Chapter 8: Light and Ventilation

• Section 801: General Requirements of Light and Ventilation
• Section 802: Measurement of Site Occupancy
• Section 803: Percentage of Site Occupancy
• Section 804: Size and Dimensions of Courts
• Section 805: Ceiling Height
• Section 806: Size and Dimension of Rooms
• Section 807: Air Spaced Requirement in Determining the size of the room
• Section 808: Window Openings
• Section 809: Vent Shafts
• Section 810: Ventilation Skylights
• Section 811: Artificial Ventilation
• Section 801: (a) Subject to the provisions of the Civil Code of the Philippines on Easements of Light and View, and to the provisions of this part of the Code, every building shall be designed, constructed, and equipped to provide adequate light and ventilation.
• Section 801: (b) All buildings shall face a street or public alley or a private street which has been duly approved.
• Section 801: (c) No building shall be altered nor arranged so as to reduce the size of any room or the relative area of windows to less than that provided for buildings under this Code, or to create an additional room, unless such additional room conforms to the requirements of this Code.
• Section 801: No building shall be enlarged so that the dimensions of the required court or yard would be less than that prescribed for such building
• Section 802: (a) The measurement of site occupancy or lot occupancy shall be taken at the ground level and shall be exclusive of courts, yards, and light wells
• Section 802: (b) Courts, yards, and light wells shall be measured clear of al projections from the walls enclosing such wells or yards with the exception of roof leaders, wall copings, liils, or steel fire escapes not exceeding 1.20 meters in width.
• Section 803: (a) Maximum site occupancy shall be governed by the use, type of construction, and height of the building and the use, area, nature, and location of the site; and subject to the provisions of the local zoning requirements and in accordance with the rules and regulations promulgated by the Secretary.
• Section 804: (a) Minimum size of courts and their least dimensions shall be governed by the use, type of construction, and height of the building as provided in the rules and regulations promulgated by the Secretary, provided that the minimum horizontal dimension of court shall be not less than 2.00 meters.
• Section 804: (b) All inner courts shall be connected to a street or yard, either by a passageway with a minimum width of 1.20 meters or by a door through a room or rooms.
• Section 805: (a) Habitable rooms provided with artificial ventilation shall have ceiling heights not less than 2.40 meters measured from the floor to the ceiling
• Section 805: Provided that for buildings of more than one storey, the minimum ceiling height of the first storey shall be 2.70 meters and that for the second storey 2.40 meters and succeeding storeys shall have an unobstructed typical head-room clearance of not less than 2.10 meters above the finished floor.
• Section 805: Above stated rooms with a natural ventilation shall have ceiling heights not less than 2. 70 meters.
• Section 805: (b) Mezzanine floors shall have a clear ceiling height not less than 1.80 meters above and below it.
• Section 806: Room for Human Habitation- 6.00 square meters with a least dimension of 2.00 meters
• Section 806: Kitchens- 3.00 square meters with a least dimension of 1.50 meters
• Section 806: Bath and Toilet- 1.20 square meter with a least dimension of 0.90 meter
• Section 807: School rooms- 3.00 cubic meters with 1.00 square meter of floor area per person
• Section 807: Workshops, Factories, and Offices - 12.00 cubic meters of air space per person
• Section 807: Habitable rooms- 14.00 cubic meters of air space per person.
• Section 808: Every room intended for any use, not provided with artificial ventilation system as herein specified in this Code, shall be provided with a window or windows with a total free area of openings equal to at least ten percent of the floor area of room, and such window shall open directly to a court, yard, public street or alley, or open water courses.
• Section 809: Ventilation or vent shafts shall have a horizontal cross sectional area of not less than 0.10 square meter for every meter of height of shaft but in no case shall the area be less than 1.00 square meter. No vent shaft shall have its least dimension less than 600 millimeters.
• Section 809: Skylights - Unless open to the outer air at the top for its full area, vent shaft shall be covered by a skylight having a net free area or fixed louver openings equal to the maximum required shaft area.
• Section 809: Air ducts shall open to a street or court by a horizontal duct or intake at a point below the lowest window opening. Such duct or intake shall have a minimum unobstructed cross-sectional area of not less than 0.30 square meter with a minimum dimension of 300 millimeters. The openings to the duct or intake shall be not less than 300 millimeters above the bottom of the shaft and the street surface or level of court, at the respective ends of the duct or intake.
• Section 810: Skylights shall have a glass area not less than that required for the windows that are replaced. They shall be equipped with movable sashes or louvers with an aggregate net free area not less than that required tor openable parts in the window that are replaced or provided with approved artificial ventilation of equivalent effectiveness.
• Section 811: Rooms or spaces housing industrial or heating equipment shall be provided with artificial means of ventilation to prevent excessive accumulation of hot and/or polluted air.