Does anyone have the exact wording for the NY state law concerning Carbon Monoxide detectors?

mlpluvsya

Answer
Subdivision 5-A of Section 378 of the Executive law:

Standards for installation of carbon monoxide detectors requiring
that every one or two-family dwelling constructed or offered for sale

after July thirtieth, two thousand two, any dwelling accommodation
located in a building owned as a condominium or cooperative in the state
constructed or offered for sale after July thirtieth, two thousand two,
or any multiple dwellings constructed or offered for sale after August
ninth, two thousand five shall have installed an operable carbon
monoxide detector of such manufacture, design and installation standards
as are established by the council. Carbon monoxide detectors required by
this section are required only where the dwelling unit has appliances,
devices or systems that may emit carbon monoxide or has an attached
garage. For purposes of this subdivision, multiple dwelling means a
dwelling which is either rented, leased, let or hired out, to be
occupied, or is occupied as the temporary or permanent residence or home
of three or more families living independently of each other, including
but not limited to the following: a tenement, flat house, maisonette
apartment, apartment house, apartment hotel, tourist house, bachelor
apartment, studio apartment, duplex apartment, kitchenette apartment,
hotel, lodging house, rooming house, boarding house, boarding and
nursery school, furnished room house, club, sorority house, fraternity
house, college and school dormitory, convalescent, old age or nursing
homes or residences. It shall also include a dwelling, two or more
stories in height, and with five or more boarders, roomers or lodgers
residing with any one family. For the purposes of this section, sale
shall mean the transfer of ownership of a business or property, provided
however, transfer of franchises shall not be deemed a sale. New
construction shall mean a new facility or a separate building added to
an existing facility.

Sorry about the formatting. It wouldn't paste properly. It may be easier to read on the site. The link is to the legislature page. Once you click the New York law link you can navigate to the citation.

NEED LEGAL ADVICE! Whose responsibility is installing a carbon monoxide detector?

TSD

My family and I are renting the basement of a very expensive historic home, one of many properties my landlord owns. This particular house is up for sale, and they wanted to rent the basement to make extra money until it's sold. The entire place runs on gas, and our primary source of heat is a gas fireplace, because the furnace does not heat the basement. They are aware of this, which is why they installed the fireplace years ago when they were living there. They have acknowledged in the past that it is our source of heat.

The fireplace is very old and has had trouble staying lit during the last couple months. We've informed the landlord of this, and it has not been fixed. So it's no surprise that the other day, it finally malfunctioned and began releasing deadly levels of CO during the night. Luckily, I'd installed a CO detector when we moved in, and we were woken up by it and called the fire department. They disabled it, and the paper they gave us said not to use it at all and have it replaced immediately.

First question: Are property owners responsible for installing fire and carbon monoxide detectors in the apartments they are renting to people? If I, the tenant, had never purchased a detector, we would be dead now.

Now they're saying they don't plan to fix the fireplace because we "won't need it for much longer" and they "don't know what cost they will be getting into." Unfortunately for us, it's still cold outside. At night, our apartment is freezing. We pay for utilities with the rent, so we pay for the use of the now-broken fireplace.

So my second question is: aren't they supposed to fix it if we're paying for the heat that comes from it, especially since it's our only actual heat source?

I'm being serious when I say that at night, it's extremely cold in our apartment (we live right on a river).

I have a 2 year old daughter, and for that reason I'm furious that they won't fix this problem.

In case it matters, we're in the state of WV.

Thanks in advance for any answers or advice!

Answer
I don't know if they're required to install the carbon monoxide detectors, however I can tell you that they have to have a unit that produces heat and I'm almost certain that it has to be a furnace, not a fireplace. It doesn't matter how much longer winter is. It sounds like that basement isn't even legal to rent out, in which case you'd be entitled to every cent of rent that you've paid. Definitely pursue this with whatever authority governs housing in your municipality as well as the state of West Virginia.

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