R-2: The length of the occupants' stay plus the arrangement of the facilities provided are the basic factors that differentiate occupancies classified in Group R-2 from other occupancies in Group R. The occupants of facilities or areas classified in Group R-2 are primarily nontransient, capable of self-preservation and share their means of egress in whole or in part with other occupants outside of their sleeping area or dwelling unit. The separation between dwelling units must, at a minimum, meet the requirements contained in Sections 420, 709.1 and 712.3. Building types ordinarily classified in Group R-2 include apartments, boarding houses (when the occupants are not transient) and dormitories [see Figures 310.1(2) and 310.1(3)].
Individual dwelling units in Group R-2 are either rented by tenants or owned by the occupants. The code does not make a distinction between either type of tenancy. Residential condominiums are treated in the code the same as Group R-2 apartments. Such condominiums are based on shared ownership of a building and related facilities. While an individual owner will have exclusive rights to a certain unit, the building, the lot the building sits upon, parking, common recreational facilities and similar features are owned in common by all the owners of individual dwelling units. In most cases condominiums do not establish separate lots and the walls between units are not setting on lot lines. Another type of shared ownership is referred to as a "co-op," short for co-operative. Occasionally a condominium will establish actual lots and lot lines distinguishing individual ownership. When the dwelling unit is located on a separate parcel of land, lot lines defining the parcel exist and the requirements for fire separation must be met.
Dormitories are generally associated with university or college campuses for use as student housing, but this is changing rapidly. Many dormitories are now being built as housing for elderly people who wish to live with other people their own age and who do not need 24-hour-a-day medical supervision. The only difference between the dormitory that has just been described and the dormitory found on a college campus is the age of its occupants. If the elderly people must have 24-hour-a-day medical supervision (i.e., a nurse or doctor on the premises), the building is no longer considered a residential occupancy but an institutional occupancy and would have to comply with the applicable provisions of the code for the appropriate Group I occupancy.
Similar to Group R-1, individual rooms in dormitories are sleeping units and are required to be separated from each other by fire partitions and horizontal assemblies in accordance with Sections 420, 709.1 and 712.3. When college classes are not in session, the rooms in dormitories are sometimes rented out for periods of less than 30 days to convention attendees and other visitors. When dormitories undergo this type of transient use, they more closely resemble Group R-1.
Buildings containing dormitories often contain other occupancies, such as cafeterias or dining rooms (Group A-2), recreation rooms (Group A-3) and office (Group B) or meeting rooms (Group A-3). When this occurs, the building is considered a mixed occupancy and is subject to the provisions of Section 508 [see Figure 310.1(4)].
Included in the listing of Group R-2 are live/work units. A live/work unit is a dwelling unit or sleeping unit in which a significant portion of the space includes a nonresidential use operated by the tenant. Reflecting a growing trend in urban neighborhoods and the reuse of existing buildings, live/work units must comply with the provisions of Section 419.
The intent of the congregate living facility reference is to better define when a congregate living facility is operating as a single-family home. Blended families are now commonplace and not necessarily defined strictly by blood or marriage. Small boarding houses, convents, dormitories, fraternities, sororities, monasteries and nontransient hotels and motels may be small enough to operate as a single-family unit and would be permitted to be constructed as Group R-3 occupancies as intended by the code. The threshold of 16 persons is consistent with the results of the most recent census, which has 98 percent of all homes in the U.S. containing less than 16 persons.
