renting to tenants without a certificate of occupancy

i own a four story brownstone that doesn’t have a certificate of occupancy (it was built before ’38) but i want to rent the garden floor to tenants. is this legal without a c of o for a two-family home? are there any liability/insurance issues associated with renting with renting a floor without a c of o? are there any things i should be wary of when doing this? should i just go ahead and get a c of o for a two-family home, and, if so, how much money and time does that cost and take? any advice/thoughts/input is most welcome. thanks!

rabbit

in Building Code 13 years and 4 months ago

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slomagistro | 13 years and 4 months ago

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It will be difficult to answer your question without knowing the history of your building. But you should definitely looking into getting a Certificate of Correction if you don’t have one. We can provide a preliminary consultation if you call us 212-233-3630\. S Lomagistro

mike-the-expeditor | 13 years and 4 months ago

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If we assume that the home was built and used as a 1-family from the pre-1938 construction date until now, you should convert it to a 2- family with the Department of Buildings and the Department of Finance, and arrange for the installation of a separate electrical meter (and possibly gas if you want). If the DOB shows up for any reason (like a complaint from a neighbor or the tenant) you will be fined for the illegal apartment.  Without seeing the property or talking to you about the space it’s hard to give you a guesstimate.  Some garden apartments require no work and others require a ton of work to make them legal.   If you would like my assistance my contact information is in my profile.