Bloomfield, Conn., Code of Ordinances ch. 12 § 12-8
Definitions and word usage
Operative Text
(a) [Definitions.] The following definitions shall apply in the interpretation and enforcement of the Housing and Property Maintenance Code: Accessory building or structure. A detached building or structure in a secondary or subordinate capacity from the main or principal building or structure on the same premises. Appropriate authority. That person within the governmental structure of the Town of Bloomfield who is charged with the administration of the designated code, as well as the town manager or the designee thereof. Approved. Approved by the local or state authority having such administrative authority. Attic. Any story situated wholly or partly within the roof, and so designed, arranged, or built as to be used for business, storage, or habitation. Basement. A portion of a building located partly underground but having less than half its clear floor-to-ceiling height below the average grade of the adjoining ground. Building. A fixed construction with walls, foundation, and roof, such as a house, factory, or garage, which is either vacant or used for any type of occupancy or use. Bulk container. Any metal garbage, rubbish and/or refuse container which is equipped with fittings for hydraulic and/or mechanical emptying, unloading and/or removal. Cellar. A portion of a building located partly or wholly underground and having half or more than half of its clear floor-to-ceiling height below the average grade of the adjoining ground. Central heating system. A single system supplying heat to one or more dwelling unit(s). Chimney. A vertical masonry shaft of reinforced concrete or other approved noncombustible, heat-resisting material enclosing one or more flues for the purpose of removing products of combustion from solid, liquid, or gaseous fuel. Cleanable. Moisture-resistant, free from cracks, pitting, chips, or tears, and designed to be cleaned frequently. Dilapidated. No longer adequate for the purpose or use for which it was originally intended or decayed or rotted and beyond repair. Director of health. The legally designated health authority of the Town of Bloomfield or a representative authorized to act by said director. Dwelling. A house or building, or portion thereof, or any enclosed space wholly or partly used or intended to be used for living, sleeping, cooking, and/or eating by one or more families or households, provided that temporary housing, as hereinafter defined, shall not be classified as a dwelling. Industrialized housing and modular construction which conform to nationally accepted industry standards and are used or intended for use for living, sleeping, cooking, and eating purposes shall be classified as dwellings. Dwelling unit. A dwelling, or portion thereof, forming a single habitable unit with facilities used or intended to be used for living, sleeping, cooking and /or eating purposes. Egress. An arrangement of exit facilities to assure a safe means of exit from a building. Extermination. The control and elimination of insects, rodents, or other pests by eliminating their harborage places; by removing or making inaccessible materials that may serve as their food: by poisoning, spraying, fumigating, trapping or by any other recognized and legal pest elimination methods approved by the local or state authority having such administrative authority. Fair market value. A price at which both buyers and sellers are willing to do business. Family. One or more individuals related by blood, marriage or legal adoption living together and sharing common living, sleeping, cooking, and eating facilities. (See also "household.") Flush water closet. A toilet bowl which is flushed with water which has been supplied under pressure and which is equipped with a water-sealed trap above the floor level. Garbage. Putrescible animal and vegetable wastes resulting from the handling, preparation, cooking and consumption of food. Grade. The finished ground level adjacent to a required window. Guest. An individual who shares a dwelling unit in a nonpermanent status for not more than thirty (30) days. Habitable room. A room or enclosed floor space used or intended to be used for living, sleeping, cooking or eating purposes, excluding bathrooms, water closet compartments, laundries, furnace rooms, pantries, kitchenettes and utility rooms of less than fifty (50) square feet of floor space, foyers or communicating corridors, stairways, closets, storage spaces and workshops, hobby and recreation areas. Heated water. Water heated to a temperature of not less than 120°F. at the outlet. Heating device. All furnaces, unit heaters, domestic incinerators, cooking and heating stoves and ranges and other similar devices. Household. One or more individuals living together in a single dwelling unit and sharing common living, sleeping, cooking, and eating facilities. (See also "family.") HVAC. Heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning systems. Infestation. The presence within or around a dwelling of any insects, rodents, or other pests at any life stage. Insect. Unwanted members of the class insecta, including but not limited to houseflies, lice, bees, cockroaches, moths, silverfish, beetles, bedbugs, ants, termites, hornets, mosquitos, and wasps, and such unwanted members of the phylum Arthropoda as spiders, mites, ticks, centipedes, and wood lice. Kitchen. Any room used for the storage and/or preparation of foods and containing the following equipment: sink and/or other device for dishwashing; stove or other device for cooking; refrigerator or other device for cool storage of food; cabinets and/or shelves for storage of equipment and utensils; and counter or table for food preparation. Kitchenette. A small kitchen or an alcove containing cooking facilities. Lead-based paint. Any paint containing more lead than the level established by the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission as being the safe level of lead in residential paint and paint products. Lead-based paint hazard. Any deteriorated lead-based paint, dust-lead hazard, soil-lead hazard, lead-based paint present on chewable surfaces with teeth marks, or lead-based paint present on friction surfaces, in accordance with 40 C.F.R. § 745.65. Litter. "Garbage," "refuse" and "rubbish" as defined in this section and all other waste material which, if thrown or deposited as herein prohibited, tends to create a danger to public health, safety, and welfare. Litter shall not include clean excavated earth, unless the same may be objectionable by reason of dust or foul odors, or fill material approved by the director of public works. Litter shall not include sand, salt, or other appropriate chemicals upon any icy or slippery condition. Multiple dwelling. Any dwelling containing more than two (2) dwelling units. Occupant. Any individual, over one year of age, living, sleeping, cooking, or eating in or having possession of a dwelling unit or a rooming unit, except that in dwelling units a guest shall not be considered an occupant. Operator. Any person who has charge, care, control or management of a building, or part thereof, in which dwelling units or rooming units are rented. Ordinary summer conditions. A temperature 10°F. below the highest recorded temperature in the locality for the prior ten-year period. Ordinary winter conditions. A temperature 15°F. above the lowest recorded temperature in the locality for the prior ten-year period. Owner. Any person who, alone or jointly or severally with others, shall have: (1) Legal title to any premises, dwelling or dwelling unit, with or without accompanying actual possession thereof; or (2) Charge, care or control of any premises, dwelling or dwelling unit, as owner or agent of the owner, or an executor, administrator, trustee, or guardian of the estate of the owner. Any such person thus representing the actual owner shall be bound to comply with the provisions of this chapter and of the rules and regulations adopted pursuant thereto to the same extent as if he or she were the owner. Permissible occupancy. The maximum number of individuals permitted to reside in a dwelling unit. Person. Includes any individual, firm, corporation, association, partnership, cooperative or governmental agency. Plumbing. includes all connections to water, sewer, or gas lines. Premises. A platted lot or part thereof or unplatted lot or parcel of land or plot of land, either occupied or unoccupied by any dwelling or non-dwelling structure, and includes any such building, accessory structure, or other structure thereon, or any part thereof. The term "premises," where the context requires, shall be deemed to include any and all buildings, dwellings, parcels of land or structures contained within the scope of this chapter. Privacy. The existence of conditions which will permit an individual or individuals to commence and carry out an activity without interruption or interference, either by sight or sound by other individuals. Properly connected. Connected in accordance with all applicable codes and ordinances of the Town of Bloomfield as from time to time amended; provided, however, that the application of this definition shall not require the alteration or replacement of any connection in good working order and not constituting a hazard to life or health. Rat harborage. Any conditions or place where rodents can live, nest, or seek shelter. Refuse. All putrescible and non-putrescible solid wastes (except body wastes), including garbage, rubbish, ashes, street cleanings, dead animals, abandoned automobiles and solid market and industrial wastes. Refuse container. Any container that is constructed of metal or other durable material impervious to rodents and that is capable of being serviced without hydraulic and/or mechanical emptying, unloading and/or removal, or such other containers as have been approved by the appropriate authority. Rodent. Any member of the order of Rodentia, including but not limited to field and wood mice, wood rats, squirrels, woodchucks, gophers, Norway rats, roof rats, and house mice. Rodent proofing. A form of construction which will prevent the ingress or egress of rodents to or from a given space or building or from gaining access to food, water, or harborage. It consists of the closing and keeping closed of every opening in foundations, basements, cellars, exterior and interior walls, ground or first floors, roofs, sidewalk gratings, sidewalk openings and other places that may be reached and entered by rodents climbing, burrowing or other methods; by the use of materials impervious to rat gnawing; and by other methods approved by the director of health. Rubbish. Non-putrescible solid wastes consisting of both combustible and noncombustible wastes, such as paper, wrappings, cigarettes, cardboard, tin cans, yard clippings, leaves, wood, glass, bedding, crockery, and similar materials, but shall not include properly maintained compost. Rooming unit. Any room or group of rooms forming a single habitable unit used or intended to be used for living and sleeping, but not for cooking or eating purposes. Rooming house. Any dwelling or that part of any dwelling containing one or more rooming units in which space is occupied by three (3) or more persons who are not members of a single family. Safety. The condition of being reasonably free from danger and hazards which may cause accidents or disease. Smoke detector. A device certified by a testing laboratory approved by the federal government, which device detects visible or invisible particles of combustion. Space heater. A self-contained device of either the convection type or the radiant type and intended primarily to heat only a limited space or area, such as one (1) room or two (2) adjoining rooms. Structure. That which has been or is built or constructed and which is or should be fastened, anchored, or attached to or which rests on a building, foundation or on the ground, including any buildings, fences, fire escapes, railings, towers, sidewalks, or stairways. Supplied. Paid for, furnished by, provided by or under the control of the owner, operator, or agent. Temporary housing. Any tent, trailer, mobile home, or any other structure used for human shelter which is designed to be transportable, and which is not attached to the ground, to another structure or to any utility system on the same premises for more than thirty (30) days within any six-month period. Toxic substance. Any chemical product applied on the surface of or incorporated into any structural or decorative material which constitutes a potential hazard to human health at acute or chronic exposure levels. Variance. A difference between that which is required or specified and that which is permitted. Waterproof. Impermeable to water and capable of being exposed to water without risk of damage to structural integrity. (b) Meaning of certain words. Whenever the words "dwelling," "dwelling unit," "rooming units," "premises," and "structure" are used in this chapter, they shall be construed as though they were followed by the words "or any part thereof." Words used in the singular include the plural, and the plural the singular; the masculine gender includes the feminine and the feminine the masculine.
Section 12-8 of the Bloomfield Code of Ordinances, Chapter 12, Article II, establishes the official vocabulary used throughout Bloomfield's Housing and Property Maintenance Code. It defines dozens of terms—ranging from structural concepts like "basement" and "cellar" to operational roles like "owner" and "operator"—so that the code is applied consistently by enforcement officials and interpreted uniformly in any dispute. The definitions also clarify how certain words expand in scope: references to a "dwelling" or "premises," for example, are always read to include any part of that dwelling or premises.
Plain English — not legal advice.
Property owners and operators subject to Bloomfield's Housing and Property Maintenance Code should be familiar with the definitions set out in § 12-8, because those definitions govern how every other provision in the code is read and enforced. Notably, the definition of "owner" extends compliance obligations to agents, executors, and other representatives who hold charge or control of a property—meaning responsibility is not limited to the person holding legal title. Compliant operators generally ensure that their properties, staff, and practices align with these defined terms, particularly distinctions such as "basement" versus "cellar" or "rooming unit" versus "dwelling unit," which can affect which code requirements apply.
General guidance for property managers — not legal advice for your specific situation. Consult an attorney for advice on your case.
Tenants living in Bloomfield rental housing benefit from the precise definitions in § 12-8, because those definitions set the baseline for what counts as a habitable room, a proper kitchen, adequate egress, and other conditions the code protects. Understanding terms like "infestation," "lead-based paint hazard," and "permissible occupancy" can help tenants recognize when a condition in their home may fall short of what the Housing and Property Maintenance Code requires. Tenants who believe a violation exists may consider raising the relevant defined term when communicating with the appropriate authority under § 12-8, or they may seek guidance from a local tenant-rights organization familiar with Bloomfield's code.
General guidance for tenants — not legal advice for your specific situation. Consult a tenant-rights organization or attorney for advice on your case.
Generated November 11, 2026 — auto-generated, not yet human-reviewed. See /transparency for methodology.
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