{"data":{"id":"us-ri/r.i.-gen.-laws-23-29.1-1","jurisdiction":"us-ri","citation":"R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-29.1-1","heading":"Legislative findings and purpose.","body":"The general assembly finds and declares:\n(1) That there are throughout Rhode Island existing buildings and structures that are vacant or partially vacant and/or underutilized because rehabilitation of such buildings and structures to conform to the requirements for new structures under building and fire safety codes, is prohibitively expensive or impractical;\n(2) That buildings and structures that are vacant or partially vacant constitute a public safety threat because of a lack of occupancy and a lack of investment in modernization and maintenance;\n(3) That the presence of vacant and or partially vacant buildings and structures contributes to blight and or to the loss of economic viability of traditional city, town or village centers;\n(4) That reinvestment in existing buildings and structures will strengthen local tax bases and provide employment opportunities in construction and building trades;\n(5) That it is the purpose of this chapter to provide a code and regulations for repairing, rehabilitating, altering, improving, adding to and changing the use of existing buildings and structures in a manner that assures the health, welfare and safety of occupants and that facilitates designing improvements to existing buildings and structures to the code in an optimum manner with a minimum need to for variances; and\n(6) That it is further the purpose of this chapter to provide a single uniform, statewide, harmonious rehabilitation building code with building code and fire safety code elements applicable to existing buildings and structures.","path":["Title 23 Health and Safety","Chapter 29.1 Rehabilitation Building and Fire Code for Existing Buildings and Structures"],"source_url":"https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE23/23-29.1/23-29.1-1.htm","current_through":"site files published 2025-08-13","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T19:57:07Z","sha256":"b16d1b94c314f1bce24bae8586040a87358105ac4e72f9d2b212e6b6dda32666","source_id":"us-ri","stale":true,"prev":"us-ri/r.i.-gen.-laws-23-29-1-23-29-30","next":"us-ri/r.i.-gen.-laws-23-29.1-2"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}