STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 3315 2017-2018 Regular Sessions IN SENATE January 20, 2017 ___________ Introduced by Sens. KRUEGER, ADDABBO, AVELLA, PERKINS -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Judiciary 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 24 section, the term "dwelling unit" shall mean a detached single family EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD00797-01-7S. 3315 2 1 home, a ground floor unit in a town house, or a ground floor unit in a 2 building of three or fewer dwelling units which is designed as, or 3 intended for occupancy as a residence. 4 § 482. Visitability requirement. The design and construction of a new 5 dwelling unit shall comply with the following requirements: 6 1. Accessible entrance. (a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of 7 this subdivision, the ground level of such dwelling unit shall contain 8 at least one entrance to the dwelling unit that: 9 (i) is accessible to, and usable by, people with disabilities such 10 that all rooms on the level are connected by an accessible route; 11 (ii) does not contain any steps or any door threshold that exceeds 12 one-half inch in height; and 13 (iii) is located on a continuous unobstructed path from the public 14 street or driveway that serves the unit, which path at no point has a 15 slope exceeding one inch in rise for every twelve inches in length, has 16 a width of not less than thirty-six inches and has a cross slope not 17 greater than two percent of the width. Such unobstructed path shall be 18 able to be negotiated by a person and may include curb ramps, parking 19 access aisles, walks, and ramps. 20 (b) The provisions of paragraph (a) of this subdivision shall not 21 apply to a dwelling unit if: 22 (i) the finished grade of the site is too steep to provide a path 23 having a slope of one inch in rise for every twelve inches in length at 24 the front, side, or back of the unit; 25 (ii) there is no driveway serving the unit; and 26 (iii) there is no alley or other roadway capable of providing vehicu- 27 lar access to the rear or side of the unit. 28 2. Accessible interior doors. All doors that are designed to allow 29 passage within the ground level of such dwelling unit shall have an 30 unobstructed opening of at least thirty-six inches when the door is open 31 at a ninety-degree angle. 32 3. Accessible environmental controls. All environmental controls and 33 outlets located on the ground level of such dwelling unit shall be 34 located on the wall at least fifteen inches, but not more than forty- 35 eight inches, above the floor or, in the case of environmental controls 36 and outlets located directly above a counter, sink, or appliance, not 37 more than three inches above such counter, sink, or appliance. 38 4. Accessible habitable space and bathroom. The ground level of such 39 dwelling unit shall contain the following: 40 (a) At least one indoor room that has an area of not less than seventy 41 square feet and contains no side or dimension narrower than seven feet; 42 and 43 (b) At least one bathroom that contains, at a minimum, the following: 44 (i) clear floor space of thirty by forty-eight inches centered on and 45 contiguous to the sink, which is not encroached by the swing path of the 46 bathroom door; 47 (ii) a sink and a toilet that each allow for a parallel or head-on 48 approach by a person in a wheelchair; and 49 (iii) walls that are reinforced to be capable of supporting grab bars 50 that resist shear and bending forces of a minimum of two hundred fifty 51 pounds, as follows: 52 (A) All walls adjacent to the toilet shall have horizontal backing 53 reinforcements, each at least thirty-three inches, but not more than 54 thirty-six inches, above the floor, and sufficient to allow for a twen- 55 ty-four-inch grab bar on the wall behind the toilet and another forty- 56 two-inch grab bar on one or the other walls adjacent to the toilet.S. 3315 3 1 (B) If a bathtub is present in the bathroom, such reinforcements shall 2 include: 3 (I) two backing reinforcements on the back wall of the bathtub, each 4 at least twenty-four inches long, at least twenty inches wide and not 5 more than twenty-four inches from the head end wall and not more than 6 twelve inches from the foot end wall, one in a horizontal position at 7 least thirty-three inches, but not more than thirty-six inches, above 8 the floor, and one nine inches above the rim of the bathtub; 9 (II) one backing reinforcement on the foot end wall of the bathtub, at 10 least twenty inches long, at least eighteen inches wide and located at 11 the front edge of the bathtub; and 12 (III) one backing reinforcement on the head end wall of the bathtub, 13 at least twelve inches long, at least eighteen inches wide and located 14 at the front edge of the bathtub. 15 (C) If a shower is present in the bathroom, such reinforcements shall 16 include backing reinforcements on at least two walls on which the 17 control valves are not located, each centered at least thirty-three 18 inches, but not more than thirty-six inches, above the floor and at 19 least eighteen inches wide. 20 § 483. Exclusion. This article shall not apply to sites whose physical 21 characteristics renders compliance with this article unreasonable. 22 § 484. Enforcement. Any person, firm, corporation, partnership or any 23 other business entity that violates any provision of this article shall 24 be subject to a civil penalty of not less than fifty nor more than five 25 hundred dollars for each such offense and each day on which such 26 violation occurs or continues to occur shall be a separate offense. Any 27 violation of this article shall be enforceable by the attorney general 28 and any aggrieved party, and any such party shall have the right to seek 29 legal and equitable relief and the court may award reasonable costs and 30 attorney's fees associated with such action. 31 § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after 32 it shall have become a law and shall apply to dwelling units the 33 construction of which begins on or after such date.