Starting March 4, 2021, the DOB will deny permits to multiple dwellings with “excessive violations.” Additionally, as of March 1, 2021, the DOB will deny New Building and Alteration-CO permits for any building where more than $25,000 in covered arrears is owed to the city.
Per the text of the law, Local Law 104 was created to deny “building permits where a residential building has an excessive number of violations.”
Generally, Local Law 104 (violation count) applies to buildings classified as multiple dwellings only.
To further elaborate:
DOB will create and maintain a list of multiple dwellings in New York City with excessive, open, and hazardous DOB and Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) violations in relation to the number of residential units. The list will be updated daily. Buildings placed on this list will be prevented from obtaining new permits until the violations are resolved and the conditions are corrected, except in situations where permits are necessary to correct a violation or other select circumstances.
Important to note – embedded in the law (but not the service notice) is a line referencing condos and co-ops: “Such denial shall not apply where a dwelling unit within such multiple dwelling is owned as a condominium or held by a shareholder of a cooperative corporation under a proprietary lease.”
Additionally, a list (or the location of a list) hasn’t been made publicly available yet. That said, DOB will keep track of any flagged properties directly in BIS.
If your building is flagged for excessive open violations (shown as LL 104/19 Permit Restriction), your team will have the ability to select an Exception. Per the DOB, if no Exceptions are applicable, “the applicant cannot proceed with the permit.”
View the list of Exceptions in the attached document below or scroll down.
Per the DOB, buildings will be included on the list based on violations per unit in two categories:
- Buildings with 35 or more dwelling units – 2 or more violations per unit
- Buildings with less than 35 dwelling units – 3 or more violations per unit.
Overall, only violations issued on or after January 4, 2020 (the law’s effective date) will apply towards the permit restriction. Here are the kinds of violations they’ll be using to create the list:
HPD – Class B & C Violations
Class B & C violations that have not been cleared (open hazardous or imminently hazardous violations) will count towards the violations per unit total. You can view these violations (pre-filtered by status, date through March 2021, and class) here in your SiteCompli or InCheck account.DOB – Class 1 and 2 OATH (ECB)-Related Infractions
Class 1 and 2 violations issued by the DOB through OATH (ECB) that “have not been certified as corrected” will count towards the violations per unit total. You can view these violations (pre-filtered by status, date through March 2021, and class) here in your SiteCompli or InCheck account.How can I tell if my permits are denied?
It looks like denial will be shown directly in DOB’s BIS platform. Per the DOB, buildings on the list will be “flagged in the Property Profile…as LL 104/19 Permit Restriction. The flag will change to N/A when the building’s ratio of open violations to dwelling units falls below [the appropriate violation per unit count].”That said, this flag will not apply to permit renewals.
Are there any exceptions for Local Law 104?
Request for exceptions will be added as a required item to any job filing in BIS on a flagged property. From there, you’ll have to submit a Local Law 104 of 2019 Request for Exception to Permit Restriction form, shown here. The form must be signed by the applicant and the owner, stating that one or more of the below exceptions applies:
- The permit is for a dwelling unit that is owned as a condominium or held by a shareholder of a cooperative corporation under a proprietary lease.
- The issuance of the permit is necessary to correct an outstanding violation of the Construction Code, the Housing Maintenance Code, or any other applicable provisions of law or rule.
- The issuance of the permit is necessary to perform work to protect public health and safety. (Documentation, including dated color photographs, must be submitted)
- The permit is for a portion of the property occupied by a tenant who is not an owner of the property or responsible for any existing violations on the property.
- The property was the subject of an in rem foreclosure judgment in favor of the City and was transferred by the City to a third party pursuant to Section 11-412.1 of the Administrative Code. (Documentation must be submitted)
- The property is the subject of a court order appointing an administrator pursuant to article 7-a of the Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law in a case brought by the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD). (HPD documentation must be submitted)
- The property is the subject of a loan provided by or through HPD or the NYC Housing Development Corporation (HDC) for the purpose of rehabilitation that has closed within the preceding five years. (HPD or HDC documentation must be submitted)
- The permit is required in connection with the implementation of an HPD or HDC program. (HPD or HDC documentation must be submitted)
Where can I go for help?
If the number of units used to determine your building’s violation ratio is incorrect, you can contact HPD for help. Email codevios@hpd.nyc.gov and include the address, borough, block, and lot of your building and a scan of the Certificate of Occupancy, if available