Requires that any penalties for violations of housing standards or building and fire codes be assessed and imposed within fourteen days; increases certain fine amounts for violations of housing standards.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A8404A
SPONSOR: Lucas TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the executive law, in relation to imposing certain
penalties related to violations of building and fire code standards
within fourteen days and increasing certain fines for violations of
housing standards
PURPOSE:
This bill imposes certain penalties related to violations of building
and fire code standards within fourteen days for violations and increas-
ing certain fines for violations of housing standards.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 amends subdivision 2 of section 382 of the Executive Law, as
it relates to remedies under the NYS Uniform Fire Prevention and Build-
ing Code Act, to provide dollar amounts due for each type of violation
or false certification of correction of a violation and provides that
any daily penalty levied on a person in violation of the uniform fire
prevention and building code who has not complied with an order to reme-
dy the violation shall be assessed within fourteen days of the
violation.
Section 2 sets the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
The current penalties for violating housing standards were codified in
1987 and continue to be no more than $150 for the lowest violation and
no more than $1,000 for the highest violation. The most severe penalty
is for a person making a false certification of correction of an imme-
diately hazardous violation, for which the penalty would be between $500
to $1000. In order to strengthen enforcement, it is appropriate that
these antiquated penalties be increased to accommodate for inflation and
the increased cost of living.
This bill was introduced in response to the devastating fire at Twin
Parks North West in the Bronx, On the morning of January 9, 2022, a
high-rise fire killed 17 people, including eight children, at the Twin
Parks North West Site 4 apartment building in the New York City borough
of the Bronx, This tragedy demonstrated the need to enhance safety stan-
dards to prevent residential fires. The amended version expands from New
York City to the rest of the State after conversations with members and
local officials in other municipalities that have faced similar situ-
ations.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2022: S8795-A / A9163-A Fernandez
2023-2024: S2196-B / No Same As
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
To be determined.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Effective Immediately.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
8404--A
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
May 13, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. LUCAS -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Governmental Operations -- recommitted to the Committee on Govern-
mental Operations in accordance with Assembly Rule 3, sec. 2 --
committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and
recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the executive law, in relation to imposing certain
penalties related to violations of building and fire code standards
within fourteen days and increasing certain fines for violations of
housing standards
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision 2 of section 382 of the executive law, as
2 amended by chapter 571 of the laws of 2021, is amended and a new subdi-
3 vision 5 is added to read as follows:
4 2. a. Any person, having been served, either personally or by regis-
5 tered or certified mail, with an order to remedy any condition found to
6 exist in, on, or about any building in violation of the uniform fire
7 prevention and building code, who shall fail to comply with such order
8 within the time fixed by the regulations promulgated by the secretary
9 pursuant to subdivision one of section three hundred eighty-one of this
10 article, such time period to be stated in the order, and any owner,
11 builder, architect, tenant, contractor, subcontractor, construction
12 superintendent or their agents or any other person taking part or
13 assisting in the construction of any building who shall knowingly
14 violate any of the applicable provisions of the uniform code or any
15 lawful order of a local government, a county or the secretary made ther-
16 eunder regarding standards for construction, maintenance, or fire
17 protection equipment and systems, shall be punishable by a fine of not
18 [more than one thousand dollars per day of violation, or imprisonment
19 not exceeding one year, or both for the first one hundred eighty days,
20 and for the following one hundred eighty days shall be punishable by a
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD07999-05-6
A. 8404--A 2
1 fine of no less than twenty-five dollars and not more than one thousand
2 dollars per day of violation or imprisonment not exceeding one year, or
3 both and thereafter shall be punishable by a fine of no less than fifty
4 dollars and not more than one thousand dollars per day of violation or
5 imprisonment not exceeding one year, or both] less than twenty-five
6 dollars nor more than one hundred fifty dollars for each non-hazardous
7 violation in a multiple dwelling containing ten or fewer dwelling units.
8 b. For each hazardous violation occurring in a multiple dwelling
9 containing ten or fewer dwelling units, a penalty of not less than fifty
10 dollars nor more than five hundred dollars per day shall be imposed from
11 the date set for correction in the notice of violation until the
12 violation is corrected.
13 c. For each immediately hazardous violation occurring in a multiple
14 dwelling containing ten or fewer dwelling units, a penalty of not less
15 than two hundred fifty dollars per day shall be imposed from the date
16 set for correction in the notice of violation until the violation is
17 corrected.
18 d. For each non-hazardous violation occurring in a multiple dwelling
19 containing more than ten dwelling units, a penalty of not less than one
20 hundred dollars nor more than one thousand five hundred dollars shall be
21 imposed from the date set for correction in the notice of violation
22 until the violation is corrected.
23 e. For each hazardous violation occurring in a multiple dwelling
24 containing more than ten dwelling units, a penalty not less than one
25 hundred fifty dollars nor more than two thousand dollars per day shall
26 be imposed from the date set for correction in the notice of violation
27 until the violation is corrected.
28 f. For each immediately hazardous violation occurring in a multiple
29 dwelling containing more than ten dwelling units, a penalty of not less
30 than five hundred dollars per day for each violation, from the date set
31 for correction in the notice of violation until the violation is
32 corrected, or imprisonment not exceeding one year, or both.
33 g. A person making a false certification of correction of a violation
34 shall be subject to a civil penalty in the following amounts, in addi-
35 tion to the other penalties herein provided: not less than five hundred
36 dollars nor more than two thousand five hundred dollars for each imme-
37 diately hazardous violation falsely certified, not less than two hundred
38 fifty dollars nor more than five hundred dollars for each hazardous
39 violation falsely certified, and not less than fifty dollars nor more
40 than two hundred fifty dollars for each non-hazardous violation falsely
41 certified.
42 5. Any daily penalty levied pursuant to subdivision two of this
43 section on a person who is in violation of the uniform fire prevention
44 and building code and who has failed to comply with an order to remedy
45 such violation within the time fixed by the regulations promulgated by
46 the secretary pursuant to subdivision one of section three hundred
47 eighty-one of this article shall be assessed no later than the four-
48 teenth day of such violation.
49 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
