# Seattle: No Heat? Your Code Rights | Who Pays the Repair?

> Seattle's Housing and Building Maintenance Code sets citywide minimum heat standards for every rental building, enforced by SDCI.

**Who pays:** landlord

Seattle's Housing and Building Maintenance Code sets citywide minimum heat and maintenance standards for every rental building, enforceable by the city.

**Boundary:** Seattle's Housing and Building Maintenance Code sets citywide minimum maintenance standards, including heat, for every rental building, and empowers the city to order repair (or, for a building ruled 'unfit for human habitation,' demolition) rather than leaving heat/repair complaints to a general nuisance process.

## Sources
- [Housing and Building Maintenance Code](https://www.seattle.gov/construction-and-inspections/codes/codes-we-enforce-(a-z)/housing-and-building-maintenance) — "Our Housing and Building Maintenance Code applies to all buildings in the City of Seattle. It contains minimum standards for structural integrity, heat, ventilation, electrical equipment, fire safety including exit requirements, and security for housing units." (accessed 2026-09-29)
- [Buildings Unfit for Human Habitation](https://seattle.gov/construction-and-inspections/codes/codes-we-enforce-(a-z)/buildings-unfit-for-human-habitation) — "We hold a hearing to determine whether a building is unfit, and we can order its repair or demolition. We can order an unfit building to be demolished and removed in cases of a documented extreme hazard or if the repair cost would be more than 50 percent of the cost to replace it." (accessed 2026-09-29)

_Last verified 2026-09-29. Source: Who Pays the Repair? — https://whopaystherepair.com/rules/seattle-wa-rental-heat-ordinance/ — every claim checked against a primary source before publication (see /methodology/)._