New Portable Classroom Construction Rules

by Charles Hueter

Portable classrooms are one way to manage the student population growth.  Texas law calls them “relocatable educational facilities” (REF) and there are some new construction regulations in effect this year worth noting.  REFs were recently added to the list of buildings regulated by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR).  Specifically, these portable classrooms are now classified under Chapter 1022 of the Occupations Code.

Any units purchased or leased after January 1, 2010 must comply with this system of regulation.

Among the new rules:

• Contractors building new on-site REFs must be registered with the TDLR as a “REF builder”
• A design review agency approved by the Texas Industrialized Building Code Council must review and approve the REF builder’s construction documents
• A REF must be inspected by a municipality’s building inspection department if the REF building site is inside a municipality with its own building inspection department
• If a REF building site is outside such a municipality, it must be inspected by inspectors approved by the Building Code Council
• REFs must pass a final inspection by the municipality or a Building Code Council-approved inspector and they cannot be occupied until the building is given a certification decal by the TDLR

For more information on these regulations, visit the TDLR website at http://www.license.state.tx.us/ihb/ihb.htm#portables.  Please submit questions to industrialized.buildings@license.state.tx.us or call 512.539.5735.  If you have a question about your property coverage, please call 800.482.7276 and ask to speak with the Underwriting Department.