The Town Board of the Town of Islip has determined that serious conditions exist in the Town of Islip arising from the rental of dwelling units that are substandard or in violation of the New York State Building Code, New York State Fire Code, New York State Fuel-Gas Code, New York State Residential Code, New York State Property Maintenance Code, New York State Plumbing Code, New York State Electrical Code, Multiple Residence Law, Building Rehabilitation Code, and other codes and ordinances of the Town, are inadequate in size and overcrowded, that such dwelling units pose hazards to the safety, well-being and property of residents of the Town and others, create blight and tend to promote and encourage deterioration of the housing stock of the Town, exacerbate vehicle traffic and parking problems and overburden municipal services. The Board finds that current Code provisions are inadequate to halt the proliferation of such conditions and that the public health, safety, welfare and good order and governance of the Town will be enhanced by the enactment of the regulations set forth in this article, which regulations are remedial in nature and effect.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated.
ABANDONED HOUSEHOLD CONTENTS Furniture, furnishings, housewares, appliances and other personal property customarily found in and used in residential dwellings, which are deposited at or along said dwelling's street frontage, in part or in whole, pursuant to a duly executed warrant of eviction by legally authorized law enforcement officers and/or personnel.
APARTMENT An entirely self-contained dwelling unit containing complete housekeeping facilities, including cooking facilities, for only one family. An apartment shall have no enclosed space in common with any other dwelling or apartment other than vestibules, entrances, hallways or porches.
APARTMENT HOUSE OR GARDEN APARTMENT A building or buildings arranged, intended or designed to be occupied by two or more individuals or families living independently of each other in apartments.
AUTHORIZED AGENT Any person, organization, partnership, association, corporation or other legally recognized entity having actual or apparent authority to act on behalf of an owner regarding this article and all state and local rules, regulations and ordinances referenced herein. It shall be a rebuttable presumption that any person, organization, partnership, association, corporation or other legally recognized entity that accepts or receives rent or any other consideration from the occupant of a dwelling unit is an authorized agent.
BUILDING A structure having a roof supported by columns or walls. When separated by a party wall without openings, it shall be deemed a separate building.
CODE ENFORCEMENT OFFICIAL The official who is charged with the administration and enforcement of this article, or any duly authorized representative of such person, including but not limited to the Building Inspector, Chief Building Inspector, Principal Building Inspectors, Senior Building Inspector, Building Permits Coordinator, Zoning Inspector, Plumbing Inspector, Fire Marshal, Fire Marshal I, Fire Marshal II, Chief Fire Marshal, Town Investigator. Senior Town Investigator or Ordinance Inspector of the Town of Islip, and such person(s) shall be certified as a New York State Code Enforcement Official.
DWELLING A building designed exclusively for residential purposes and arranged or intended to be occupied by one individual or one family only. A dwelling shall not have a separate entrance leading to a separated living space which contains a stove, kitchen and/or attached plumbing fixtures.
DWELLING, MULTIPLE A building or portion thereof arranged, designed for or occupied by three or more families living independently of each other with separate cooking facilities. A boardinghouse, furnished-room house, dormitory, rooming house, tourist house or fraternity house is a building in which there are fewer than 30 sleeping rooms occupied primarily by transients who are lodged with or without meals and in which there are provided such services as are incidental to its use as a temporary residence, and is a multiple dwelling; a dwelling occupied by one or two families with five or more transient boarders, roomer or lodgers in one or both households.
DWELLING, TWO-FAMILY A building arranged, designed for or occupied exclusively as a home or residence for not more than two families living independently of each other.
DWELLING UNIT A structure or building, one-, two- or three-family dwelling, apartments, multiunit apartments, apartment houses, condominiums, cooperatives, garden apartments or townhouses, occupied or to be occupied by one or more persons as a home or residence.
FAMILY One or more persons, whether or not related to each other by blood, marriage or adoption, all occupying a single, whole, legal single- or one-family dwelling unit as a traditional family or the functional equivalent of a traditional family, having access to and utilizing the whole of such dwelling unit, including but not limited to all rooms and housekeeping facilities, in common.
A. In determining whether individuals are living together as the functional equivalent of a traditional family, the following criteria must be present:
(1) The group is one which in structure and function resembles a traditional family unit; and
(2) The occupants must share the entire single- or one-family dwelling unit and live and cook together as a single housekeeping unit. A unit in which the various occupants act as separate roomers may not be deemed to be occupied by the functional equivalent of a traditional family; and
(3) The occupants share expenses for food, rent, ownership costs, utilities and other household expenses; and
(4) The occupancy is permanent and stable. Evidence of such permanence and stability includes, but is not limited to:
(a) The presence of minor children regularly residing in the household who are enrolled in local schools;
(b) Members of the household have the same address for purposes of voter registration, drivers' licenses, motor vehicle registration, filing of taxes and delivery of mail;
(c) Members of the household are employed in the area;
(d) The household has been living together as a unit for a year or more whether in the current dwelling unit or in other dwelling units.
(e) Common ownership of furniture and appliances among the members of the household; and
(f) Any other factor reasonably related to whether or not the occupants are the functional equivalent of a family.
KITCHEN An area within a building which contains a sink, a refrigerator and an element utilized for heating or cooking of consumable goods.
MANAGING AGENT Any individual, business, partnership, firm, corporation, enterprise, trust, company, industry, association, public utility or other legal entity responsible for the maintenance or operation of any rental property as defined within this article.
NEW PERMIT A permit which is to be issued to the owner of an intended rental premises where such premises have not been the subject of a rental occupancy permit continuously prior to the date of application for the permit.
OCCUPANT A natural person who leases, uses or occupies a dwelling unit.
OWNER Any person or entity in whose name the real property upon which the dwelling unit is situated is recorded in the office of the Suffolk County Clerk. The person or entity in whose name the real property is recorded in the Office of the Suffolk County Clerk shall be presumed to be the owner thereof.
RENEWAL RENTAL OCCUPANCY PERMIT A permit which is to be issued to the owner of a rental dwelling unit where such premises have been the subject of a rental occupancy permit continuously prior to the date of application for the permit.
RENT A return in money, property or other valuable consideration (including payment in kind or for services or other thing of value) for the use and occupancy or the right to the use and occupancy of a dwelling unit, whether or not a legal relationship of landlord and tenant exists between the owner and the occupant or occupants thereof.
RENTAL DWELLING A dwelling unit established, occupied, used or maintained for rental occupancy.
RENTAL OCCUPANCY The occupancy or use of a dwelling unit by one or more persons as a home or residence under an arrangement whereby the occupant or occupants thereof pay rent for such occupancy and use.
RENTAL OCCUPANCY PERMIT A permit which is issued upon application to the Code Enforcement Official and shall be valid for two years from the date of issuance.
TRANSIENT RENTAL PROPERTY [Added 12-15-2015]
A. A rental dwelling occupied as a home or residence by persons other than the owner or a family member of the owner and for which rent is received by the owner, directly or indirectly, in exchange for such rental occupation for a period of less than 14 nights. For the purposes of this chapter, the term "transient rental property" shall mean all non-owner-occupied dwelling units rented for a period of less than 14 nights and shall not include:
(1) A dwelling unit lawfully and validly permitted as an accessory apartment in accordance with §
68-602 of the Code of the Town of Islip; or
(2) Properties used exclusively for nonresidential commercial purposes in any zoning district; or
(3) Any legally operating hotel/motel business or bed-and-breakfast establishment operating exclusively and catering to transient clientele; that is, customers who customarily reside at these establishments for short durations for the purpose of vacationing, travel, business, recreational activities, conventions, emergencies and other activities that are customary to a commercial hotel/motel business.
(4) A dwelling unit located on Fire Island.
B. Presumption of dwelling unit as transient rental property.
(1) The presence of the following shall create a presumption that a dwelling unit is being used as a transient rental property:
(a) The dwelling unit is offered for lease on a short-term rental website, including Airbnb, Home Away, VRBO and the like for a period of less than 14 days; or
(b) The dwelling is offered for lease in any medium for a period of less than 14 nights.
(2) The foregoing presumption may be rebutted by evidence presented to the Code Enforcement Official that the dwelling unit is not a transient rental property.
No rental occupancy permit or renewal thereof shall be issued under any application unless the property shall be in compliance with all the provisions of the Code of the Town of Islip, the laws and sanitary and housing regulations of the County of Suffolk and the laws of the State of New York.
It shall be the duty of the Code Enforcement Official to maintain a register of the rental occupancy permits issued pursuant to this article. Such register shall be kept by Tax Map number, license number, receipt number and street address showing the name and address of the permittee, the number of rental dwelling units at such street address, the number of rooms in each such rental dwelling unit and the date that said rental occupancy permit expires for such unit.
The Code Enforcement Official is authorized to make, or cause to be made, inspections to determine the condition of rental dwelling units to safeguard the health, safety and welfare of the public. The Code Enforcement Official is authorized to enter, upon consent of the owner if the unit is unoccupied, or upon consent of the occupant if the unit is occupied, any rental dwelling unit and the premises in which the same is located, at any reasonable time, or at such other time as may be necessary in an emergency, without consent of the owner, authorized agent and/or tenant for the purpose of performing his duties under this article.
The Code Enforcement Official is authorized to make application to any court of competent jurisdiction for the issuance of a search warrant in order to conduct an inspection of any premises covered by this article where the owner refuses or fails to allow an inspection of its rental premises and where there is reasonable cause to believe that a violation of this article has occurred. The application for a search warrant shall in all respects comply with the applicable laws of the State of New York.
Nothing in this article, except for provisions concerning emergency inspections, shall be deemed to authorize the Code Enforcement Official to conduct an inspection of any premises subject to this article without the consent of the owner of the premises and without a warrant duly issued by an appropriate court.
No change of occupancy or use shall be made in a building hereafter erected or altered that is not consistent with the last-issued certificate of occupancy for such building unless a permit is secured. In the case of an existing building, no change of occupancy that would bring it under some special provision of this chapter shall be made unless the Code Enforcement Official, or his designee, upon inspection, finds that such building conforms substantially to the provisions of this chapter with respect to the proposed new occupancy and use, and issues a certificate of occupancy therefor.
Under New York State Public Officers Law § 87(2)(b), rental registration forms, and that portion of the rental occupancy permit application required, shall be exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Law on the grounds that such disclosure would constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy. The Code Enforcement Official will institute strict policies to ensure that such information is available only to Town personnel who are engaged in the enforcement of the provisions of this article.
[Amended 4-14-2009]
Any person, association, firm or corporation who or which violates any provision of this article or assists in the violation of any provision of this article shall be guilty of a violation, punishable:
A. By a fine of not less than $750 and not exceeding $2,500 or by imprisonment for a period not to exceed 15 days, or both, for conviction of a first offense.
B. For any second conviction, committed within a period of five years of the first conviction, such violation will be subject to a fine of not less than $2,500 nor more than $5,000 or by imprisonment for a period not to exceed 15 days, or both.
C. For any third or subsequent offense, after having been convicted two or more times within a period of five years, such violation shall be prosecuted as an unclassified misdemeanor, with a minimum fine of $5,000 and a maximum fine of $10,000 and/or a maximum period of incarceration of one year.
This article shall be enforced by the Code Enforcement Official as defined by this article.
If any clause, sentence, paragraph, section or part of this article shall be adjudged by any court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such judgment shall not affect, impair or invalidate the remainder thereof, but shall be confined in its operation to the clause, sentence, paragraph, section or part thereof directly involved in said judgment.§