August 2022 Property Owner Bulletin - HPD

Housing Preservation & Development


August 2022 Property Owner Bulletin


Dear Property Owners,

The Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) periodically provides updates on new legislation and information on available materials and resources to residential building owners to support compliance with the New York City Housing Maintenance Code, the New York State Multiple Dwelling Law and other relevant city codes.

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This publication is intended for informational purposes only and is not intended as legal advice. This information is not a complete or final statement of all the duties of owners and tenants regarding laws and rules relating to housing in New York City.

PROPERTY REGISTRATION IS MANDATORY

HPD’s Property Registration for the September 1, 2022 through August 31, 2023 period IS UNDERWAY!

Property owners who are required to register should submit their registration as soon as possible. Annual Registration is due by September 1st. The summer is the Registration Unit's busiest season. We are working hard to validate registrations as soon as we can and appreciate the timely submission of your application. Registration forms have been sent to the address on file for each property and are also available through the Property Registration Online System (PROS). Do not forget to make any appropriate changes, print, sign, and date the form and mail it to HPD’s Property Registration Post Office Box: HPD – Church Street Station – P.O. Box 3888 – New York, NY 10008-3888 as instructed on the form. Payments should be sent directly to the Department of Finance (DOF). Please do not send payments to HPD as this will delay the processing of your registration.

If you need assistance, we strongly encourage you to check the Frequently Asked Questions section of our Property Registration webpage for answers to general questions.

NEW!!!

You can also avoid a trip to our office ow waiting on our phone lines by Scheduling an Appointment Online to speak with a Registration Unit representative about your property registration issues! Appointments are now available through video-conference, over the telephone or in person.

SCHEDULE AN APPOINTMENT

We are open to the public without an appointment on Thursdays ONLY between 9:30am and 1:00pm, and between 2:00pm and 4:00pm. You will not be able to enter the building after 4:00pm.

Don’t forget to file your Annual Property Registration with HPD!

Emergency Preparedness

Coastal Storms

Coastal Storm season for New York City began on August 1st and HPD would like to ensure that building owners are prepared for such an event. This year’s coastal storm forecast from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for the Atlantic is for an above-normal coastal storm season.

To stay informed on coastal storms and other emergencies, sign up for the City emergency alerts at nyc.gov/NotifyNYC AND register annually with HPD in order to be contacted during emergencies at the property. Provide an accurate 24-hour confidential phone number when registering. Register annually with HPD.

NYC is broken up into 6 coastal storm evacuation zones. The mayor can issue evacuation orders for any and all zones prior to coastal storm making landfall in NYC. The coastal storm evacuation zones have been expanded this year, so to find out if your property is in an evacuation zone or to obtain flood zone signage, visit: http://www1.nyc.gov/assets/em/html/know-your-zone/knowyourzone.html

Tips for preparing yourself and your tenants for a coastal storm:

Distribute the NYC Apartment Building Emergency Preparedness Guide to all residents at lease signing and once every 3 years. For more information on the guide, please visit: https://www1.nyc.gov/site/fdny/codes/fire-department-rules/fire-dept-rules.page

Communicate your property’s elevator policy to tenants, particularly those reliant on elevators. Try to keep elevators in use as long as possible and not take them out of service until just prior to landfall of a storm or an evacuation, if you have to take them out of service.

Communicate clearly to tenants prior to, during, and after a coastal storm as much as possible. As building owners, evaluate your capability to communicate critical information to all tenants through use of building systems (e.g. intercoms, fire alarm systems), email or text messaging.

Consider establishing alternative means of communication in the event of a power outage or other disruption of regular telephone communications between building staff, building managers, and building owners.

Develop an evacuation plan for the property, as a well as a resiliency plan. Communicate these plans to building staff and tenants.

Conduct an assessment of the property immediately after the storm.

Ensure that your building staff is aware of what to do in common emergencies – such as who to contact to address flooding, electricity outages and other common outage issues.

Respond quickly to City agencies that may be reaching out to you as the property owner poststorm.

For more information, view these documents:

Emergency Planning and Evacuations for Residential Building Owners/Managers guide

Get Ready for An Emergency

Before and After a Storm: What You Need to Know

Ready New York Hurricane Brochure (to view this brochure in other languages, please visit the Ready NY website)

Individual Emergency Preparedness/Evacuation Planning Checklist

As stated above, property owners are required by law to post a temporary notice with emergency information in the common area of the building prior to a weather emergency, after a natural disaster, and after being informed of a utility outage to last more than 24 hours. View this sample notification.

For more information on property owner disaster response responsibilities, please visit this HPD webpage: https://www1.nyc.gov/site/hpd/services-and-information/disaster-response.page

Fire Safety General Information

As a property owner it's your responsibility to ensure the safety of your tenants. You may be issued violations by the Fire Department, the Department of Housing Preservation and Development or the Department of Buildings for failure to comply with the legal requirements around fire safety. Make sure you are aware of these fire safety rules:

All residential buildings with 3 or more apartments must have self-closing doors. Ensure your tenants are aware that they should periodically check that apartment doors are self-closing and free of obstruction and that they know who to contact for necessary repairs.

Smoke detectors must be provided and installed in apartments.

Ensure you are posting fire safety notices inside every apartment door and common area and distributing them to each unit, to new tenants, and annually during Fire Prevention Week in October.

Make sure exits are clear of obstacles including fire escapes, hallways, and all building entrance doors, including roof doors. Only approved security gates that open without a key may be installed on fire escape windows or secondary grade level exits.

Provide stove knob covers or permanent stove safety knobs with integrated locking mechanisms for gas powered stoves where a child under the age of six resides. Stove knob covers or permanent stove safety knobs with integrated locking mechanisms must also be provided to any household that request them.

For more information regarding fire safety requirements please visit https://www1.nyc.gov/site/fdny/codes/reference/reference.page, or for fire safety tips to share with tenants visit www.fdnysmart.org

Heat Sensor Program

In July 2022, the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) selected 50 class A multiple dwellings with heat violations and heat-related complaints for inclusion in the Heat Sensors Program. Every two years HPD selects 50 Class A multiple dwellings and notifies the respective owners and managing agents of their responsibilities and how to be discharged from the Heat Sensors Program. Owners of selected buildings are required to install one heat sensor in one living room of each dwelling unit in the building by October 1st of the year in which the property is selected, unless tenants opt out. Failure by the owner to comply may result in the issuance of violations. If your property was selected for participation in the Heat Sensor Program and you would like more information, please visit https://www1.nyc.gov/site/hpd/services-and-information/heat-sensors-program.page

Protecting and Maintaining Your Home In NYC

The Homeowner Handbook is a comprehensive guide to help New York homeowners navigate the responsibilities of homeownership and access available resources in their time of need.

The Handbook is a product of the Homeowner Help Desk, a partnership between the Center for NYC Neighborhoods, local community-based organizations (Bronx Legal Services, Brooklyn Legal Services Corporation A, Brooklyn Neighborhood Services, Jewish Association Serving the Aging, Neighborhood Housing Services Brooklyn, Neighborhood Housing Services Jamaica, and Neighborhood Housing Services NYC), the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), and the Office of the New York State Attorney General.

To learn more about the Handbook, access digital copies in multiple languages, or request a print copy, please visit HomeownerHelpNY.org

Boiler Inspections: Department of Building (DOB)

The Department of Buildings (DOB) Boiler Unit regulates the installation, maintenance and operation of boilers and fuel oil storage installations within the City of New York. Property owners are responsible for ensuring that their boilers operate safely and in compliance with the NYC Construction Codes and other applicable rules and regulations.

Building owners are responsible to provide adequate heat between October and May months each year. Failure to do so may lead to NYC Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) violations, inspection fees, civil penalties and/or inclusion in its Heat Sensors Program.

We strongly encourage you to conduct mandatory annual inspections of your boilers as required, and ensure that your boilers are legally maintained and also in accordance with manufacturer instructions to ensure that heat is adequately provided.

NYC Boiler Inspection Cycle - January 1 to December 31.

Low and High-Pressure Boiler Internal and External Inspections must be performed and reports filed with the DOB every year. Please visit DOB’s Boiler Compliance page for important information on DOB’s boiler inspection and reporting requirement regulations.

High and Low Pressure Boiler Inspections

Test Appointments

Filing, Fees and penalties

Resolving Boiler Violations

Contact the Boiler Division:
280 Broadway, 1st Floor Atrium
New York, NY 10007
Hotline (for non-technical questions) (212) 393-2661 or www.nyc.gov/dobhelp
Business Hours: Mondays – Fridays, 8:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Boiler Technical Unit (for First Test Appointment or other technical boiler-related questions or issues) (212) 393-2784
Hours: 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. (Monday-Friday)
For technical questions: Email: BoilerTechnical@buildings.nyc.gov

ADDITIONAL NYC RESOURCES ON BOILERS Read DOB’s FAQs for answers to common questions people have about boilers and violations

Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Boiler Registration Renewal: (718) 595-3855 Boiler Complaints: Visit 311 Online or call 311