§ 216 — Rooms in basements and cellars

§ 216. Rooms in basements and cellars. No room in the basement or\ncellar of any tenement shall be occupied for living purposes unless\nthere is a written permit therefor as provided in subdivision five of\nsection three hundred and it either is part of an apartment which\ncomplies with the conditions of subdivision six of section thirty-four\nor complies with the following conditions:\n 1. a. There shall be appurtenant to every such room a water-closet\nconstructed and accessible in accordance with the provisions of section\nseventy-six for dwellings erected after April eighteenth, nineteen\nhundred twenty-nine.\n b. Every such room and all cellars and basements shall be lighted and\nventilated to the satisfaction of the department.\n 2. If such room is in a tenement erected after April twelfth, nineteen\nhundred one:\n a. Such room shall be at least nine feet high in every part from floor\nto ceiling.\n b. Every part of the ceiling of such room shall be at least four feet\nsix inches above the curb level of the street in front of such part when\nsuch room or the apartment containing it is located in the front part of\nthe dwelling, and at least two feet above such curb level in front of\nthe dwelling when such room or the apartment containing it is located in\nthe rear of the dwelling and the yard is less than sixty feet in depth\nand does not extend to a street along its entire width.\n c. The level of any yard or court upon which such a room or apartment\nopens shall conform to the requirements of subdivision eight of section\ntwenty-six.\n d. Every such room shall have a window opening upon a street, yard or\ncourt, and shall be an integral part of an apartment containing a room\nwith a window opening directly upon a street or yard or upon an outer\ncourt at least eighteen feet in width and not more than thirty feet in\ndepth or upon a larger outer court whose depth does not exceed its width\nby more than one-half.\n e. Except when the yard is sixty feet or more in depth there shall be\nnot more than one apartment in any cellar. It shall contain not more\nthan five rooms and bath, and no such room shall open upon any court\nless than five feet six inches in width. Every part of such apartment\nshall either be located within twenty-five feet of the inner line of the\nfront or rear wall of the dwelling or have a window opening upon a court\nwhich is at least twelve feet in width. No other rooms in the cellar\nshall be occupied for living purposes.\n f. The area of every window in such a room shall be at least twelve\nsquare feet, and the total area of windows in every such room shall be\nat least one-eighth of the total floor area of the room. At least half\nof each window shall be made to open, and the top of each window shall\nbe within twelve inches of the ceiling.\n g. All walls enclosing such room shall be dampproof and its floor\ndampproof and waterproof. The dampproofing and waterproofing shall run\nthrough and up the walls to the ground level.\n h. The entire cellar, or lowest story if there be no cellar, shall be\nproperly constructed so as to prevent dampness or water from entering.\n 3. If such room is in the cellar of any old-law tenement either the\nconditions enumerated in subdivision two or the following conditions\nshall be complied with:\n a. Such room shall be at least eight feet high in every part from\nfloor to ceiling.\n b. Every part of the ceiling of every such room shall be at least four\nfeet above the surface of the street in front of every part of such\nroom, or at least half the height of such room shall be everywhere above\nthe highest level of the ground outside of and adjoining every part of\nthe exterior wall of such room for a distance of thirty feet measured at\na right angle to the outer surface of such wall.\n c. Such adjoining ground shall be effectively drained and shall be\nopen and unoccupied in every part.\n d. Such room shall have a window or windows opening directly to the\nrequired unoccupied area of ground outside of and adjoining such room or\nto a street or yard. Every such window shall be made so as to open\nreadily and such window or windows shall provide at least twelve square\nfeet of clear openings for ventilation.\n e. Such room shall be thoroughly dry and fit for human habitation.\n f. If the tenement is over marshy ground, or ground on which water\nlies or on which there is upward water pressure, the entire cellar, or\nlowest story if there be no cellar, shall be made dampproof and\nwaterproof.\n 4. If such room is in the basement of any old-law tenement the\nprovisions of subdivision one and in addition the provisions of\nsubdivision two or of subdivision three, or the provisions of paragraph\nf of subdivision three and of either of the following paragraphs, shall\nbe complied with:\n a. Such room shall be everywhere seven feet or more in height from\nfloor to ceiling and occupied solely by a family which occupies the\nentire story above, and such room shall not be used for sleeping\npurposes; or\n b. Such room shall be everywhere seven feet six inches or more in\nheight from floor to ceiling and shall have a window or windows opening\ndirectly to a street, or to a yard at least twelve feet in depth, or to\na court at least six feet in its least dimension and twelve feet in its\ngreatest dimensions; every such windows shall be made so as to open\nreadily; such window or windows shall provide at least twelve square\nfeet of clear opening for ventilation, and the apartment containing such\nroom shall have one or more rooms opening upon a street or yard.\n 5. Notwithstanding any provisions of this section or of subdivision\nfive of section three hundred of this chapter, an apartment or room in a\ncellar or basement which was occupied for living purposes on April\nfirst, nineteen hundred fifty-three may thereafter continue to be\noccupied for such purposes until July first, nineteen hundred\nsixty-seven, upon the issuance of a joint certificate by the department\nand the department of health. Such certificate shall be renewed for any\nsuch apartment or room which continues to be occupied in an old-law\ntenement after June thirtieth, nineteen hundred fifty-seven. The\ncertificate shall indicate their joint belief that such occupancy is not\ndetrimental to life and health with due regard to the following\nconditions:\n a. that the apartment or room is reasonably lighted and ventilated,\n b. that adequate sanitary facilities are provided, including water\nsupply and water closet accommodations,\n c. that the premises are clean and free from rodents and vermin,\n d. that the walls and ceilings are sound and reasonably free of\ndampness and there is a minimum of seven feet in height from floor to\nceiling,\n e. that the apartment or room is adequately heated from a central\nheating system or by other approved means,\n f. that the structural arrangement, including egress facilities, of\nthe apartment or room does not constitute a fire hazard,\n g. that notwithstanding the provisions of this subdivision, any\napartment occupied pursuant to the provisions of this subdivision which\nbecomes vacant on or after June first, nineteen hundred fifty-five shall\nnot thereafter be occupied for dwelling purposes. This paragraph shall\nalso apply to any room which becomes vacant on or after June first,\nnineteen hundred fifty-six.\n