Renovations and FAR
Here is a hypothetical situation, which may become relevant to me in the near future. Let’s say I have own an apartment in a multi-unit building, of which the FAR has been maximized. I happen to have a double height space in my unit and would like to create a floor and make more usable…
Here is a hypothetical situation, which may become relevant to me in the near future.
Let’s say I have own an apartment in a multi-unit building, of which the FAR has been maximized. I happen to have a double height space in my unit and would like to create a floor and make more usable square footage above.
This is not a permittable renovation, but what are the potential implications of doing such a job?
Is it a serious thing, or do people do it all the time?
Sometimes I think we worry too much about how my child’s friend will escape my apartment in the event of a fire because they are sleeping in an illegal plywood box and then they die and their parents sue me because I blogged about my plywood box on brownster. We worry about it way too much, really.
Espresso, you’re on crack.
What are these plywood boxes? I’ve never heard of this. Can you show me an example?
Sometimes I think we spend too much time worrying about the building department. I doubt very much that your un-filed improvement of your space will cause the entire building to be issued a violation..very unlikely. I say go for it.
but…
In a condo you don’t typically need board approval of purely interior work. And you can be sure that the plywood FAR evading boxes get removed once people move in.
Who will discover the FAR is over limits when you go to sell? It is not like the square footage of each unit is on the CO. I mean this as a very serious question…. does the real estate buying process in any way protect you from purchasing a FAR exceeded condo?
I mean, do the people who purchase the Scarano buildings with the plywood boxes that bring the space down to 5 feet (and finished wood underneath) seriously have to replace the boxes when they go to sell?
I think the ceiling height must be less than 5 feet and the area has to be accessible only by a ladder — otherwise the area will count as part of square footage because it is “livable” space.
Thank you, I suppose I did answer it myself. What would qualify as square footage though? For example, if I opened a wall and added a small open loft area with only a railing, would this be in violation?
You answered the question yourself — this is not a permittable renovation so it is indeed serious. Moreover, the whole building will be in DOB violation if you do this, not just your apartment. Given this, it seems unlikely that your condo/co-op board would approve the renovations. You’ll also likely run into problems further down the line when you try to sell and have to reveal the violation to a potential buyer.