Does a basement apartment in a two-family need a back exit?
We are looking at a two-family frame house in the Slope. The house is three stories plus english basement, zoned as a two-family. The basement studio apartment has one door plus two windows with outside bars, all in the front of the house. How can we figure out if this violates the building code? Where…
We are looking at a two-family frame house in the Slope. The house is three stories plus english basement, zoned as a two-family. The basement studio apartment has one door plus two windows with outside bars, all in the front of the house. How can we figure out if this violates the building code? Where can we find out what the requirements are for number of points of egress / light and air / etc? There seem to be a lot of regulations and we’re having trouble figuring out which ones would apply in this case.
Further to my post, either go to the building/public works department, or the library for checking all the ventilation, venting, elctrical and plumbing requirements. Probably better to get a licensed professional to assist you, so you don’t miss anything. Things are not all in one place and so it will take you days of footwork and reading up on it, if you have the time.
You need an exit from the bedroom that exits directly to the outside. Either a door or an egress window. The window needs to have 5.7 sq feet area that can be completely open. If it is a sliding window, the glass area would therefore need to be 11.4 sq feet. Also you need to have 2 exits minimum, like door and egress window. The ceiling height is to be a minimum of 7ft-6ins. There are minimum glass area and lighting requirements. The electrical and plumbing have to to Code, such as GFCI’s, spacing and number and location of outlets, and 18 ins off floor, one ft-6″ above counter tops. Venting has to be correct and minimum ventilation is required.
Quite apart from the letter of the Code, you should ask yourself: “how can I make this place safer in case of fire?”
Put in a rear egress. It’s just smart.
If the front of the house is on fire, there should be a back exit.Not necessary in the apartment but in the common areas.
I think 1st responder assumed that ‘English basement’ was mostly underground and therefore probably not ‘legal apt’ as opposed to garden level basement apartments which are.
That is how I would interpret ‘English basement’ but person did not calify.
So is it really 1 unit is 3 floors and then a ‘basement apt’ which is mostly below grade level’ the 2nd unit?
Basement apartments can be legal as long as they have enough light and air and satisfy egress requirements. Cellar apartments cannot ever be legal.
Basement = more than half of the height of the apartment is above curb level
Cellar = more than half of the height of the apartment is below curb level
Cellars can have legal rooms like rec rooms but you can’t legally have an entirely self-contained apartment in a cellar (although in reality these apartments are fairly common – if the DOB finds out you have one they will make you rip it all out.)
You’ve got issues up the ying-yang here. Neither of the above responses are useful. It’s time to bite the bullet and contact a professional. Lot’s of architects post here. Call one.
We have a four story brownstone. The top three floors are one living unit, and the lowest level is a legal apartment. We had the certificate of occupany changed when we bought the house (it required work to be done on the bottom level to bring it up to code). As far as the Buildings Dept is concerned – it is listed as a “basement” apartment even though there is a cellar below it. The 7:50 poster above is not correct in assuming because it says Basement it is not legal. Our lower level unit does have a rear exit, and for fire safety we were limited in the kind of gates and bars put on any windows and doors. First: check your C of O (Certificate of Occupany) to find out exactly what your house is legally designated. I stongly advise you to do this legally – you could be in for extreme trouble if you try to sidestep the laws. I also advise that if you are changing the C of O, you hire and expiditor to guide you through the process. My guess is that any general contractor would know the code requirements — and your local firhouse might, too. Good luck and remember: it’s a great investment.
You can muck your way through the building code here:
http://www.nyc.gov/html/dob/html/reference/code_internet.shtml
Does the house have a certificate of occupancy?
Is the house set up with one apartment on three floors and one in the basement? That is probably not the original configuration it had when it was designated a 2-family.
Basement dwellings are typically not allowed (you can have your rec room etc. down there, but not sleeping areas). My guess would be that the basement apartment is not legal.
If it *is* legal (again, unlikely), and has been previously filed with the DOB, you may be grandfathered in with just one exit. Otherwise, two means of egress are probably required.
You can take a look on the DOB’s website to see what, if any, work on the house has been filed. Just type in the address…
http://www.nyc.gov/html/dob/html/reference/code_internet.shtml