CHAPTER 2
HOUSING MAINTENANCE CODE
[table of contents]

SUBCHAPTER 2
MAINTENANCE, SERVICES, AND UTILITIES

ARTICLE 11
Protective Devices and Fire Protection

Section
27-2041 Peepholes
27-2042 Mirrors in Elevators
27-2043 Locks in Dwelling Unit Doors
27-2044 Fire Protection in Certain Old Law Tenements
27-2045 Duties of Owner and Occupant with Respect to Installation and Maintenace of Smoke Detecting Devices in Class A Multiple Dwellings
27-2046 Duties of Owner with Respect to Installation and Maintenance of Smoke Detecting Devices in Class B Multiple Dwellings
27-2046.1 Duties of owner and occupant with respect to installation and maintenance of carbon monoxide detecting devices in class A multiple dwellings and private dwellings.
27-2046.2 Duties of owner and occupant with respect to installation and maintenance of carbon monoxide detecting devices in class B multiple dwellings.

Sec. 27-2041 Peepholes

In every dwelling the owner shall provide and maintain a peephole in the entrance door of each dwelling unit. Such peephole shall be located, as prescribed by the department, in such a place that the person in each dwelling unit may view from the inside any person immediately outside the entrance door. However, such peephole need not be installed in any tenant-occupied one- or two-family home where it is possible to see from the inside any person immediately outside the entrance door. This section shall not apply to hotels, apartment hotels, college or school dormitories, or owner-occupied dwelling units in one- and two-family homes.

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Sec. 27-2042 Mirrors in elevators

The owner of a multiple dwelling in which there are one or more self-service elevators shall affix and maintain in each such elevator a mirror which enables persons to view its interior before entering the same. The mirror shall meet such requirements as the department shall by regulation prescribe.

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Sec. 27-2043 Locks in dwelling unit doors

1. The owner of a dwelling shall provide a key lock in the entrance door to each dwelling unit and at least one key. In a class A multiple dwelling such door shall be equipped with a heavy duty latch set and a heavy duty dead bolt operable by a key from the outside and a thumb-turn from the inside.
   
   
2. Each dwelling unit entrance door in a class A multiple dwelling shall also be equipped with a chain door guard so as to permit partial opening of the door.

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Sec. 27-2044 Fire protection in certain old law tenements

1. In every old law tenement which is less than four stories in height:

1. Every door opening into any entrance hall or stair, or into any public hall connected therewith, shall be self-closing; every glazed opening or glazed panel in such a door shall be glazed with wire glass, and every transom opening upon any public hall shall be glazed with wire glass firmly secured in a closed position; and
   
   
2. Every interior sash, or opening other than a door, in the walls or partitions of any such hall, and every window in any such hall not opening to the outer air, shall be removed and the openings closed up and fire-retarded; and
   
   
3. The ceiling of the cellar, or if there is no cellar, of the basement or other lowest story, shall be fire-retarded unless such ceiling already has been plastered or covered in a manner satisfactory to the department with plasterboard or gypsumboard at least one-half inch in thickness.

2. In every old law tenement which is four stories or more in height:

1. On all stories above the third story, every apartment door opening into any stair or into any public hall connected therewith, unless such stair or public hall is protected by an approved sprinkler system shall have a fire resistance rating of at least one hour. Existing door frames in good condition may be retained. All such doors shall comply with this requirement, not later than November second, nineteen hundred seventy-three.
   
   
2. For all stories below the fourth story, any application for an alteration permit for alterations to be made in an apartment below the fourth story shall include the provision that every door of such apartment opening into any entrance hall, stair or into any public hall connected therewith, unless such entrance hall, stair or public hall is protected by an approved sprinkler system, shall have a fire resistance rating of at least one hour. Existing door frames in good condition may be retained.
   
   
3. Where apartment doors having a fire resistance rating of at least one hour are required, every transom opening upon any entrance hall, stair or public hall connected therewith shall be sealed and fireretarded. All other transoms opening upon any entrance hall, stair or public hall connected therewith shall be glazed with wire glass and permanently sealed in a closed position.
   
   
4. All doors opening into any entrance hall, stair or into any public hall connected therewith shall be self-closing; every glazed opening or glazed panel in such a door shall be glazed with wire glass.

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Sec. 27-2045 Duties of owner and occupant with respect to installation and maintenance of smoke detecting devices in class A multiple dwelling.

1. It shall be the duty of the owner of a class A multiple dwelling which is required to be equipped with smoke detecting devices pursuant to article six of subchapter seventeen of chapter one of this title to:

1. provide and install one or more approved and operational smoke detecting devices in each dwelling unit. Such devices shall be installed in accordance with the requirements of reference standard 17-12.
   
   
2. post a notice in a form approved by the commissioner in a common area of the building informing the occupants of such building that the owner is required by law to install one or more approved and operational smoke detecting devices in each dwelling unit in the building and that each occupant is responsible for the maintenance and repair of such devices and for replacing any or all such devices which are stolen, removed, missing or rendered inoperable during the occupancy of such dwelling unit.
   
3. replace any smoke detecting device which has been stolen, removed, missing or rendered inoperable during a prior occupancy of the dwelling unit and which has not been replaced by the prior occupant prior to the commencement of a new occupancy of a dwelling unit.
   
   
4. replace within thirty calendar days after the receipt of written notice any such device which becomes inoperable within one year of the installation of such device due to a defect in the manufacture of such device and through no fault of the occupant of the dwelling unit.
   
5. keep such records as the commissioner shall prescribe relating to the installation and maintenance of smoke detecting devices in the building and make such records available to the commissioner upon request.

2. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision a of section 27-2005 of article one of this subchapter and subdivision c of section 27-2006 of article one of this subchapter, it shall be the sole duty of the occupant of each dwelling unit in a class A multiple dwelling in which a smoke detecting device has been provided and installed by the owner pursuant to the provisions of article six of subchapter seventeen of chapter one of this title to:

1. keep and maintain such device in good repair; and
   
   
2. replace any and all devices which are either stolen, removed, missing or rendered inoperable during the occupancy of such dwelling unit.

3. Except as otherwise provided in paragraphs three and four of subdivision a of this section, an owner of a class A multiple dwelling who has provided and installed a smoke detecting device in a dwelling unit pursuant to this section shall not be required to keep and maintain such device in good repair or to replace any such device which is stolen, removed, missing or rendered inoperable during the occupancy of such dwelling unit.
   
   
4. The occupant of a dwelling unit in which a battery-operated smoke detecting device is provided and installed pursuant to this section shall reimburse the owner a maximum of ten dollars for the cost of providing and installing each such device. The occupant shall have one year from the date of installation to make such reimbursement.
   
   
5. For the purposes of this section, the term "class A" multiple dwelling shall include garden-type maisonette dwellings constructed before April eighteenth, nineteen hundred fifty-four and the term "garden-type maisonette dwellings" shall be defined as any dwelling project consisting of a series of dwelling units which together and in their aggregate are arranged or designed to provide three or more apartments, and are provided as a group collectively with all essential services such as, but not limited to, house sewers and heat, and which are operated as a unit under single ownership, notwithstanding that certificates of occupancy were issued for portions thereof as private dwellings.

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Sec. 27-2046 Duties of owner with respect to installation and maintenance of smoke detecting devices in class B multiple dwellings.

It shall be the duty of the owner of a class B multiple dwelling which is required to be equipped with smoke detecting devices pursuant to article six of subchapter seventeen of chapter one of this title to:

1. provide and install one or more approved and operational smoke detecting devices in each dwelling unit or, in the alternative, provide and install a line-operated zoned smoke detecting system with central annunciation and central office tie-in for all public corridors and public spaces, pursuant to rules and regulations promulgated by the commissioner of buildings.
   
   
2. keep and maintain smoke detecting devices in good repair.
   
   
3. replace any smoke detecting device which has been stolen, removed, missing or rendered inoperable prior to the commencement of a new occupancy of a dwelling unit.
   
   
4. keep such records as the commissioner shall prescribe relating to the installation and maintenance of smoke detecting devices in each dwelling unit and make such records available to the commissioner upon request.

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Sec. 27-2046.1 Duties of owner and occupant with respect to installation and maintenance of carbon monoxide detecting devices in class A multiple dwellings and private dwellings.

1. As used in paragraphs two through six of subdivision b of this section, the term "private dwelling" shall mean a dwelling unit in a one-family or two-family home which is occupied by a person or persons other than the owner of such unit or the owner's family.
   
   
2. It shall be the duty of the owner of a class A multiple dwelling and a private dwelling which is required to be equipped with one or more carbon monoxide detecting devices pursuant to article seven of subchapter seventeen of chapter one of this title to:

1. provide and install one or more approved and operational carbon monoxide detecting devices in each dwelling unit;
   
   
2. post a notice in a form approved by the commissioner in a common area of a Class A multiple dwelling and otherwise provide such notice to the occupants of a private dwelling informing the occupants of such dwelling that the owner is required by law to install one or more approved and operational carbon monoxide detecting devices in each dwelling unit in the dwelling, provided that an owner may choose to post or otherwise provide a single notice that complies with this provision as well as the provisions of paragraph two of subdivision a of section 27–2045 of this article;
   
   
3. replace any carbon monoxide detecting device which has been stolen, removed, found missing or rendered inoperable during a prior occupancy of the dwelling unit and which has not been replaced by the prior occupant prior to the commencement of a new occupancy of a dwelling unit;
   
   
4. replace within thirty calendar days after the receipt of written notice any such device which becomes inoperable within one year of the installation of such device due to a defect in the manufacture of such device and through no fault of the occupant of the dwelling unit;
   
   
5. provide written information regarding the testing and maintenance of carbon monoxide detecting devices to at least one adult occupant of each dwelling unit including, but not limited to, general information concerning carbon monoxide poisoning and what to do if a carbon monoxide detecting device goes off. Such information may include material that is distributed by the manufacturer, material prepared by the department of buildings or material approved by the department of buildings; and
   
   
6. keep such records as the commissioner shall prescribe relating to the installation and maintenance of carbon monoxide detecting devices in the building and make such records available to the commissioner upon request.

3. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision a of section 27–2005 and subdivision c of section 27–2006 of this chapter, it shall be the sole duty of the occupant of each dwelling unit in a class A multiple dwelling and the occupant of a dwelling unit in a private dwelling in which a carbon monoxide detecting device has been provided and installed by the owner pursuant to the provisions of article seven of subchapter seventeen of chapter one of this title to:

1. keep and maintain such device in good repair; and
   
   
2. replace any device which is either stolen, removed, missing or rendered inoperable during the occupancy of such dwelling unit.

4. Except as otherwise provided in paragraphs three and four of subdivision a of this section, an owner of a dwelling who has provided and installed a carbon monoxide detecting device in a dwelling unit pursuant to this section shall not be required to keep and maintain such device in good repair or to replace any such device which is stolen, removed, missing or rendered inoperable during the occupancy of such dwelling unit.
   
   
5. It shall be unlawful for any person to tamper with or render inoperable a carbon monoxide detecting device that is required under article seven of subchapter seventeen of chapter one of this title, except for replacing the batteries or for other maintenance purposes.
   
   
6. The occupant of a dwelling unit in which a carbon monoxide detecting device is newly installed or in which a carbon monoxide detecting device is installed by the owner as a result of such occupant's failure to maintain such device or where such device has been lost or damaged by such occupant shall reimburse the owner in the amount of twenty-five dollars for the cost of such work. Such occupant shall have one year from the date of installation to make such reimbursement.
   
   
7. The provisions of this section may be enforced by the department, the department of buildings, the fire department and the department of health and mental hygiene.

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Sec. 27-2046.2 Duties of owner and occupant with respect to installation and maintenance of carbon monoxide detecting devices in class B multiple dwellings.

1. It shall be the duty of the owner of a class B multiple dwelling which is required to be equipped with one or more carbon monoxide detecting devices pursuant to article seven of subchapter seventeen of chapter one of this title to:

1. provide and install one or more approved and operational carbon monoxide detecting devices in each dwelling unit or in the alternative, provide and install a line-operated zoned carbon monoxide detecting system with central annunciation and central office tie-in for all public corridors and public spaces, pursuant to rules promulgated by the commissioner in consultation with the department of buildings and the fire department;
   
   
2. keep and maintain carbon monoxide detecting devices in good repair;
   
   
3. replace any carbon monoxide detecting device which has been stolen, removed, found missing or rendered inoperable prior to the commencement of a new occupancy of a dwelling unit;
   
   
4. keep such records as the commissioner shall prescribe relating to the installation and maintenance of carbon monoxide detecting devices in the building and make such records available to the commissioner upon request.

2. It shall be unlawful for any person to tamper with or render inoperable a carbon monoxide detecting device that is required under article seven of subchapter seventeen of chapter one of this title, except for replacing the batteries or for other maintenance purposes.
   
   
3. The provisions of this section may be enforced by the department, the department of buildings, the fire department and the department of health and mental hygiene.

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