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: A8404
SPONSOR: Lucas TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the executive law and the administrative code of the
city of New York, 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 and increases certain fine
amounts for violations of housing standards in New York City.
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 amends subdivision (a) of section 27-2115 of the Administra-
tive Code of the City of New York, as it relates to extending civil
penalties related to housing standards for violations until they are
corrected.
Section 3 sets the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
The current penalties for violating housing standards in New York City
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 immediately hazardous violation, for which the penalty
would be between $500 to $1000. In order to strengthen code enforcement,
it is appropriate that these antiquated penalties be increased to accom-
modate for inflation and the increased cost of living in the city.
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 code
enforcement and safety standards 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 munici-
palities that have faced similar situations.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2022: S8795-A / A9163-A Fernandez
2023-2024: S2196-B / No Same As
2025: S3819A
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
To be determined.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Effective Immediately.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
8404
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
AN ACT to amend the executive law and the administrative code of the
city of New York, 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
21 fine of no less than twenty-five dollars and not more than one thousand
22 dollars per day of violation or imprisonment not exceeding one year, or
23 both and thereafter shall be punishable by a fine of no less than fifty
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD07999-03-5
A. 8404 2
1 dollars and not more than one thousand dollars per day of violation or
2 imprisonment not exceeding one year, or both] less than twenty-five
3 dollars nor more than one hundred fifty dollars for each non-hazardous
4 violation in a multiple dwelling containing ten or fewer dwelling units.
5 b. For each hazardous violation occurring in a multiple dwelling
6 containing ten or fewer dwelling units, a penalty of not less than fifty
7 dollars nor more than five hundred dollars per day shall be imposed from
8 the date set for correction in the notice of violation until the
9 violation is corrected.
10 c. For each immediately hazardous violation occurring in a multiple
11 dwelling containing ten or fewer dwelling units, a penalty of not less
12 than two hundred fifty dollars per day shall be imposed from the date
13 set for correction in the notice of violation until the violation is
14 corrected.
15 d. For each non-hazardous violation occurring in a multiple dwelling
16 containing more than ten dwelling units, a penalty of not less than one
17 hundred dollars nor more than one thousand five hundred dollars shall be
18 imposed from the date set for correction in the notice of violation
19 until the violation is corrected.
20 e. For each hazardous violation occurring in a multiple dwelling
21 containing more than ten dwelling units, a penalty not less than one
22 hundred fifty dollars nor more than two thousand dollars per day shall
23 be imposed from the date set for correction in the notice of violation
24 until the violation is corrected.
25 f. For each immediately hazardous violation occurring in a multiple
26 dwelling containing more than ten dwelling units, a penalty of not less
27 than five hundred dollars per day for each violation, from the date set
28 for correction in the notice of violation until the violation is
29 corrected, or imprisonment not exceeding one year, or both.
30 g. A person making a false certification of correction of a violation
31 shall be subject to a civil penalty in the following amounts, in addi-
32 tion to the other penalties herein provided: not less than five hundred
33 dollars nor more than two thousand five hundred dollars for each imme-
34 diately hazardous violation falsely certified, not less than two hundred
35 fifty dollars nor more than five hundred dollars for each hazardous
36 violation falsely certified, and not less than fifty dollars nor more
37 than two hundred fifty dollars for each non-hazardous violation falsely
38 certified.
39 5. Any daily penalty levied pursuant to subdivision two of this
40 section on a person who is in violation of the uniform fire prevention
41 and building code and who has failed to comply with an order to remedy
42 such violation within the time fixed by the regulations promulgated by
43 the secretary pursuant to subdivision one of section three hundred
44 eighty-one of this article shall be assessed no later than the four-
45 teenth day of such violation.
46 § 2. Subdivision (a) of section 27-2115 of the administrative code of
47 the city of New York, as amended by local law number 71 of the city of
48 New York for the year 2023, is amended to read as follows:
49 (a) In addition to any other penalty authorized by this chapter, a
50 person who violates any law relating to housing standards shall be
51 subject to a civil penalty as follows:
52 (1) For each non-hazardous violation, not less than fifty dollars nor
53 more than one hundred fifty dollars, and, in addition, from the date set
54 for correction in the notice of violation until the violation is
55 corrected, twenty-five dollars per day;
A. 8404 3
1 (2) For each hazardous violation, not less than seventy-five dollars
2 nor more than five hundred dollars, and, in addition, from the date set
3 for correction in the notice of violation until the violation is
4 corrected, not less than twenty-five dollars nor more than one hundred
5 twenty-five dollars per day; and
6 (3) For each immediately hazardous violation:
7 (i) In a multiple dwelling containing [five] ten or fewer dwelling
8 units, not less than one hundred fifty dollars nor more than seven
9 hundred fifty dollars, and, in addition, from the date set for
10 correction in the notice of violation until the violation is corrected,
11 not less than fifty dollars nor more than one hundred fifty dollars per
12 day; and
13 (ii) In a multiple dwelling containing more than [five] ten dwelling
14 units, not less than one hundred fifty dollars nor more than one thou-
15 sand two hundred dollars, and, in addition, from the date set for
16 correction in the notice of violation until the violation is corrected,
17 not less than one hundred fifty dollars nor more than one thousand two
18 hundred dollars per day.
19 (4) Provided, however, that in addition to the other penalties herein
20 provided, a person who makes a false certification of correction of a
21 violation shall be subject to a civil penalty as follows:
22 (i) For each non-hazardous violation falsely certified, not less than
23 fifty dollars nor more than two hundred fifty dollars;
24 (ii) For each hazardous violation falsely certified, not less than two
25 hundred fifty dollars nor more than five hundred dollars; and
26 (iii) For each immediately hazardous violation falsely certified, not
27 less than five hundred dollars nor more than one thousand dollars.
28 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
