[Added 9-6-2016 by L.L.
No. 10-2016]
A.
This article shall be known and referred to as the Rental Registry
Law of the Town of Clarkstown.
B.
The Town Board of the Town of Clarkstown recognizes that the rental
of dwelling units constitutes a business which impacts upon the public
health, safety and general welfare of the people of the Town of Clarkstown.
The state and local framework for regulation of multifamily or multiple
dwelling buildings is in many and various respects not applicable
to one- and two-family dwellings which are offered and utilized as
non-owner-occupied residential rental dwelling units. The intent of
this chapter is to create a registry to the offering for rental of
dwelling units in one-and two-family residential buildings, so as
to facilitate the enforcement of New York Building and Fire Codes
as well as the Town Code of Clarkstown in relation thereto in order
to protect the public health, safety and welfare of the people of
the Town of Clarkstown and to achieve the following beneficial purposes:
(1)
The protection of the character and stability of residential areas;
(2)
The correction and prevention of housing conditions/violations that
adversely affect or are likely to adversely affect the life, safety,
general welfare and health, including the physical, mental and social
well-being of persons occupying dwellings; and
(3)
The preservation of the value of land and buildings throughout the
Town of Clarkstown.
For use in this article only, the following words and phrases
shall have the meanings respectively ascribed to them by this section:
A parent, child, sibling, spouse, grandparent, domestic partnership.
Any person who owns any legally cognizable interest in any
rental property, including, but not limited to, outright ownership
or ownership through a partnership, corporation or limited liability
company.
SINGLE-FAMILY RESIDENCESFor any rental property to be considered owner-occupied, the owner must prove that all individual title owners (including immediate family members) or all owners, partners, or shareholders of a corporation or other legally organized entity, actually have their principal residence at the rental property and reside therein on a full-time basis, it being the actual domicile of all individual owners, all partners, or all shareholders.
TWO FAMILY RESIDENCESThe primary residential living unit of the owner is located within the rental property.
At the request of the Town of Clarkstown, any owner who claims
to occupy the rental property shall provide a sworn affidavit providing
the necessary information to support his or her claim that the premises
are owner-occupied.
The cleanliness and proper working order and upkeep of all
areas and facilities of the rental unit, rental property or complex
used by the tenants and the public.
Any house, structure, building or complex which contains
a residential rental unit other than owner-occupied houses, structures
or buildings.
Includes that portion of a house, building or structure rented
or offered for rent, for living and dwelling purposes to an individual
or family units.
To live or dwell permanently or continuously for more than
14 days. Said days need not be consecutive, but must occur within
a reasonably short period of time to evidence an intent to utilize
the rental unit as the person's primary place of residence.
Those persons who have leased the rental unit from the owner,
regardless of the type of tenancy under which they occupy the rental
unit.
A.
Every owner of a one-family dwelling unit or a two-family dwelling
unit in the Town of Clarkstown, as defined in this chapter, who is
engaged in rental occupancy of such premises shall register within
90 days of the effective date of this article on a form approved by
the Town of Clarkstown.
B.
It shall be unlawful and a violation of this article for any person
or entity who owns or operates a dwelling unit within the Town of
Clarkstown to maintain, use, lease, rent or suffer or permit occupancy
as a rental occupancy after the effective date of this chapter without
having registered said dwelling with the Building Department, except
as provided herein.
C.
For the purposes of this article, "rent" shall mean a return to the
owner or lessor of money, property or other valuable consideration
for use or occupancy of a dwelling unit.
D.
This article shall not apply to hotels and motels when operating
for their intended purpose within the meaning of state law and local
zoning laws; hospitals, congregate care housing for seniors, assisted
living for seniors, nursing homes and similar living arrangements;
apartment houses, registered multiple dwellings, garden apartments,
public housing owned and operated by governmental agencies; registered
boardinghouses and registered rooming houses.
A.
This article shall not be construed to require the registration of
any residential rental premises in the Town of Clarkstown so long
as the owner of record maintains a bona fide occupancy of a dwelling
unit on such premises.
B.
The occupancy of a room or rooms by an owner of record without self-contained
living, cooking, sleeping and sanitary facilities shall not constitute
sufficient bona fide occupancy to qualify for the exemption in this
section.
C.
In no case may more than one residential rental premises qualify
for the exemption in this section by any one owner of record.
D.
Unless owner-occupied, a corporation or any other organized legal
entity shall not be eligible for an exemption under this article.
A.
It shall be the responsibility of the owner of each residential rental
premises which is subject to the provisions of this chapter to timely
file a registry application form with the Building Department for
each premises, which form shall require the following information:
(1)
The name, address and telephone number and email address of the owner
of record of the residential rental premises intended for rental occupancy.
(2)
The street address and Tax Map description of the premise containing
the dwelling unit(s).
(3)
A description and location of the premises, including number of rooms,
exits and stories, bathrooms and kitchens, and a sketch of each floor
layout with dimensions, as well as lot size, drawn to scale.
(4)
Designation of an agent for notification and service of process where
required by this chapter.
(5)
A statement of the owner attesting to the truth of matters asserted
in the application and that to the best of the owner's knowledge no
violations of village, Town, county or state laws exist on the premises
being registered.
(6)
Such additional information as the Building Department or Code Enforcement
Officers or the Town Board of the Town of Clarkstown deems appropriate
to the carrying out of the requirements and intent of this chapter.
B.
The application shall be reviewed by the Building Inspector or his/her
designee for adequacy. Should the Building Department determine that
said application is incomplete, defective or untruthful for any reason,
said application shall be marked "rejected" and returned to the filer.
A rejected application shall not be deemed to comply with the filing
provisions of this chapter.
C.
It shall be the responsibility of each owner to timely notify the
Building Department whenever the information provided in the registry
application has become outdated or for any reason is no longer accurate.
D.
Every approved application shall be valid for two years and shall
be given a registry number by the Building Department which shall
be valid for two years from the date of issuance. A copy of the approved
application with the approval stamp of the Building Department, in
original ink, issued to the property owner after satisfactory inspection
of residential occupancy, shall be necessary to lawfully rent any
residential premises in the Town of Clarkstown.
E.
The Town Board of the Town of Clarkstown shall set the application
and/or inspection fee by resolution which may be amended from time
to time.
A.
Every owner who rents a residential rental premises which is subject
to the provisions of this article and who does not maintain a bona
fide residence in the County of Rockland shall designate an agent
who maintains a bona fide residence in the County of Rockland. Such
designation shall be indicated in the space provided by the owner
on the registry application form as provided herein.
B.
A designated agent of an owner may be served with a notice of violation
or order of violation or an appearance ticket or other service of
process, whether criminal or civil, pursuant to and subject to the
provisions of law, as if actually served upon the owner.
C.
No owner who designates an agent pursuant to the provisions of this
article may assert the defense of lack of notice or lack of in person
jurisdiction based solely upon the service of process upon his designated
agent.
A.
Broker's/agent's responsibility prior to listing. It shall be unlawful
and a violation of this chapter and an offense within the meaning
of the Penal Law of the State of New York for any broker or agent
to list, solicit, advertise, exhibit, show or otherwise offer for
lease, rent or sale on behalf of the owner any dwelling unit for which
a current rental permit has not been issued by the Building Inspector
or his/her designee. It shall be the broker's or agent's duty to verify
the existence of a valid rental registration before acting on behalf
of the owner.
B.
It shall be unlawful and a violation of this chapter to accept a
deposit of rent or security, or a commission, in connection with the
rental of a rental dwelling unit located within the Town of Clarkstown
where no valid rental registration has been issued as required under
this chapter.
C.
In the event that a person convicted of a violation of this section
shall have been a real estate broker or salesperson licensed by the
State of New York, at the time such violation was committed, the Town
Clerk shall transmit a record of such conviction to the Division of
Licensing Services of the Department of State and make complaint thereto
against such licensee on behalf of the Town of Clarkstown, pursuant
to the provisions of Article 12-A of the Real Property Law.
A.
The Building Inspector or his/her authorized agent shall make provisions for the biennial inspection of each residential rental premises which is subject to the provisions of this chapter and shall notify each owner/landlord of each rental premises as to the time and place of such inspection. The inspection shall be for the purposes of determining compliance with Chapter 157 of the Town Code and other applicable laws and shall expressly include in each instance the determination of the presence of functioning and proper placement of smoke and carbon monoxide detectors as well as fire extinguishers pursuant to the provisions of state law and this Code.
B.
Any inspection report issued pursuant to Subsection A of this section which reveals the presence of a violation of this chapter of the Town Code shall be remedied by the owner within 10 days of the issuance of such report. Failure to bring any dwelling into conformance with such report within 10 days of the issuance of such report shall constitute a violation of this chapter.
At the request of the Inspecting Officer, the Town Attorney
is authorized to make application to Justice Court of the Town of
Clarkstown or any other court of competent jurisdiction for the issuance
of a search warrant, to be executed by a police officer, Building
Inspector, Fire Inspector or Code Enforcement Officer in order to
conduct an inspection of any premises believed to be subject to the
registry jurisdiction of this article. The Inspecting Officer may
seek a search warrant whenever the owner or occupant fails to allow
inspection of any rental dwelling unit where there is reasonable cause
to believe that a violation of this article or a violation of the
New York Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code or of any code
of the Town of Clarkstown has occurred after due notice has been sent
by ordinary United States mail. The application for a search warrant
shall in all respects comply with applicable laws of the State of
New York.
Nothing in this article shall prevent any member of the public,
prospective tenant or any resident of the Town of Clarkstown from
determining whether any particular rental property has been registered
pursuant to this article. The general public shall have full access
to said landlord registration statements upon filing of the proper
Freedom of Information Act application.
A.
Any person or entity that shall violate any of the provisions of
this article or who fails to comply with any of the requirements thereof
shall be guilty of a violation, punishable by:
(1)
A fine of not less than $3,500 and not exceeding $5,000 upon conviction
of a first offense, or a sentence of imprisonment not to exceed 15
days, or both.
[Amended 12-14-2017 by L.L. No. 10-2017]
(2)
A fine of not less than $7,000 nor more than $10,000 for a conviction
of the second of two offenses, both of which were committed within
a period of five years, or a sentence of imprisonment not to exceed
15 days, or both.
[Amended 12-14-2017 by L.L. No. 10-2017]
(3)
A fine of not less than $10,000 nor more than $15,000 for a conviction
of the third of three offenses, all of which were committed within
a period of five years, or a sentence of imprisonment not to exceed
15 days, or both.
[Amended 12-14-2017 by L.L. No. 10-2017]
B.
Each week a violation continues shall be deemed a separate offense
subjecting the offender to additional weekly fines in the amount equaling
the original fine.
C.
The Town Board of the Town of Clarkstown may amend the penalties
by resolution.
Should the aforesaid penalties not be paid within 30 days of
being assessed, and after notice of said failure is served as provided
by law, then the property covered by this article will be assessed
for the unpaid penalties and shall be collected in the same manner
and time as Town taxes.
