Heavy rains caused flooding in Sept. 2023. Credit: Marc A. Hermann / MTA on Flickr
New York City has released proposed rules to legalize the thousands of illegal basement and cellar apartments found across the five boroughs. The Department of Buildings and the Department of Housing Preservation and Development on Monday published draft guidelines to launch a basement apartment legalization pilot program for qualifying one- and two-family homes citywide. The initiative would allow eligible tenants to remain in their basement or cellar units while landlords bring the spaces up to code, helping small homeowners convert illegal dwellings into legal accessory dwelling units (ADUs).
Rules detailing safety standards for basement and cellar apartments, like requiring two exits and water sensors to alert of flooding, were released in July. The proposed rules announced by the city this week focus on bringing currently illegal apartments up to code…