[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Village
of Flower Hill 2-7-2022 by L.L. No. 2-2022. Amendments noted where
applicable.]
The intent of this chapter is to attempt to ensure that all
rental dwelling units are safe, to provide necessary information for
essential communications between emergency responders and tenants
in the event of an emergency, and to prevent illegal rentals.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
A building within the Village, or part of such building,
occupied or to be occupied by one or more persons as a residence.
Such residence does not have to be the occupier's sole residence.
One individual or a collective group of individuals either:
Related to each other by blood, marriage or adoption who live
together in the same dwelling unit, cook together and function as
a single, stable housekeeping unit with common access to all rooms
and facilities; or
Not related by blood, marriage or adoption but who together
constitute the functional equivalent of a natural family, all living
together in the same dwelling unit, cooking together and generally
functioning as a single, stable housekeeping unit, all with common
access to all rooms and facilities, with no member or members of such
group subletting, subleasing or otherwise controlling any part of
the dwelling separately from the others.
The grantee of the property as set forth in the last deed of
record on file with the Clerk of the County of Nassau, every partner
of any grantee that is partnership, company, or firm, and every officer
of any grantee that is a corporation, except:
A public housing authority organized as such under the laws
of the State of New York;
A not-for-profit corporation organized to own and operate a
group home or assisted-living or moderate-income senior-citizen housing
in conjunction with New York State; and
A state-, county- or Village-operated group home or treatment
facility.
A tenant in relation to its subtenant.
A return, in money, property, or other valuable consideration
(including payment in kind or services or other thing of value), for
use and/or occupancy or the right to the use and/or 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.
A building wherein there is a rental dwelling unit.
A dwelling unit established, occupied, used or maintained
for rental occupancy.
The occupancy or use of a dwelling unit by one or more persons
as a dwelling unit under an arrangement whereby the occupant or occupants
thereof pay rent for such occupancy and use. There is a rebuttable
presumption that any occupancy or use of a dwelling unit is a rental
occupancy if the owner of the building containing the dwelling unit
does not reside in the same building.
The Superintendent of the Building Department or his or her
designee.
A.
This chapter shall apply to all rental dwelling units, whether or
not the use and/or occupancy thereof shall be permitted under the
applicable use regulations for the zoning district in which such rental
dwelling unit is located.
B.
The issuance of any permit pursuant to this chapter does not make
legal any action that is otherwise illegal under any other applicable
law.
It shall be unlawful for the owner, owner's agent, real
estate agent, or any other person with actual or apparent authority
over any dwelling unit to allow, permit, suffer, or tolerate the rental
of such dwelling unit without having first obtained a rental occupancy
permit pursuant to this chapter.
A.
An application for a rental occupancy permit for a rental dwelling
unit shall be made to the Superintendent and shall include the following
information and such other information as the Superintendent may deem
appropriate:
(1)
The name, address, telephone number, and email address of the managing
agent or operator, if any, or of the owner of the rental building;
(2)
The street address and Tax Map description (section, block and lot
or lots) of the rental building;
(3)
The number of dwelling units within the rental building;
(4)
The name, telephone number, and email address of the occupant or
occupants to whom the dwelling unit is rented. If not known at the
time of the registration, that information shall be added to the registration
within 30 days after it becomes known. In the event that such dwelling
unit is at any time thereafter rented to a different occupant or occupants,
within 30 days of that rental, such registration information shall
be updated so that it is always current;
(5)
A floor plan or other diagram sufficient for the Superintendent to
identify the location of the dwelling unit within the rental building
if the dwelling unit is only part of the rental building;
(6)
A certification that the dwelling unit is equipped with a functioning
smoke detector devices and carbon monoxide alarms in compliance with
the New York State Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code and certification
that the unit has been inspected and is rodent- and infestation-free.
B.
Each application shall be executed and acknowledged by the owner
of the rental building.
A nonrefundable permit application fee for each dwelling unit
shall be set from time to time by resolution of the Board of Trustees.
The Superintendent shall review each application for completeness
and the legality of the proposed rental and, upon satisfaction of
the completeness of the application, the legality of the rental, the
payment of the required fee, and confirming that there is a legal
certificate of occupancy for the proposed rental and that there are
no outstanding violations on the property, whether or not a notice
of violation or a notice of appearance to the Village Justice Court
has been issued, the Superintendent shall issue the permit.
All permits issued pursuant to this chapter shall be valid for
a period of two years from the date of issuance, however, upon a change
in tenant, a new permit shall be filed.
A.
The Superintendent shall maintain a register of permits issued pursuant
to this chapter. Such register shall be kept by street address, showing
the name and address of the permit holder, the number of rental dwelling
units in the rental building, and the date of expiration of such permit.
B.
The telephone numbers and email addresses set forth on the applications
may be shared with law enforcement, but shall otherwise be kept confidential
to the extent permitted by the Freedom of Information Law.
It shall be unlawful for any real estate broker or agent to
list, show, or otherwise offer for rent any dwelling unit for which
a current rental occupancy permit has not been issued by the Superintendent.
It shall be both the broker and the agent's responsibility to
verify the existence of a current rental occupancy permit before offering
any dwelling unit for rental. In the event that a real estate broker
and/or agent is convicted of a violation of this section, the Superintendent
shall transmit a record of such conviction to the Division of Licensing
Services of the Department of State and to make complaint thereto
against such real estate broker and/or agent on behalf of the Village.
No person shall solicit, advertise, cause, permit, and/or allow
another person to solicit, advertise, or publish an offer to lease
a rental dwelling unit, unless the rental dwelling has in effect a
current rental occupancy permit.
A.
Within the context of rental registration enforcement and prosecutions,
the presence or existence of any of the following shall create a rebuttable
presumption that a property is being used for rental occupancy:
(1)
The property is occupied by someone other than the owner of the property,
and the owner of the property represents in any manner that he or
she resides at an address other than the subject property;
(2)
Utilities, cable, phone, or other services are in place or requested
to be installed or used at the premises in the name of someone other
than the owner;
(3)
There are separate entrances for segregated parts of the dwelling;
(4)
There are partitions and/or internal doors with locks that may serve
to bar access portions of the dwelling, including, but not limited
to, bedrooms;
(5)
There is a written or oral lease or other rental agreement for all
or portions of a building;
(6)
Any occupant or person in possession of a residential building does
not have unimpeded access to all parts of the residential building;
(7)
A premises has been advertised as being available for rent;
(8)
There is more than one mailbox, gas meter, and/or electric meter
at the premises;
(9)
There are more than two motor vehicles registered to the premises
and the registered owners of not less than three of such motor vehicles
have different surnames.
B.
Nothing herein shall be construed to prevent persons living together
as a family unit with the owner.
A.
Renting, leasing or letting of a single-family dwelling by a homeowner
to another single family or individual for 90 consecutive days or
more while the owner does not occupy the premises is a permitted use.
No more than two such rentings, leasings or lettings may occur in
any 365-day period. The rental, leasing or letting for a term of less
than 90 consecutive days in a 365-day period is prohibited. The homeowner
must notify the Village Clerk and Police Department of the name and
contact telephone number of the individual(s) occupying the premises
upon any renting, leasing or letting authorized under this section.
B.
In the event that this section causes a severe and substantial financial
hardship to any property owner, an application may be made, in writing,
to the Board of Trustees requesting an exemption from the provisions
of this section. After due notice and a public hearing on such application,
the Board of Trustees may grant such exemption and impose any conditions
as may be deemed reasonable or necessary. No exemption shall be granted
pursuant to this section, except upon a determination in the sole
discretion of the Board of Trustees that severe and substantial financial
hardship exists as a result of the application of the provisions of
this section.
If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, or
other part of this chapter shall be for any reason adjudged by any
court of competent jurisdiction to be unconstitutional or otherwise
invalid, such judgment shall not affect, impair, or invalidate the
remainder of this chapter, and it shall be construed to have been
the legislative intent to enact this chapter without such unconstitutional
and/or invalid parts therein.
