-tiered system where wealthy developers can afford to bypass public queues by hiring private inspectors, while lower-income homeowners may remain stuck waiting.
Undermines the authority of municipal employees and unions by outsourcing work to the private sector whenever the government is understaffed.

For Conservatives

Empowers property owners and businesses to bypass government inefficiency and bureaucratic bottlenecks that stall construction projects.
Promotes free-market solutions by allowing private sector professionals to perform duties when the government fails to act promptly.
Protects property rights by preventing government inaction from holding up the development or improvement of private assets.
Undermines local control by mandating that officials accept findings from outside parties, effectively stripping authority from appointed community leaders.
Increases the risk of litigation and liability disputes if a private inspector approves faulty work that later results in damage or injury.
Could compromise the integrity of the rule of law if private inspectors are incentivized to provide favorable reports to secure future contracts from developers.

Votes

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Full Bill Text

Changes to existing Rhode Island law · 13 additions

SECTION 1. Section 23-27.3-108.1.4 of the General Laws in Chapter 23-27.3 entitled "State Building Code" is hereby amended to read as follows: 23-27.3-108.1.4. Inspections.

(a) The building official or the alternate building official appointed pursuant to § 23-27.3- 107.2, shall make all of the required inspections, or he or she may accept reports of inspections from a qualified registered professional engineer or architect or others certified by the committee and all reports of the inspections shall be in writing, or the building official may engage such experts as he or she may deem necessary to report upon unusual technical issues that may arise.

(b) The building official or the alternate building official appointed pursuant to § 23-27.3- 107.2, shall make all of the required inspections in a timely manner and if, required inspections are not completed within twenty (20) calendar days after receiving notification from the property owner or contractor, the property owner or contractor may utilize the services of an independent building inspector that is qualified under this chapter to conduct the required inspections.

(c) If the property owner or contractor utilizes the services of an independent building inspector pursuant to the provisions of subsection (b) of this section, the building official or alternate building official, shall be required to accept the findings of the independent building inspector.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.