---
title: "Read what follows when no certificate of occupancy is on file"
url: "https://ailawframework.com/practice/planning-and-environment/read-what-a-building-information-certificate-prevents/united-states"
type: "task_jurisdiction_version"
site: "AI Law Framework"
id: "A12-FL20261022-10-US"
practice_area: "Planning & Environment"
tier: "yellow"
lawyer_review: "required"
jurisdictions: ["US"]
last_reviewed: "2026-10-22"
---

# Read what follows when no certificate of occupancy is on file

> Record the locality and the date of any written answer. List only the facts the file gives on current violations and on whether the occupancy classification has changed. Do not say the building is lawful.…

Canonical page: https://ailawframework.com/practice/planning-and-environment/read-what-a-building-information-certificate-prevents/united-states  
Last reviewed: 2026-10-22

Site index for agents: https://ailawframework.com/llms.txt

## Key facts

| Fact | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Practice area | [Planning & Environment](https://ailawframework.com/practice/planning-and-environment.md) |
| Human involvement | Yellow: Lawyer and AI draft together |
| How AI is used | Record the locality and the date of any written answer. List only the facts the file gives on current violations and on whether the occupancy classification has changed. Do not say the building is lawful. Do not say a new use is authorised. |
| What the lawyer must review | The lawyer reads 13 VAC 5-63-160, section 116.4. Where the local building department has no certificate of occupancy, the owner or the owner agent may ask in writing for one to be created. After the request, the building official shall issue a certificate if there are no current violations of the Virginia Maintenance Code or the Virginia Statewide Fire Prevention Code and the occupancy classification has not changed. The regulation says such buildings and structures shall not be prevented from continued use. Where records show a certificate existed but the copy is missing, the official may verify in writing that it existed, or issue a certificate from the records. The NYC page says buildings built before 1938 are not required to have a certificate unless a later alteration changed the use, egress, or occupancy, and that a letter of no objection may confirm the legal use where the building is exempt. That letter is a New York City document. It is not the Virginia certificate. |
| Written for | United States |
| Applies to | [Read what a building information certificate prevents](https://ailawframework.com/practice/planning-and-environment/read-what-a-building-information-certificate-prevents.md) |

## Checking plan

- What the AI does: Record the locality and the date of any written answer. List only the facts the file gives on current violations and on whether the occupancy classification has changed. Do not say the building is lawful. Do not say a new use is authorised.
- Basis: Checked against the linked sources on 22 October 2026. Confirm the current instrument before reliance.

## Notes

- Neither page creates a seven-year bar on enforcement for fair wear and tear. Do not add one.
- The Virginia Maintenance Code and the Fire Prevention Code were not opened.

## Sources

- [13 VAC 5-63-160, certificates of occupancy](https://law.lis.virginia.gov/admincode/title13/agency5/chapter63/section160/) (checked 2026-10-22)
- [NYC Department of Buildings, certificate of occupancy](https://www.nyc.gov/site/buildings/property-or-business-owner/certificate-of-occupancy.page) (checked 2026-10-22)

*Practice guidance for planning and review. Confirm current primary sources and the requirements of the actual matter. This is general information, not legal advice.*