Rooming Inspections and Permits

Rooming House, Boarding Home, and Nursing Home Information

The Allegheny County Health Department’s (ACHD) Housing and Community Environment Program permits and inspects all rooming houses, boarding homes, hotels, motels, nursing homes, and personal care boarding homes (PCBH) in the county.

Information & Definitions

A rooming house is a facility that houses four or more unrelated people in one or more rooms. The units inside a rooming house (either a room or group of rooms) have spaces for living and sleeping, but do not usually have areas for cooking or eating. Some of these facilities also require that individuals staying in different rooming units share a common bathroom. The most common example of a rooming house is a hotel or motel.

A boarding home is defined as a rooming house that also prepares and/or serves food to their residents. Nursing homes, PCBHs, and shelters are some examples of boarding homes.

In addition to investigating any complaints that are submitted, our Environmental Health Specialists inspect these facilities on a regular basis. If you have a health or safety complaint about on of these facilities submit the complaint through the Allegheny County Complaint Portal.

These inspections are an evaluation of the entire building including, but not limited to:

  • Water supply
  • Heating equipment
  • Restroom facilities
  • Garbage disposal
  • Rodent, pest, and vector control

Along with the inspections we do, nursing homes and PCBHs are also permitted by The Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (PADHS). We also perform other institutional inspections when requested by the Pennsylvania Department of Health or the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services.

Permitting

Are you planning on building or opening a rooming house, boarding home, hotel, motel, nursing home, or PCBH? The Allegheny Health Department (ACHD) requires that these types of facilities obtain a permit.

A rooming house is a facility that houses four or more unrelated people in one or more rooms. The units inside a rooming house (either a room or group of rooms) have spaces for living and sleeping, but do not usually have areas for cooking or eating. Some of these facilities also require that individuals staying in different rooming units share a common bathroom. The most common example of a rooming house is a hotel or motel.

A boarding home is defined as a rooming house that also prepares and/or serves food to their residents. Nursing homes, PCBHs, and shelters are some examples of boarding homes.

In order to get a permit, these facilities must go through a plan review process before being built or renovated.

Submitting your plans and having them reviewed prior to construction allows our inspectors to work with you to ensure that what you build follows all of the rules and regulations. Making sure your plans are up to code will save you time and money in the long run.

To better help you understand what you need to do as part of the plan review process, we’ve put together a Rooming/Boarding Home Plan Review Application & Fact Sheet(PDF, 755KB). This document explains the steps in detail.

Rooming houses, boarding homes, and nursing homes are regulated under ACHD’s Article VI: Houses and Community Environment(PDF, 523KB).

Public Service Rooming House

If you have any questions or concerns, please call the Housing and Community Environment Program at 412-350-4046 and ask for a plan review inspector.

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