Reports

Chhaya CDC and the Pratt Center for Community Development wrote a report identifying these “phantom apartments” as the city’s housing underground: units that have been created in spaces that are not officially approved for living. They include private homes that have been cut into rooming houses, two-family homes with unauthorized basement apartments that house an illegal third family, unapproved residential conversions of commercial lofts, and other types of unlawful construction.

1. The City should create an “accessory dwelling unit” category within the building and zoning codes, which would allow many of these currently illegal units to be legalized.
2. The City should offer landlords who agree to legalize their basement apartments as accessory dwelling units a reasonable (e.g., 12–18 month) grace period during which they will not be subject to penalties for illegal occupancy under the Building Code.
3. The City should offer landlords who offer to legalize their basement apartments for existing tenants at existing reasonable rents technical assistance and financial incentives to make the necessary repairs.
4. The City and state should enable violations of accessory dwelling unit provisions to be heard in Housing Court, rather than at the Environmental Control Board, thus guaranteeing that landlord and tenant needs are taken into account. The City should also consider community mediation and enforcement, so as not to burden the legal system.
5. The City should establish community-based task forces in the neighborhoods that have the most unauthorized housing units to follow the impact of the accessory dwelling unit measure and the role that the housing underground plays in other neighborhood issues such as traffic, parking, schools, and hospital usage.
6. The City should push for passage of legislation requiring all sellers of buildings in the five boroughs to certify that their homes meet all applicable housing, zoning, and building codes before the sale is consummated.