§ 302 — Certificate of occupancy

§ 302. Certificate of occupancy. 1. No multiple dwelling shall be\noccupied in whole or in part until the issuance of a certificate by the\ndepartment that said dwelling conforms in all respects to the\nrequirements of this chapter, except that no such certificate shall be\nrequired for any multiple dwelling existing on July first, nineteen\nhundred fifty-two, for which a certificate of occupancy was not required\nbefore such date and in which no changes or alterations commenced on or\nafter such date have been made except in compliance with this chapter,\nand except that a certificate shall be required prior to July first,\nnineteen hundred fifty-seven for any dwelling, the plans for the\nalteration or conversion of which to multiple dwelling occupancy were on\nfile with the department or a permit authorizing such conversion was\nissued before such date and for which a certificate of occupancy upon\ncompletion of such conversion or alteration was not required before such\ndate. This exception shall not be deemed to relieve any owner from the\nobligation to make such dwelling comply with the applicable provisions\nof this chapter.\n 2. Except as above provided, no dwelling constructed as or altered or\nconverted into a multiple dwelling on or after July first, nineteen\nhundred fifty-two, shall be occupied in whole or in part until the\nissuance of a certificate of occupancy.\n 3. The department shall, on request of the owner or of his certified\nagent, issue a certificate of occupancy for any old multiple dwelling\nnot requiring such certificate, provided that, after an inspection by\nthe department, no violations are found against such dwelling.\n 4. A certificate of occupancy shall be issued within ten days after\nwritten application therefor, if the dwelling shall be entitled thereto.\nWhen the department does not issue such certificate within ten days, the\nhead of the department shall, on the request of the owner or his\ncertified agent, issue a temporary certificate of occupancy for a\nmultiple dwelling or a section or a part thereof for a period of ninety\ndays or less, provided that such certificate shall bear the endorsement\nthat the dwelling has been inspected by the department and complies with\nall the requirements of this chapter, and that such temporary occupancy\nwill not jeopardize life, health or property. Such temporary certificate\nmay be renewed at the discretion of the head of the department for\nsimilar periods but shall not extend, together with such renewals,\nbeyond one year from the date of its original issuance.\n 5. A certificate, a record in the department, or a statement signed by\nthe head of the department that a certificate has been issued, may be\nrelied upon by every person who in good faith purchases a multiple\ndwelling or who in good faith lends money upon the security of a\nmortgage covering such a dwelling. Whenever any person has so relied\nupon such a certificate, no claim that such dwelling had not, prior to\nthe issuance of such certificate, conformed in all respects to the\nprovisions of this chapter shall be made against such person or his\nsuccessor in title or ownership with respect to such multiple dwelling\nor mortgage, or against the interest of any such person with respect\nthereto.\n 6. Notwithstanding any general or local law to the contrary, a\ncertificate issued for any multiple dwelling organized pursuant to the\nprovisions of article nine-B of the real property law, shall be deemed\nissued for each dwelling unit contained within such multiple dwelling in\nfull compliance with the requirements of this section.\n