§ 76 — Water-closet and bath accommodations

New York § 76

• Jurisdiction: New York
• Law MDW: Multiple Dwelling
• Title 3: Sanitation and Health
• Art. 3: Multiple Dwellings--general Provisions

Text

§ 76. Water-closet and bath accommodations. 1. General requirements.\nThis section shall apply to all dwellings whenever erected or converted\nexcept as herein provided.\n a. No water-closet shall be installed, kept or maintained in any yard,\ncourt or other open space, and every water-closet or other receptacle to\nreceive fecal matter, urine or sewerage, located in any such yard, court\nor other open space, shall be completely removed, and the place where\nthey were located shall be disinfected under the direction of the\ndepartment.\n b. No water-closet shall be installed, kept or maintained in a cellar\nor basement unless it is provided for lawful cellar or basement living\nrooms, or is supplementary to the required water-closet accommodations.\n c. No water-closet shall open directly into any kitchen or kitchenette\nin a multiple dwelling erected after April eighteenth, nineteen hundred\ntwenty-nine.\n d. Every water-closet compartment shall be at least two feet four\ninches in clear width and, except in a general toilet or bathroom, shall\nbe enclosed with partitions which shall extend from the floor to the\nceiling and which shall be plastered or tiled or covered with similar\nmaterials approved by the department.\n e. The floor of every such compartment, bathroom or general toilet\nroom shall be made waterproof with material approved by the department,\nand such waterproofing material shall extend six inches or more above\nthe floor, except at doors.\n f. The use of drip trays is unlawful.\n g. No plumbing fixture or water-closet shall be enclosed wholly or in\npart with woodwork.\n h. Every water-closet compartment, bathroom and general or public\ntoilet room, and every other room containing one or more water-closets\nor urinals, except as specifically provided otherwise in this section,\nshall have at least one window opening upon a street or lawful court,\nyard or space above a setback. Every such window shall be at least three\nsquare feet in area and shall be made so that half its area can be\nreadily opened.\n i. No window shall be required when each such compartment, bathroom or\ngeneral toilet room is located on the top story or underneath the bottom\nof a lawful shaft or court and is lighted and ventilated in either case\nby a skylight the roof of which contains at least three square feet of\nglazed surface and is arranged to be readily opened.\n j. In lieu of a required window or skylight, it shall be lawful to\ninstall a system of ventilation, approved for construction and\narrangement by the department, for water-closet compartments used for\nthe business portions of any dwelling or for compartments containing\nwater-closets, bathrooms or general toilet room in any dwelling. Such\nsystem of ventilation shall be maintained and operated continuously to\nprovide at least four changes per hour of the air volume of each such\nwater-closet compartment, bathroom or general toilet room daily from\nseven o'clock in the morning until seven o'clock at night in any\nbusiness parts of such dwelling and from six o'clock in the morning\nuntil midnight in all parts used for dwelling purposes.\n k. Every water-closet compartment or bathroom shall be provided with\nelectricity and fixtures to light the same properly.\n l. In a fireproof dwelling in which two or more rooms, all of which\nopen directly upon the same public hall, are occupied exclusively by\npersons employed by the tenants thereof, there shall be provided for the\noccupants of such rooms and accessible therefrom directly or through\nsuch public hall, at least one water-closet compartment for the first\nfour such rooms or fraction thereof and at least one additional\nwater-closet compartment for each additional seven such rooms or\nfraction thereof, and no further water-closet accommodations for such\nrooms shall be required.\n m. Water-closets may be placed together in a general toilet room\nprovided they are supplementary to required water-closet accommodations\nor are solely for the use of business portions of the dwelling.\n n. Except as herein provided if any living rooms in a fireproof\ndwelling open directly upon a public hall without any intervening room,\nfoyer or passage, or if any suites of two living rooms in such a\ndwelling open upon a foyer giving direct access to a public hall, only\none water-closet compartment shall be required for every three such\nliving rooms on each story. Every such water-closet compartment shall be\naccessible to one or more of said rooms without passage through a public\nhall or any bedroom.\n 2. Class A dwellings.\n a. Every apartment in a class A dwelling, except old-law tenements,\nshall be provided with a water-closet which shall be placed in a\ncompartment completely separated from any other water-closet.\n b. Every apartment in a class A dwelling, except old-law tenements,\nshall also contain a bath, which may be in a separate compartment or\ntogether with the water-closet in a bathroom. There shall be access to\nat least one such compartment or bathroom from every bedroom without\npassing through any other bedroom.\n 3. Class B dwellings.\n a. The requirements of paragraph n, of subdivision one of this section\nshall not apply to a fireproof class B dwelling, every living room of\nwhich, except those used only by employees employed exclusively in the\nmanagement and maintenance of such dwelling, has direct access to a\npublic hall without passing through any other room, foyer or private\nhall and in which water-closet accommodations are provided in accordance\nwith the provisions of this subdivision.\n b. In such a fireproof dwelling there shall be on each story upon\nwhich there is any living room at least two water-closet compartments\nfor the first twenty such living rooms or fraction thereof and at least\none additional water-closet compartment for each additional fifteen such\nliving rooms or fraction thereof, and no further water-closet\naccommodations for such rooms shall be required.\n c. There shall be on each story of such fireproof dwelling, in\naddition to the water-closet accommodations required in paragraph n of\nsubdivision one hereof, at least one water-closet compartment for every\nfifteen living rooms or fraction thereof not having access to a\nwater-closet compartment without passage through a public hall or\nbedroom, and every such room shall have access to such a compartment\nthrough a public hall. If two or more such compartments be required on\nany story by the provisions of this paragraph, they may be placed in a\ngeneral toilet room.\n d. For every urinal supplied on any story of such fireproof dwelling\non which seventeen rooms or more are occupied exclusively by males, one\nwater-closet compartment less than the number otherwise required may be\nprovided on such story; except that the number of water-closet\ncompartments on such story may not be reduced to less than\nthree-quarters of the number otherwise required.\n e. The water-closet compartments on each story of such a dwelling\nshall be accessible from every living room on the story. Such\ncompartments may be placed in one or more general toilet rooms.\n f. In a non-fireproof class B dwelling there shall be at least one\nwater-closet compartment and one wash basin for every seven sleeping\nrooms and there need not be more than that number except that there\nshall be at least one on each story. At least one such water-closet\ncompartment and one wash basin on each story of such dwelling shall be\naccessible from every living room on the same story.\n 4. Converted dwellings.\n a. Every apartment in a class A converted dwelling shall be provided\nwith a water-closet which shall be placed in a compartment or bathroom\nwithin each apartment completely separated from any other water-closet.\nEvery such apartment shall also contain a bath or shower and a wash\nbasin.\n b. In every class B converted dwelling there shall be at least one\nwater-closet compartment on any floor containing any room used for class\nB occupancy and at least one bathroom or shower room and one wash basin\nfor every six persons and for any remainder of less than six persons who\nmay lawfully occupy any room or rooms for class B occupancy.\n (c) Additional required water-closets and wash basins which are\ninstalled in order to comply with the provisions of this paragraph\nwhether provided separately or in combination, shall be in a compartment\nseparate and apart from every bath or shower required under the\nprovisions of paragraph b, and each such additional required bath or\nshower shall be in a compartment separate and apart from every\nwater-closet and wash basin required under the provisions of paragraph\nb, except that any such additional required water-closet, bath or shower\nor wash basin may be included in a single compartment containing any or\nall of such facilities, if such compartment is accessible only from or\nonly within a room, apartment or suite of rooms and the occupant or\noccupants of such room, apartment or suite are exclusively entitled to\nuse all such facilities contained in such compartment.\n 5. Old-law tenements. In every old-law tenement there shall be\nprovided for the exclusive use of each family at least one water-closet\ncompartment located within the dwelling. Such compartment shall be\nconstructed and ventilated as approved by the department but such\ncompartment shall be located on the same story as that on which the\napartment occupied by each such family is situated and shall be equipped\nwith lock and key. The provisions of this subdivision shall not apply\n(a) to any dwelling which the department of city planning certifies is\nin an area to be acquired for a public improvement and for which a\nrequest for acquisition has been submitted to the board of estimate by a\npublic agency; or (b) to any dwelling in an area for which an urban\nrenewal plan has been submitted to the planning commission, as provided\nin section five hundred five of the general municipal law, if the\nplanning commission shall certify that compliance with the provisions of\nthis subdivision would be inconsistent with the plan; or (c) for which a\ndemolition permit has been or shall be issued by the municipality\npursuant to local law or ordinance. The exemption provided in (a), (b),\nand (c) of this subdivision shall be valid for a period of six months\nafter the date of the acquisition request or the date of the submission\nof the urban renewal plan to the commission or the date of the issuance\nof the demolition permit as the case may be. Such exemption may be\nextended from time to time by the department provided, however, that\nsuch exemption shall not extend beyond November first, nineteen hundred\nsixty-five.\n 6. Single room occupancy.\n a. Every apartment used for single room occupancy shall have at least\none bath or shower, one wash-basin and one water-closet for each six\nadult persons who may lawfully occupy the rooms in such apartment as\nprovided in section two hundred forty-eight, and for any remainder of\nless than six persons. If additional baths or showers or water-closets\nare installed within an apartment in order to comply with the provisions\nof this paragraph each water-closet shall be in an enclosure separate\nand apart from every bathroom or shower room and each bath or shower\nshall be in an enclosure separate and apart from every water-closet.\n b. There shall be access to each required water-closet and bathroom\nwithout passing through any sleeping room, except that any water-closet,\nwash-basin or bathroom which connects directly with any sleeping room\nshall be deemed to be available only to the occupants of such room and\nshall not be included in the computations for the required number of\nwater-closets and bathrooms.\n 7. Saving clause. No change need be made in the number, construction,\narrangement, lighting or ventilation of water-closet compartments,\nbathrooms or general toilet rooms in any portion of any dwelling if the\nnumber, construction, arrangement, lighting or ventilation of such\nwater-closet compartments, bathrooms or general toilet rooms was lawful\non July first, nineteen hundred sixty-one.\n