Received Violation Notice of Illegal Apt - Landlord Forum thread 119159

Received Violation Notice of Illegal Apt by Anonymous on March 17, 2006 @13:17

I'm not sure what my next step should be.
My 2 fam house is in the Town of Oyster Bay, NY
Yesterday a code enforcement officer came over and asked my brother (who is mildly mentally retarded)if he can come in. My brother who was the only one home said "sure!" The officer proceeded to ask questions about the upstairs apartment. He never went into the apartment which was locked. He then left a Violation Notice citing the illegal apartment.

I called the town and asked what I should do. They said
"Fix the Violations" and then call to make an appointment for an inspection. I said what do I fix in order to comply? I was told whatever the violation is. I asked: The sik/ The stove? what constitutes an illegal apt?
I was told It depends on the inspector and what he finds.

Should I make an appointment or wait to see what happens?

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Re: Received Violation Notice of Illegal Apt by Anon on March 17, 2006 @21:54	[ Reply ]

From what you wrote, since the code enforcement officer didn't go into the apt to find anything wrong with it. He must mean the apt itself is illegal. Better to call again to make an appt. If you wait to see, they might think you are just ignoring the notice.

Re: Received Violation Notice of Illegal Apt by Jack on March 18, 2006 @00:13	[ Reply ]

What they do is wait for you to make an appointment and let them in. Once the inspector is in, he confirms the fact that you have an illegal apartment. An illegal apartment is usually contituted by a kitchen sink and stove. The inspectors are known to be SOBs and often go hunting through the house for other violations so they can rack up more fines. The violation they can site range from $1000. for a ripped screen to a missing handrail on a deck. The town of Oyster Bay inspectors can be especially bad. I had one just start requiring to almost rebuild the house at his whim. (New stoop, new electrical service, hard wired smoke detectors. The house had battery ones, but wanted them wired. He made us tear down the shed because he didn't want it too close to the house.) I'll have to look up this clown's name so I can put it on the site. It is perfectly legal to rent part of your home, but the town requires a permit for an accessory apartment. Nassau County townships do not make it easy to get a legal apartment status. That is why so many "illegal apartments" exist. People need the income to support their high taxes and there is a high demand for affordable rentals.

Re: Received Violation Notice of Illegal Apt

Re: Received Violation Notice of Illegal Apt by Westchester NY on March 18, 2006 @15:18	[ Reply ]

First, I will take it as gospel that your brother is in fact mentally retarded. What is his age, however. Could make a difference. Second. Your first mistake was, when you called the building inspector, to ask them, in so many words "should I remove the sink, the stove?" Whatever. Third, how do you know for sure that inspector did or did not go into the upstairs apartment? Fourth, is your house a true, LEGAL 2-family home? This could be learned from the assessor's records in your town. IF you have a LEGAL 2-family home, and there ARE two stoves only, there should be no problem. Most important -- here in the U.S. we're supposed to be presumed innocent until proven guilty. It's not up to you to prove your innocense; it's up to the town to prove their case, to prove that you've done something in violation of code. Phone the building dept and ASK QUESTIONS ... but do not divulge any further information. In other words, don't volunteer info because your own words could prove their case. Me, I'd look at the violation and jot down the section of the law they say I violated. Then I'd go to the library and check to code book to read what the violation states. This, at least, would show me what they say I've violated. Good luck.

Re: Received Violation Notice of Illegal Apt by Borgettano (NY) on April 18, 2014 @16:59	[ Reply ]

So what ended up happening?

Re: Received Violation Notice of Illegal Apt by Anonymous on September 4, 2014 @13:51	[ Reply ]

Can you upload a picture of the notice? My tenant said he was left one but then failed to produce it. Thank you.