Bill Text: NY A01625 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires access to new homes by persons with disabilities.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 17-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-03 - referred to housing [A01625 Detail]
Download: New_York-2023-A01625-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 1625 2023-2024 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY January 17, 2023 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. SIMON, GONZALEZ-ROJAS -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. COLTON, COOK, DINOWITZ, MAGNARELLI, PAULIN, PRETLOW, L. ROSEN- THAL, STECK, STIRPE, WEPRIN, WILLIAMS -- read once and referred to the Committee on Housing AN ACT to amend the real property law, in relation to the visitability of new homes by persons with disabilities The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The real property law is amended by adding a new article 16 2 to read as follows: 3 ARTICLE 16 4 VISITABILITY OF NEW CONSTRUCTION 5 Section 480. Purpose. 6 481. Applicability of new construction. 7 482. Visitability requirement. 8 483. Exclusion. 9 484. Enforcement. 10 § 480. Purpose. The purpose of this article is to establish minimum 11 regulations for the design and construction of new homes to provide 12 visitability to such homes by persons with disabilities. 13 § 481. Applicability of new construction. Any new dwelling unit which 14 was designed, constructed, or commissioned, contracted or otherwise 15 arranged for design or construction, by any person or entity who, at any 16 time during the commissioning design or construction, received New York 17 state or federal financial assistance for such design or construction 18 shall comply with the provisions of this article. State financial 19 assistance shall not include loans backed by the state of New York mort- 20 gage agency (SONYMA). Federal financial assistance shall not include 21 loans backed by federal national mortgage association (Fannie Mae) or 22 federal housing administration (FHA) financing or other mortgage loans 23 backed by a federal mortgage loan program. For purposes of this EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD02641-01-3A. 1625 2 1 section, the term "dwelling unit" shall mean a detached single family 2 home, a ground floor unit in a town house, or a ground floor unit in a 3 building of three or fewer dwelling units which is designed as, or 4 intended for occupancy as a residence. 5 § 482. Visitability requirement. The design and construction of a new 6 dwelling unit shall comply with the following requirements: 7 1. Accessible entrance. (a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of 8 this subdivision, the ground level of such dwelling unit shall contain 9 at least one entrance to the dwelling unit that: 10 (i) is accessible to, and usable by, people with disabilities such 11 that all rooms on the level are connected by an accessible route; 12 (ii) does not contain any steps or any door threshold that exceeds 13 one-half inch in height; and 14 (iii) is located on a continuous unobstructed path from the public 15 street or driveway that serves the unit, which path at no point has a 16 slope exceeding one inch in rise for every twelve inches in length, has 17 a width of not less than thirty-six inches and has a cross slope not 18 greater than two percent of the width. Such unobstructed path shall be 19 able to be negotiated by a person and may include curb ramps, parking 20 access aisles, walks, and ramps. 21 (b) The provisions of paragraph (a) of this subdivision shall not 22 apply to a dwelling unit if: 23 (i) the finished grade of the site is too steep to provide a path 24 having a slope of one inch in rise for every twelve inches in length at 25 the front, side, or back of the unit; 26 (ii) there is no driveway serving the unit; and 27 (iii) there is no alley or other roadway capable of providing vehicu- 28 lar access to the rear or side of the unit. 29 2. Accessible interior doors. All doors that are designed to allow 30 passage within the ground level of such dwelling unit shall have an 31 unobstructed opening of at least thirty-six inches when the door is open 32 at a ninety-degree angle. 33 3. Accessible environmental controls. All environmental controls and 34 outlets located on the ground level of such dwelling unit shall be 35 located on the wall at least fifteen inches, but not more than forty- 36 eight inches, above the floor or, in the case of environmental controls 37 and outlets located directly above a counter, sink, or appliance, not 38 more than three inches above such counter, sink, or appliance. 39 4. Accessible habitable space and bathroom. The ground level of such 40 dwelling unit shall contain the following: 41 (a) At least one indoor room that has an area of not less than seventy 42 square feet and contains no side or dimension narrower than seven feet; 43 and 44 (b) At least one bathroom that contains, at a minimum, the following: 45 (i) clear floor space of thirty by forty-eight inches centered on and 46 contiguous to the sink, which is not encroached by the swing path of the 47 bathroom door; 48 (ii) a sink and a toilet that each allow for a parallel or head-on 49 approach by a person in a wheelchair; and 50 (iii) walls that are reinforced to be capable of supporting grab bars 51 that resist shear and bending forces of a minimum of two hundred fifty 52 pounds, as follows: 53 (A) All walls adjacent to the toilet shall have horizontal backing 54 reinforcements, each at least thirty-three inches, but not more than 55 thirty-six inches, above the floor, and sufficient to allow for a twen-A. 1625 3 1 ty-four-inch grab bar on the wall behind the toilet and another forty- 2 two-inch grab bar on one or the other walls adjacent to the toilet. 3 (B) If a bathtub is present in the bathroom, such reinforcements shall 4 include: 5 (I) two backing reinforcements on the back wall of the bathtub, each 6 at least twenty-four inches long, at least twenty inches wide and not 7 more than twenty-four inches from the head end wall and not more than 8 twelve inches from the foot end wall, one in a horizontal position at 9 least thirty-three inches, but not more than thirty-six inches, above 10 the floor, and one nine inches above the rim of the bathtub; 11 (II) one backing reinforcement on the foot end wall of the bathtub, at 12 least twenty inches long, at least eighteen inches wide and located at 13 the front edge of the bathtub; and 14 (III) one backing reinforcement on the head end wall of the bathtub, 15 at least twelve inches long, at least eighteen inches wide and located 16 at the front edge of the bathtub. 17 (C) If a shower is present in the bathroom, such reinforcements shall 18 include backing reinforcements on at least two walls on which the 19 control valves are not located, each centered at least thirty-three 20 inches, but not more than thirty-six inches, above the floor and at 21 least eighteen inches wide. 22 § 483. Exclusion. This article shall not apply to sites whose physical 23 characteristics renders compliance with this article unreasonable. 24 § 484. Enforcement. Any person, firm, corporation, partnership or any 25 other business entity that violates any provision of this article shall 26 be subject to a civil penalty of not less than fifty nor more than five 27 hundred dollars for each such offense and each day on which such 28 violation occurs or continues to occur shall be a separate offense. Any 29 violation of this article shall be enforceable by the attorney general 30 and any aggrieved party, and any such party shall have the right to seek 31 legal and equitable relief and the court may award reasonable costs and 32 attorney's fees associated with such action. 33 § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after 34 it shall have become a law and shall apply to dwelling units the 35 construction of which begins on or after such date.
