Stays of Legal Action Regarding Violations of the Multiple Dwelling Law and the Housing Maintenance Code

RCNY tit. 28, ch. 13

in effect

28 RCNY § 13-01 Purpose and Scope.

§ 13-01 Purpose and Scope. It is the purpose of this chapter to set forth an administrative procedure to allow new owners of multiple dwellings and other appropriate units in the City of New York the opportunity to correct violations while being assured that legal actions will not be brought against such new owners and that civil penalties accruing to the Department of Housing Preservation and Development will be stayed during the correction period. Pursuant to the procedure set forth herein, a new owner may seek to limit his or her liability while attempting to achieve correction of violations. The regulations created herein institute uniform procedures for an application for such a stay of legal actions, the basis upon which a determination of such application shall be made, the condition upon which a stay may be granted, the revocation of a stay, and the effect of compliance and non-compliance by a new owner with the conditions of a stay.

28 RCNY § 13-02 Definitions.

§ 13-02 Definitions. In these regulations, the following terms shall have the meanings specified: Department. "Department" shall mean the Department of Housing Preservation and Development or any successor to that Department. New owner. "New owner" shall mean a person, entity, firm or corporation or agent or principal thereof who has achieved the status of the owner of the freehold or lesser estate therein, receiver, administrator, managing agent, mortgagee in possession, assignee of rents, executor, trustee, or lessee of the subject building who shall demonstrate that such change in ownership was not for the purpose of establishing eligibility for a stay under these regulations, and that: (1) such status was attained not more than sixty (60) days prior to the making of its application herein; or, (2) such status was attained not more than six (6) months prior to the effective date of these regulations if the application is made within sixty (60) days of such effective date. Subject building. "Subject building" shall mean the dwelling in which the violations set forth in the notice of violation are to be found.

28 RCNY § 13-03 Application and Prerequisites.

§ 13-03 Application and Prerequisites. (a) An application for a stay shall be made during regular business hours to the Department's Agreements and Compliance Unit, 150 William Street, 6th Floor, New York, N.Y. 10038. (b) A new owner must submit, in support of an application for a stay of legal action, documentary proof that: (1) the applicant is a new owner as defined in 28 RCNY § 13-02 "New owner"; and (2) a registration statement has been filed with the Department's Office of Code Enforcement by the new owner, or proof that registration is not required for or allowed to be filed by the applicant. (c) A new owner seeking a stay or an extension thereof may submit in support of the application any additional statements, information, documents, affidavits, records or reports as he or she may consider desirable to assist the Department in reaching its determination as to whether a stay or an extension thereof should be granted or the length of such stay or extension thereof. (d) All written materials shall be submitted with a certification by the new owner, or if such an application is submitted by a corporation or partnership, by an office or partner thereof, that all statements contained in all forms and documents submitted in support of the application are true and correct, and an acknowledgement that the applicant is aware that, under § 27-2118(a)(3) of the Housing Maintenance Code, any false or misleading statement in an application or an accompanying document, relating to an action to be taken or determination to be made by the Department shall be guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by fine of not less than ten dollars ($10) nor more than one thousand dollars ($1,000), for each such violation or by imprisonment up to one year, or by both such fine and imprisonment.

28 RCNY § 13-04 Determination of Stay.

§ 13-04 Determination of Stay. Upon application by a new owner, the Department shall make a determination as to whether a stay shall be granted. The Department may take into consideration in determining whether to grant a stay, and the new owner may submit in attempting to establish his or her entitlement to a stay, the following information: (a) That the new owner has demonstrated, by his or her past and present conduct, that there is a substantial probability that he or she will utilize a postponement to achieve correction of each violation for which a stay is sought. In assessing whether the past conduct of the new owner demonstrates that such a substantial probability exists, the following information may be considered: (1) whether the new owner has complied with prior orders of the Department; (2) whether the new owner has complied with prior orders of other City departments concerning building conditions; (3) whether the new owner has any outstanding debts to the City for emergency repairs or has incurred such debts within five (5) years prior to the date of the applications; and (4) what the new owner is doing to correct other violations for which he or she is not seeking a stay. (b) The financial ability of the new owner to achieve correction of each violation for which a stay is sought. Following a new owner's application for a stay, the Department shall prepare a written statement setting forth the reasons for the granting or the denial of such application. The statement shall be signed and dated by the person making the determination and shall be made part of the records of the Department. A copy of the determination shall be delivered to the new owner or mailed to him or her by regular mail.

28 RCNY § 13-05 Length of Stay.

§ 13-05 Length of Stay. The length of a stay shall be set by the Department and shall be for a period or periods of time that will provide the new owner with a reasonable time to achieve correction of each violation which is the subject of the application for a stay. In any case, the length of such stay or stays shall be no less than the time allowed by classification pursuant to § 27-2115(a) of the Housing Maintenance Code, said time running from the date of the new owner's application for a stay. In determining the appropriate length of time for a stay, the Department may consider: (a) The time required for correction; (b) The nature, classification, and estimated cost of repair of outstanding violations, as well as the length of time such violations have remained uncorrected; (c) The proposed course of action which the new owner will undertake to achieve correction; (d) Any actions the new owner might have already taken to correct violations prior to the application for a stay; and (e) The financial ability of the new owner to achieve correction of violations.

28 RCNY § 13-06 Written Agreement and Condition of Stay.

§ 13-06 Written Agreement and Condition of Stay. (a) In the event the Department determines that a stay could appropriately be granted to the new owner, the Department shall require the new owner to execute an agreement prepared by the Department which shall set forth an exact schedule of removal of all violations for which the new owner is seeking a stay and in which the new owner acknowledges his or her responsibility to correct each violation by those dates. Such agreement may also: (1) require the new owner to take a particular course of action to correct specified violations; (2) require a new owner to deposit the rental income of the subject building into an escrow account from which expenditures for scheduled repairs are made; and (3) may contain other conditions, as the Department finds appropriate, including repayment of Emergency Repair Program expenditures. (b) In the event the Department determines, after consideration of information described in 28 RCNY § 13-04, that a stay might be granted but that a further assurance of violation removal is required from the new owner, a stay may be granted on the condition that the new owner accept service of a summons and complaint or a summons with notations and agree to allow the agreement described in 28 RCNY § 13-06(a) above to be entered in the New York City Civil Court as an order of that court. (c) If the Department reasonably concludes from the data submitted that the new owner will acquire additional funds, or may be able to acquire the necessary financing from a particular lending institution or type of lending institution to which the new owner has not applied, the Department may require the new owner to make one or more applications for such financing as a condition precedent to the granting of a stay. The Department shall grant an interim stay sufficient in length for a reply, in the ordinary course of business, to any such application upon the condition that the new owner shall inform the Department of such a reply within five (5) days of its receipt. The Department shall make a final determination as to whether a stay shall be granted upon receiving such information or upon an expiration of the interim stay.

28 RCNY § 13-07 Extension of Stay.

§ 13-07 Extension of Stay. In the event a new owner shall apply for an extension of a stay previously granted, the Department may grant such stay if the new owner: (a) Makes an application for such extension at least five (5) days prior to the expiration of the correction date set forth in the agreement described in 28 RCNY § 13-06; (b) Clearly demonstrates to the Department that: (1) the inability to correct in a timely manner was caused by circumstances substantially beyond the control of the new owner, or that the impediments were not reasonably foreseeable at the time the new owner applied for and was granted the original stay; (2) no course of action, other than the one undertaken by the new owner could have achieved correction within the time set forth in the original stay agreement; and, (3) the new owner has devised a reasonable course of action which he or she intends to pursue if an extension of the stay is granted by the Department, which course of action would remove or circumvent any impediments to correction within the time allowed for an extension of the stay; (c) Submits any data or information requested by the Department which may include the following: (1) any information described in 28 RCNY §§ 13-05 or 13-07(b); (2) documentation of the actions taken to achieve correction, including receipted bills and/or cancelled checks for any work performed or materials supplied; (3) a statement by the new owner as to the impediments to correction which presently exist; or, (4) such additional information of any nature as the Department may request to assist it in making a determination as to whether and how long an extension in the stay should be granted; and (d) Executes an agreement prepared by the Department which sets forth an exact schedule of removal of all violations for which the new owner is seeking an extension of a stay and in which the new owner acknowledges the new dates for correction and his or her responsibility to correct by those dates and, where applicable or required, consents to the extension agreement being entered as an amendment to an order of the New York City Civil Court.

28 RCNY § 13-08 Revocation of Stay and Effect Thereof.

§ 13-08 Revocation of Stay and Effect Thereof. (a) The Department shall have the power to revoke a stay or an extension of a stay by notice to the new owner given by certified mail, return receipt requested, in the event of: (1) discovery of misrepresentation or fraud in an application for a stay or an extension of a stay; or, (2) failure by a new owner to adhere to the terms of any part or all of either an agreement for a stay described in 28 RCNY § 13-06 or an agreement for an extension of a stay described in 28 RCNY § 13-07. (b) In the event that the Department revokes a stay or an extension of a stay: (1) the new owner shall be liable for full civil penalties as provided by law; and, (2) such revocation shall not affect a new owner's responsibility to remove violations at the subject building, and, where an agreement executed under 28 RCNY §§ 13-06 or 13-07 has been entered as an order of the New York City Civil Court, the schedule of removal of violations contained therein.

28 RCNY § 13-09 Effect of Compliance.

§ 13-09 Effect of Compliance. If the new owner properly and substantially corrects the violations for which a stay is granted, the Department may, in its discretion, recommend to the Office of the Comptroller waiver of any potential causes of action for civil penalties which have accrued pursuant to the Housing Maintenance Code for the violations which have been corrected pursuant to the stay agreement. If the Office of the Comptroller approves such waiver, a written statement of such waiver, signed and dated by the person making such waiver and indicating the Comptroller's approval, shall be made part of the records of the Department. Any such waiver shall be binding and irrevocable.

28 RCNY § 13-10 Severability.

§ 13-10 Severability. In the event that any section or portion of this chapter shall be held invalid or unenforceable for any reason, it shall not in any way invalidate, affect or impair the remaining sections of this chapter.

Source: City of New York, Charter, Administrative Code and Rules (American Legal Publishing XML export, codelibrary.amlegal.com)URL: https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/newyorkcity/latest/NYCrules/0-0-0-155048Fetched: 10/24/2026