Mount Carmel — Ch. 12 Housing § 12-90
Ceiling height
Operative Text
At least one-half of the floor area of every habitable room shall have a ceiling height of at least seven feet; and the floor area of that part of any room where the ceiling height is less than five feet shall not be considered as part of the floor area in computing the total floor area of the room for the purpose of determining the maximum permissible occupancy thereof.
Mount Carmel Ch. 12 Housing § 12-90 establishes minimum ceiling-height standards for habitable rooms. Specifically, at least half of a room's floor area must have a ceiling of seven feet or higher, and any portion of the room where the ceiling drops below five feet is excluded entirely when calculating the room's usable floor area. This exclusion directly affects how many occupants a room may legally accommodate, since maximum occupancy is tied to total counted floor area.
Plain English — not legal advice.
Under Mount Carmel Ch. 12 Housing § 12-90, compliant operators ensure that each habitable room meets the requirement that at least half its floor area reaches a ceiling height of seven feet or more. When calculating a room's floor area for occupancy purposes, property managers typically exclude any portion where the ceiling falls below five feet. Keeping accurate measurements and documentation of ceiling heights and floor areas helps demonstrate compliance during inspections.
General guidance for property managers — not legal advice for your specific situation. Consult an attorney for advice on your case.
Mount Carmel Ch. 12 Housing § 12-90 gives tenants a basis to question whether a room they occupy is being counted correctly for occupancy purposes. If a significant portion of a room has a low ceiling, that area may not legally count toward the room's floor area, which could affect whether the space qualifies as a habitable room at all. Tenants who believe a unit does not meet these standards may consider contacting the local housing or code enforcement office, or reaching out to a tenant-rights organization for general guidance.
General guidance for tenants — not legal advice for your specific situation. Consult a tenant-rights organization or attorney for advice on your case.
Generated November 10, 2026 — auto-generated, not yet human-reviewed. See /transparency for methodology.
Effective Timeline
References Out
No outbound references recorded yet for this provision.
References In
Rules and statutes that cite this regulation