2023 New York Laws › MDW - Multiple Dwelling › Article 3 - Multiple Dwellings--General Provisions › Title 3 - Sanitation and Health › 76 - Water-Closet and Bath Accommodations.

§  76.  Water-closet and bath accommodations. 1. General requirements.
This section shall apply to all dwellings whenever erected or  converted
except as herein provided.
a. No water-closet shall be installed, kept or maintained in any yard,
court or other open space, and every water-closet or other receptacle to
receive fecal matter, urine or sewerage, located in any such yard, court
or  other  open  space, shall be completely removed, and the place where
they were located shall  be  disinfected  under  the  direction  of  the
department.
b.  No water-closet shall be installed, kept or maintained in a cellar
or basement unless it is provided for lawful cellar or  basement  living
rooms, or is supplementary to the required water-closet accommodations.
c. No water-closet shall open directly into any kitchen or kitchenette
in  a multiple dwelling erected after April eighteenth, nineteen hundred
twenty-nine.
d. Every water-closet compartment shall be  at  least  two  feet  four
inches in clear width and, except in a general toilet or bathroom, shall
be  enclosed  with  partitions  which shall extend from the floor to the
ceiling and which shall be plastered or tiled or  covered  with  similar
materials approved by the department.
e.  The  floor  of  every such compartment, bathroom or general toilet
room shall be made waterproof with material approved by the  department,
and  such  waterproofing  material shall extend six inches or more above
the floor, except at doors.
f. The use of drip trays is unlawful.
g. No plumbing fixture or water-closet shall be enclosed wholly or  in
part with woodwork.
h.  Every  water-closet  compartment,  bathroom  and general or public
toilet room, and every other room containing one or  more  water-closets
or  urinals,  except as specifically provided otherwise in this section,
shall have at least one window opening upon a street  or  lawful  court,
yard or space above a setback. Every such window shall be at least three
square  feet  in  area  and  shall  be made so that half its area can be
readily opened.
i. No window shall be required when each such compartment, bathroom or
general toilet room is located on the top story or underneath the bottom
of a lawful shaft or court and is lighted and ventilated in either  case
by  a  skylight the roof of which contains at least three square feet of
glazed surface and is arranged to be readily opened.
j. In lieu of a required window or skylight, it  shall  be  lawful  to
install   a   system  of  ventilation,  approved  for  construction  and
arrangement by the department, for water-closet  compartments  used  for
the  business  portions  of  any dwelling or for compartments containing
water-closets, bathrooms or general toilet room in  any  dwelling.  Such
system  of  ventilation shall be maintained and operated continuously to
provide at least four changes per hour of the air volume  of  each  such
water-closet  compartment,  bathroom  or  general toilet room daily from
seven o'clock in the  morning  until  seven  o'clock  at  night  in  any
business  parts  of  such  dwelling  and from six o'clock in the morning
until midnight in all parts used for dwelling purposes.
k. Every water-closet compartment or bathroom shall be  provided  with
electricity and fixtures to light the same properly.
l.  In  a  fireproof dwelling in which two or more rooms, all of which
open directly upon the same public hall,  are  occupied  exclusively  by
persons employed by the tenants thereof, there shall be provided for the
occupants  of  such  rooms  and accessible therefrom directly or through
such public hall, at least one water-closet compartment  for  the  first
four  such  rooms  or  fraction  thereof  and  at  least  one additional

water-closet  compartment  for  each  additional  seven  such  rooms  or
fraction  thereof,  and  no further water-closet accommodations for such
rooms shall be required.
m.  Water-closets  may  be  placed  together  in a general toilet room
provided they are supplementary to required water-closet  accommodations
or are solely for the use of business portions of the dwelling.
n.  Except  as  herein  provided  if  any  living rooms in a fireproof
dwelling open directly upon a public hall without any intervening  room,
foyer  or  passage,  or  if  any  suites  of  two living rooms in such a
dwelling open upon a foyer giving direct access to a public  hall,  only
one  water-closet  compartment  shall  be  required for every three such
living rooms on each story. Every such water-closet compartment shall be
accessible to one or more of said rooms without passage through a public
hall or any bedroom.
2. Class A dwellings.
a. Every apartment in a class A dwelling,  except  old-law  tenements,
shall  be  provided  with  a  water-closet  which  shall  be placed in a
compartment completely separated from any other water-closet.
b. Every apartment in a class A dwelling,  except  old-law  tenements,
shall  also  contain  a  bath, which may be in a separate compartment or
together with the water-closet in a bathroom. There shall be  access  to
at  least  one  such  compartment or bathroom from every bedroom without
passing through any other bedroom.
3. Class B dwellings.
a. The requirements of paragraph n, of subdivision one of this section
shall not apply to a fireproof class B dwelling, every  living  room  of
which,  except  those used only by employees employed exclusively in the
management and maintenance of such dwelling,  has  direct  access  to  a
public  hall  without  passing  through any other room, foyer or private
hall and in which water-closet accommodations are provided in accordance
with the provisions of this subdivision.
b. In such a fireproof dwelling there shall  be  on  each  story  upon
which  there  is  any living room at least two water-closet compartments
for the first twenty such living rooms or fraction thereof and at  least
one additional water-closet compartment for each additional fifteen such
living   rooms   or   fraction  thereof,  and  no  further  water-closet
accommodations for such rooms shall be required.
c. There shall be  on  each  story  of  such  fireproof  dwelling,  in
addition  to  the water-closet accommodations required in paragraph n of
subdivision one hereof, at least one water-closet compartment for  every
fifteen  living  rooms  or  fraction  thereof  not  having  access  to a
water-closet compartment  without  passage  through  a  public  hall  or
bedroom,  and  every  such  room shall have access to such a compartment
through a public hall. If two or more such compartments be  required  on
any  story  by the provisions of this paragraph, they may be placed in a
general toilet room.
d. For every urinal supplied on any story of such  fireproof  dwelling
on  which seventeen rooms or more are occupied exclusively by males, one
water-closet compartment less than the number otherwise required may  be
provided   on  such  story;  except  that  the  number  of  water-closet
compartments  on  such  story  may  not  be   reduced   to   less   than
three-quarters of the number otherwise required.
e.  The  water-closet  compartments  on  each story of such a dwelling
shall  be  accessible  from  every  living  room  on  the  story.   Such
compartments may be placed in one or more general toilet rooms.
f.  In  a  non-fireproof  class B dwelling there shall be at least one
water-closet compartment and one wash basin  for  every  seven  sleeping
rooms  and  there  need  not  be more than that number except that there

shall be at least one on each story.  At  least  one  such  water-closet
compartment  and  one wash basin on each story of such dwelling shall be
accessible from every living room on the same story.
4. Converted dwellings.
a.  Every  apartment in a class A converted dwelling shall be provided
with a water-closet which shall be placed in a compartment  or  bathroom
within  each apartment completely separated from any other water-closet.
Every such apartment shall also contain a bath  or  shower  and  a  wash
basin.
b.  In  every  class  B converted dwelling there shall be at least one
water-closet compartment on any floor containing any room used for class
B occupancy and at least one bathroom or shower room and one wash  basin
for every six persons and for any remainder of less than six persons who
may lawfully occupy any room or rooms for class B occupancy.
(c)  Additional  required  water-closets  and  wash  basins  which are
installed in order to comply  with  the  provisions  of  this  paragraph
whether provided separately or in combination, shall be in a compartment
separate  and  apart  from  every  bath  or  shower  required  under the
provisions of paragraph b, and each such  additional  required  bath  or
shower  shall  be  in  a  compartment  separate  and  apart  from  every
water-closet and wash basin required under the provisions  of  paragraph
b, except that any such additional required water-closet, bath or shower
or  wash basin may be included in a single compartment containing any or
all of such facilities, if such compartment is accessible only  from  or
only  within  a  room,  apartment  or suite of rooms and the occupant or
occupants of such room, apartment or suite are exclusively  entitled  to
use all such facilities contained in such compartment.
5.  Old-law  tenements.  In  every  old-law  tenement  there  shall be
provided for the exclusive use of each family at least one  water-closet
compartment  located  within  the  dwelling.  Such  compartment shall be
constructed and ventilated  as  approved  by  the  department  but  such
compartment  shall  be  located  on  the same story as that on which the
apartment occupied by each such family is situated and shall be equipped
with lock and key. The provisions of this subdivision  shall  not  apply
(a)  to  any dwelling which the department of city planning certifies is
in an area to be acquired for a  public  improvement  and  for  which  a
request for acquisition has been submitted to the board of estimate by a
public  agency;  or  (b)  to  any dwelling in an area for which an urban
renewal plan has been submitted to the planning commission, as  provided
in  section  five  hundred  five  of  the  general municipal law, if the
planning commission shall certify that compliance with the provisions of
this subdivision would be inconsistent with the plan; or (c) for which a
demolition permit has been  or  shall  be  issued  by  the  municipality
pursuant  to local law or ordinance. The exemption provided in (a), (b),
and (c) of this subdivision shall be valid for a period  of  six  months
after  the date of the acquisition request or the date of the submission
of the urban renewal plan to the commission or the date of the  issuance
of  the  demolition  permit  as  the  case may be. Such exemption may be
extended from time to time by the  department  provided,  however,  that
such  exemption shall not extend beyond November first, nineteen hundred
sixty-five.
6. Single room occupancy.
a. Every apartment used for single room occupancy shall have at  least
one  bath  or  shower,  one wash-basin and one water-closet for each six
adult persons who may lawfully occupy the rooms  in  such  apartment  as
provided  in  section  two hundred forty-eight, and for any remainder of
less than six persons. If additional baths or showers  or  water-closets
are installed within an apartment in order to comply with the provisions

of  this  paragraph  each water-closet shall be in an enclosure separate
and apart from every bathroom or shower room and  each  bath  or  shower
shall be in an enclosure separate and apart from every water-closet.
b.  There  shall  be access to each required water-closet and bathroom
without passing through any sleeping room, except that any water-closet,
wash-basin or bathroom which connects directly with  any  sleeping  room
shall  be  deemed to be available only to the occupants of such room and
shall not be included in the computations for  the  required  number  of
water-closets and bathrooms.
7.  Saving clause. No change need be made in the number, construction,
arrangement,  lighting  or  ventilation  of  water-closet  compartments,
bathrooms  or general toilet rooms in any portion of any dwelling if the
number, construction,  arrangement,  lighting  or  ventilation  of  such
water-closet  compartments, bathrooms or general toilet rooms was lawful
on July first, nineteen hundred sixty-one.