As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
DWELLING UNIT
A structure or building, or part thereof, or an area, room
or rooms therein, occupied or to be occupied by one or more persons
as a home or residence.
OWNER
A.
Owner, lessee, agent or other person in control of a dwelling
unit or any other person or persons or entity or entities having the
right to possession of a dwelling unit, except:
(1)
A cooperative corporation whose offering statement or prospectus
has been accepted by the New York State Attorney General for filing
under General Business Law § 352-e; and
(2)
A not-for-profit corporation organized to own and operate a
low-income or moderate-income senior-citizen housing project in conjunction
with the New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal.
B.
Under this definition, a tenant can be an "owner" in relation
to a subtenant.
RENT
A return, in money, property or other valuable consideration
(including payment in kind or services or other thing of value), for
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 UNIT
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. 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 Code Enforcement Officer shall review each application for completeness and accuracy and shall make an on-site inspection of the proposed rental dwelling unit. If satisfied that the proposed rental dwelling unit, as well as the premises in which the same are located, comply fully with all applicable state and local laws, ordinances, rules and regulations of the county and Village and that such rental dwelling unit would not create an unsafe or dangerous condition or create an unsafe and substandard structure, as defined in Chapter
74 of the Village Code, or create a nuisance to adjoining nearby property, the Code Enforcement Officer shall issue the permit.
All permits issued pursuant to this article shall be valid for
a period of one year from date of issuance.
It shall be the duty of the Code Enforcement Officer to maintain
a register of permits issued pursuant to this article. Such register
shall be kept by 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
of expiration of permit for such unit.
No permit shall be issued or renewed until the Code Enforcement
Officer inspects the rental dwelling unit and determines that it is
equipped with a functioning smoke detector device and carbon monoxide
alarm, in compliance with New York State Uniform Fire Prevention and
Building Code.
The Code Enforcement Officer is authorized to make application
to the District Court of Nassau County or other court of competent
jurisdiction for the issuance of a search warrant, to be executed
by a police officer, in order to conduct an inspection of any premises
covered by this article where the owner or occupant refuses or fails,
after due notice by certified mail, to allow an inspection of the
rental dwelling unit or premises and where there is reasonable cause
to believe that a violation of this article or a violation of the
Multiple Residence Law, the New York State Uniform Fire Prevention
and Building Code, the Nassau County Fire Prevention Ordinance or
the Village Code has occurred. The application for a search warrant
shall, in all respects, comply with applicable laws of the State of
New York.
It shall be unlawful and a violation of the Village Code for
any owner to permit any tenant or other person to take up residence
by a rental occupancy in any dwelling unit without the owner first
having completed and filed with the Code Enforcement Officer a rental
registration form approved by the Village's Building Department.
Under Public Officers Law § 87, Subdivision 2(b), rental registration forms and that portion of the rental occupancy permit application required under §
216-105.5B(3) 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 Officer
will institute strict policies to ensure that such information is
available only to Village personnel who are engaged in the enforcement
of the provisions of this article.
The following shall be conditions precedent to the collection
of rent for the use and occupancy of any dwelling unit:
A. The issuance of a rental occupancy permit for the premises, as required by §
216-105.4;
B. The filing of a valid rental registration form for the tenancy as required by §
216-105.14; and
C. The tendering of a written receipt in exchange for any rent payment
offered in cash.
It shall be unlawful and a violation of the Village Code for
any broker or agent to list, show or otherwise offer for lease or
rent on behalf of the owner any dwelling unit for which a current
rental occupancy permit has not been issued by the Code Enforcement
Officer. It shall be the broker or agent's duty to verify the
existence of a valid permit before acting on behalf of the owner.
Any broker or agent who has earned a commission or other compensation
for renting or leasing a dwelling unit must, within five business
days of earning said commission or other compensation, file with the
Code Enforcement Officer a rental registration form, unless the owner
has already filed such a form in the meantime. Failure to file shall
be unlawful and a violation of the Village Code.
No owner, broker or agent shall publish a written offer or solicitation
of offers to rent or lease a rental dwelling unit, unless that offer
or solicitation refers by number to a valid rental occupancy permit
for the rental dwelling unit in question. For purposes of this section,
"publish" means to promulgate to the general public or to selected
segments of the general public in a newspaper, magazine, flyer, handbill,
mailed circular, bulletin board, sign or electronic media. Violation
of this section shall be unlawful and a violation of the Village Code.
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.
This article shall be effective upon filing with the Secretary
of State.