Using 2 family townhouse as a 3 family

Hello everyone! I am in the process of shopping for a townhouse in Bed Stuy. I came across a house that tickled my fancy that is officially a 2 family, but has been used as a 3 family. They ripped out the extra kitchen before putting the house on sale. There are 2 gas lines, but there might be 3 electrical meters. If I _were_ to purchase this house, I thought I might follow the current owner’s footsteps, and put the kitchen back in, live in one unit and rent out the other 2\. I have a fear that renting out a duplex (rather than 2 units) in Bed-Stuy (north part, east of Lewis ave – not the prime Stuyvesant Heights) might be tough. I would be relying on the rental income as part of the mortgage. It seems like there are a lot of owners/landlords out there who deviate from their officiall unit# designation. I see it mentioned quite often in selling listings (“designated as x# family, currently used as y#)”s. How enforced is this, in reality? What are the repercussions? Does anyone have experience with this? From the little I know about building codes, this house is not up to code for a 3 family (no sprinklers). I don’t have the budget to convert it to a 3 family. Thank you!

Kateruba

in Building Code 13 years and 7 months ago

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supcoffbuildlaw | 13 years and 7 months ago

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Keep in mind that a 3 family home (as compared with a 2 family home) is a multiple dwelling and is subject to the Multiple Dwelling Law in addition to other legal provisions such as Local Law 1 which requires landlords to provide certain inspections and maintenance for inspection of lead in homes occupied by children under age 6\.  -Marc Supcoff, Esq.

brooklynbemused | 13 years and 7 months ago

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My cost was for an entire gut reno, so not applicable to your situation, but the plumbing alone was $80K. That was during rebuild with open walls/no walls etc, so it’s a different scenario, but it would still be a big deal to upgrade all the plumbling to meet 3 family code.

rocketship | 13 years and 7 months ago

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Be aware that the bank will evaluate the property as a two-family, so if the rent roll doesn’t cover the mortgage, you won’t get it. The three meters may be the two apartments and building common, btw.

brooklynbemused | 13 years and 7 months ago

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I changed my house from a 2 to a 3 during a gut renovation and seem to remember the fees being somewhere in the region of $12K. That was the least of the expense though – plumbing has to be iron instead of pvc, fire escape (and these days sprinklers), 36″ doors for wheelchair accessibility, fire rated boiler room… the list goes on and on. If I were you, my first call would be to a realtor to find out the market rate for a duplex in your neighborhood. It’s hard to find a nice sized 3 bedroom, so maybe getting a tenant wouldn’t be hard at all, especially if you don’t mind having a family with kids.

Kateruba | 13 years and 7 months ago

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Thank you for the answers so far. I had a feeling this is a bad idea. Is there anyone here who has done a certificate of occupancy change or knows anything about what it involves? How much does it cost, approximately? I know every house is different, but even a vague $$ range would help because I currently have no clue about it. Is the process straighforward or is it something that will get caught in the mire of myriad NYC departments for an idefinite amount of time? How long does it take?

tinarina | 13 years and 7 months ago

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Yes, that’s the thing–you can use a house for less occupancy than specified, but you get into trouble if you go up…

smeyer418 | 13 years and 7 months ago

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Sprinklers are not necessarily required for a three family. It has more to do with the egress. But in any case its a serious violation to use a 2 family as a three. Either do it right or not at all…

jockdeboeraia | 13 years and 7 months ago

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And DOB is going to nail you to the wall when it comes to light. Just do it properly. It will be much cheaper in the long run. The fines alone will put the hurt on you. Call an architect. We do this all the time.

adam_dahill | 13 years and 7 months ago

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God forbid there is a fire and someone gets hurt it’s going to be your butt on the line. You also have no legal leg to stand on  See above post.

Putnamdenizen | 13 years and 7 months ago

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If you rent out an extra unit beyond the certificate of occupation your tenant can stop paying rent and you can’t use housing court to evict him.