Provides that the contractor who performed the construction work which results in an illegal conversion of a housing unit shall be held liable for monetary penalties related to such illegal conversion, rather than the residents; provides that the owner of the building shall be held liable if such person knew or should reasonably have known that the construction was being done without prior approval by the department of buildings and without the required permits.
S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
7225
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
I N A S S E M B L Y
March 21, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. CHANDLER-WATERMAN -- read once and referred to
the Committee on Cities
AN ACT to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in
relation to the liability for an illegal conversion
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. The administrative code of the city of New York is amended
by adding a new section 28-210.4.3 to read as follows:
§ 28-210.4.3 LIABILITY FOR ILLEGAL CONVERSION. A. FOR THE PURPOSES OF
THIS SECTION, AN "ILLEGAL CONVERSION" SHALL MEAN THE CREATION OR MODIFI-
CATION OF A HOUSING UNIT OR UNITS, FOR WHICH APPROVAL OR PERMITS ARE
REQUIRED BY LAW OR REGULATION, WITHOUT FIRST OBTAINING SUCH APPROVAL OR
PERMITS FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF BUILDINGS.
B. IN THE EVENT AN ILLEGAL CONVERSION HAS OCCURRED, DETERMINED BY
ORDER OR JUDGMENT OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL BOARD, THE CONTRACTOR OR
INDIVIDUAL WHO PERFORMED THE CONSTRUCTION SHALL BE HELD LIABLE FOR ANY
MONETARY PENALTIES RELATED THERETO.
C. NOTWITHSTANDING ANY PROVISION OF LAW TO THE CONTRARY, THE OWNER OF
THE BUILDING IN WHICH AN ILLEGAL CONVERSION HAS BEEN PERFORMED SHALL NOT
BE HELD LIABLE FOR SUCH MONETARY PENALTIES PURSUANT TO A DETERMINATION
OF AN ILLEGAL CONVERSION UNLESS:
(I) SUCH PERSON IS ALSO THE INDIVIDUAL WHO PERFORMED THE CONSTRUCTION;
OR
(II) SUCH PERSON KNEW OR REASONABLY SHOULD HAVE KNOWN THAT APPROVAL OF
THE DEPARTMENT OF BUILDINGS AND PERMITS WERE REQUIRED AND HAD NOT BEEN
OBTAINED PRIOR TO SUCH CONSTRUCTION.
D. IT SHALL BE A COMPLETE AND AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE TO ANY VIOLATIONS
ISSUED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF BUILDINGS FOR ILLEGAL CONVERSIONS OR WORK
DONE WITHOUT A PERMIT THAT:
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD07437-01-5
A. 7225 2
Open Legislation is a forum for New York State legislation. All comments are subject to review and community moderation is encouraged.
Comments deemed off-topic, commercial, campaign-related, self-promotional; or that contain profanity, hate or toxic speech; or that link to sites outside of the nysenate.gov domain are not permitted, and will not be published. Attempts to intimidate and silence contributors or deliberately deceive the public, including excessive or extraneous posting/posts, or coordinated activity, are prohibited and may result in the temporary or permanent banning of the user. Comment moderation is generally performed Monday through Friday. By contributing or voting you agree to the Terms of Participation and verify you are over 13.
Create an account. An account allows you to sign petitions with a single click, officially support or oppose key legislation, and follow issues, committees, and bills that matter to you. When you create an account, you agree to this platform's terms of participation.