Bill Text: NY S02718 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced


Bill Title: Requires access to new homes by persons with disabilities.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-08 - REFERRED TO JUDICIARY [S02718 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-S02718-Introduced.html


                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                          2718
                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions
                    IN SENATE
                                    January 29, 2019
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by  Sens.  KRUEGER, ADDABBO, BAILEY, SEPULVEDA -- read twice
          and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee
          on Judiciary
        AN ACT to amend the real property law, in relation to  the  visitability
          of new homes by persons with disabilities
          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section 1. The real property law is amended by adding a new article 16
     2  to read as follows:
     3                                 ARTICLE 16
     4                      VISITABILITY OF NEW CONSTRUCTION
     5  Section 480. Purpose.
     6          481. Applicability of new construction.
     7          482. Visitability requirement.
     8          483. Exclusion.
     9          484. Enforcement.
    10    § 480. Purpose. The purpose of this article is  to  establish  minimum
    11  regulations  for  the  design  and  construction of new homes to provide
    12  visitability to such homes by persons with disabilities.
    13    § 481. Applicability of new construction. Any new dwelling unit  which
    14  was  designed,  constructed,  or  commissioned,  contracted or otherwise
    15  arranged for design or construction, by any person or entity who, at any
    16  time during the commissioning design or construction, received New  York
    17  state  or  federal  financial assistance for such design or construction
    18  shall comply with the provisions  of  this  article.    State  financial
    19  assistance shall not include loans backed by the state of New York mort-
    20  gage  agency  (SONYMA).   Federal financial assistance shall not include
    21  loans backed by federal national mortgage association  (Fannie  Mae)  or
    22  federal  housing  administration (FHA) financing or other mortgage loans
    23  backed by a federal  mortgage  loan  program.    For  purposes  of  this
    24  section,  the  term  "dwelling unit" shall mean a detached single family
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD01682-01-9

        S. 2718                             2
     1  home, a ground floor unit in a town house, or a ground floor unit  in  a
     2  building  of  three  or  fewer  dwelling  units which is designed as, or
     3  intended for occupancy as a residence.
     4    §  482. Visitability requirement. The design and construction of a new
     5  dwelling unit shall comply with the following requirements:
     6    1. Accessible entrance. (a) Except as provided  in  paragraph  (b)  of
     7  this  subdivision,  the ground level of such dwelling unit shall contain
     8  at least one entrance to the dwelling unit that:
     9    (i) is accessible to, and usable by,  people  with  disabilities  such
    10  that all rooms on the level are connected by an accessible route;
    11    (ii)  does  not  contain  any steps or any door threshold that exceeds
    12  one-half inch in height; and
    13    (iii) is located on a continuous unobstructed  path  from  the  public
    14  street  or  driveway  that serves the unit, which path at no point has a
    15  slope exceeding one inch in rise for every twelve inches in length,  has
    16  a  width  of  not  less than thirty-six inches and has a cross slope not
    17  greater than two percent of the width. Such unobstructed path  shall  be
    18  able  to  be  negotiated by a person and may include curb ramps, parking
    19  access aisles, walks, and ramps.
    20    (b) The provisions of paragraph (a)  of  this  subdivision  shall  not
    21  apply to a dwelling unit if:
    22    (i)  the  finished  grade  of  the site is too steep to provide a path
    23  having a slope of one inch in rise for every twelve inches in length  at
    24  the front, side, or back of the unit;
    25    (ii) there is no driveway serving the unit; and
    26    (iii)  there is no alley or other roadway capable of providing vehicu-
    27  lar access to the rear or side of the unit.
    28    2. Accessible interior doors. All doors that  are  designed  to  allow
    29  passage  within  the  ground  level  of such dwelling unit shall have an
    30  unobstructed opening of at least thirty-six inches when the door is open
    31  at a ninety-degree angle.
    32    3. Accessible environmental controls. All environmental  controls  and
    33  outlets  located  on  the  ground  level  of such dwelling unit shall be
    34  located on the wall at least fifteen inches, but not  more  than  forty-
    35  eight  inches, above the floor or, in the case of environmental controls
    36  and outlets located directly above a counter, sink,  or  appliance,  not
    37  more than three inches above such counter, sink, or appliance.
    38    4.  Accessible  habitable space and bathroom. The ground level of such
    39  dwelling unit shall contain the following:
    40    (a) At least one indoor room that has an area of not less than seventy
    41  square feet and contains no side or dimension narrower than seven  feet;
    42  and
    43    (b) At least one bathroom that contains, at a minimum, the following:
    44    (i)  clear floor space of thirty by forty-eight inches centered on and
    45  contiguous to the sink, which is not encroached by the swing path of the
    46  bathroom door;
    47    (ii) a sink and a toilet that each allow for  a  parallel  or  head-on
    48  approach by a person in a wheelchair; and
    49    (iii)  walls that are reinforced to be capable of supporting grab bars
    50  that resist shear and bending forces of a minimum of two  hundred  fifty
    51  pounds, as follows:
    52    (A)  All  walls  adjacent  to the toilet shall have horizontal backing
    53  reinforcements, each at least thirty-three inches,  but  not  more  than
    54  thirty-six  inches, above the floor, and sufficient to allow for a twen-
    55  ty-four-inch grab bar on the wall behind the toilet and  another  forty-
    56  two-inch grab bar on one or the other walls adjacent to the toilet.

        S. 2718                             3
     1    (B) If a bathtub is present in the bathroom, such reinforcements shall
     2  include:
     3    (I)  two  backing reinforcements on the back wall of the bathtub, each
     4  at least twenty-four inches long, at least twenty inches  wide  and  not
     5  more  than  twenty-four  inches from the head end wall and not more than
     6  twelve inches from the foot end wall, one in a  horizontal  position  at
     7  least  thirty-three  inches,  but not more than thirty-six inches, above
     8  the floor, and one nine inches above the rim of the bathtub;
     9    (II) one backing reinforcement on the foot end wall of the bathtub, at
    10  least twenty inches long, at least eighteen inches wide and  located  at
    11  the front edge of the bathtub; and
    12    (III)  one  backing reinforcement on the head end wall of the bathtub,
    13  at least twelve inches long, at least eighteen inches wide  and  located
    14  at the front edge of the bathtub.
    15    (C)  If a shower is present in the bathroom, such reinforcements shall
    16  include backing reinforcements on  at  least  two  walls  on  which  the
    17  control  valves  are  not  located,  each centered at least thirty-three
    18  inches, but not more than thirty-six inches,  above  the  floor  and  at
    19  least eighteen inches wide.
    20    § 483. Exclusion. This article shall not apply to sites whose physical
    21  characteristics renders compliance with this article unreasonable.
    22    §  484. Enforcement. Any person, firm, corporation, partnership or any
    23  other business entity that violates any provision of this article  shall
    24  be  subject to a civil penalty of not less than fifty nor more than five
    25  hundred dollars for each  such  offense  and  each  day  on  which  such
    26  violation occurs or continues to occur shall be a separate offense.  Any
    27  violation  of  this article shall be enforceable by the attorney general
    28  and any aggrieved party, and any such party shall have the right to seek
    29  legal and equitable relief and the court may award reasonable costs  and
    30  attorney's fees associated with such action.
    31    § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
    32  it  shall  have  become  a  law  and  shall  apply to dwelling units the
    33  construction of which begins on or after such date.
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