Establishment of Temporary Residence Program for Eligible Basement or Cellar Residences

Rule status: Proposed

Agency: DOB

Comment by date: December 11, 2025

Rule Full Text
Proposed-Rule-Establishment-of-Temporary-Residence-Program-for-Eligible-Basement-or-Cellar-Residences.pdf

The Department of Buildings is proposing to add a new section 105-07 to Title 1 of the Rules of the City of New York to implement Article 507 of Chapter 5 of Title 28 of the New York City Administrative Code, as enacted by Local Law No. 126 of 2024. Article 507 establishes a pilot program to allow for the safe, temporary occupancy of certain existing basement or cellar apartments while those units are brought into compliance with applicable legal standards. To be eligible, the basement or cellar apartment must have existed before April 20, 2024. The owners have until April 20, 2029 to apply for the pilot.

The new rule sets forth the procedures with deadlines for owners to apply for and obtain an ATR, which would allow tenants to reside in eligible basement or cellar units before DOB issues a final certificate of occupancy (CO) or temporary certificate of occupancy (TCO). In accordance with Local Law 126, the rule lists eligibility criteria, including location limits, physical conditions of the unit, and required documentation, places restrictions on short-term rentals and outlines conditions for inspection, enforcement and revocation. It also provides rules for inspection and enforcement mechanisms to ensure public safety.

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Email: [email protected]
Mail: Department of Buildings, General Counsel's office, 280 Broadway ; New York, New York 10007

Public Hearings

Attendees who need reasonable accommodation for a disability such as a sign language translation should contact the agency by calling 1 (212) 393-2085 or emailing [email protected] by November 28, 2025

Thursday Dec 11 - 11:00am EST

Date

December 11, 2025
11:00am - 1:00pm EST

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https://events.gcc.teams.microsoft.com/event/392cf694-14b0-4b0e-afc1-a69af54c31bd@32f56fc7-5f81-4e22-a95b-15da66513bef
Phone: 646-893-7101

Phone Conference ID: 803 448 501#

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Comments close by December 11, 2025

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Online comments: 5

Anonymous

When will the program expand to other areas? Will DOB more tolerant for Landlords outside of the proposed geographical areas who conform to the new standards set forth to legalize?

Comment added November 22, 2025 8:23am
JAMES CARNEY

Can you please explain or show me where to find the cellar or basement designation, and how to determine the height below/above the curbline? It is very hard to navigate the first step to determine moving forward.

Comment added November 26, 2025 11:44am
James Carney

I ask for guidance on the height and how to determine if it qualifies as a cellar or basement, and your staff sends me a URL that redirects me back to this page. Can’t make this up!

Comment added November 26, 2025 5:38pm
Jim

I want to gain more clarity on what designates a legal vs. illegal height for basement apartments. Example- how do you designate half the height above the carbine, and how do you measure that?

Comment added December 3, 2025 10:51am
Harry

Wow, as usual, this program is only designed to make already rich even richer. These districts have rich landlords making millions from rent and low property taxes. And now you will legalize their illegal basements raising property and rent value even higher while leaving out the brown and black neighborhoods where this program should be implemented.

Bronx Community
District nine; Bronx Community District ten; Bronx Community District
eleven; Bronx Community District twelve; Brooklyn Community District
four; Brooklyn Community District ten; Brooklyn Community District
eleven; Brooklyn Community District seventeen; Manhattan Community
District two; Manhattan Community District three; Manhattan Community
District nine; Manhattan Community District ten; Manhattan Community
District eleven; Manhattan Community District twelve; and Queens
Community District two.

Bravo Bravo Bravo
Make NYC Slum Again!!!

Comment added December 4, 2025 11:34am

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