In The Event of Squatters

With respect to sending squatters annual safety mailings, it is not addressed in the city's mailings laws - and may be covered in the squatters laws of adverse possession.

We strongly suggest sending mailings to all units so there is no gap in compliance to potentially defend or prove if you’re audited in the future.

Important considerations:

1. Adverse possession laws in NYC are exceptionally harsh for landlords. While in NYS the rights are given after 10 years, in NYC the laws and rights kick in after 10 days! Once the laws apply, we DO know from the law that squatters have real tenant rights. For example, they must be evicted using the regular eviction process. It is unclear if it transfers to the safety laws, but we would venture to say that it does. Landlords can still rack up HPD violations and will still be very much at risk of serious issues (like IEP or comprehensives) as well as personal liability if something terrible happens.
   
   
2. Based on this information, we would be very surprised if squatters are exempt from receiving mailing notices. Even if they are, there’s a component of liability if something happens that suggests mailers should still be sent.