When Jazmin Leon opened her one-chair home beauty salon - allowed under the residential code - neighbors tried to shut it down over the scissors sign seen through the picture window.

Buildings Requires states to establish minimum commercial building energy codes and to consider minimum residential codes based on current voluntary codes.

According to the national residential code, no religious activity is allowed in private homes or in public halls located in residential areas.

More trouble, they say, could come this spring, when the Loft Law, which provides incentives for landlords to bring buildings into compliance with residential codes, comes up for renewal before the State Legislature.

An example of this has occurred in the application of the increasingly complex low-rise multi-family residential code in Seattle, Washington.

In addition, the partners at 1 Knickerbocker say they are renovating their place to residential code and expect the building to be individually approved for mixed use by the time they finish.

The U.S. Department of Energy is improving residential codes by 30% by 2012, in an effort to move to net zero energy homes by 2020.

"I'm sorry, but a residential code or direct number are required in order to place that call."

The department said the stand violated residential zoning codes.

Owners and landlords were required to bring buildings up to a residential code when the 1982 Loft Law was enacted - artists were now legal tenants and rents became regulated.