C of O for house that does not have one
Hello- we are looking at a house that is configured as a 2 family, taxed that way, and has been set up as two duplexes for years. The house has no C of O and no ICard. Since we would need to get a letter of no objection or a new C of O when we file for permits to do work on the place, how hard would it be to get a C of O or permission to use the house as a 2 family with a garden apartment and a triplex?
christabelgough
in General Discussion 8 years and 2 months ago
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slopefarm | 8 years and 1 month ago
I think the answer is that you can try filing as an Alt-2 but there’s no guaranty. That’s what we did. If your architect is comfortable filing it that way, it is worth a try. But if you are moving a lot of stuff around, and your argument is you are moving it back to the way it was decades ago, that might not fly. The ability to have the job accepted as an Alt-2 depends, I think, on how much you are reconfiguring the existing conditions.
christabelgough | 8 years and 1 month ago
Thanks for the responses. So this is exactly what I was wondering about. If the building has no C of O and no official record of how it was configured as a 2 family, do you need to file Alt 1 or can you just file Alt 2’s and do the work that way? So can the lack of records work to your advantage in this way? I have a feeling that this house has been configured in many different ways over the years . So for example, if there was once a kitchen on the garden level, and it’s been a 2 family before 1938, can we go ahead and put a kitchen down there, use it as a garden apt and triplex. This is with no change to egress- still using garden level entrance, door to garden on garden level and parlor entrance for upper unit.
eileengray | 8 years and 1 month ago
If your building was built in the late 19th century or early 20th century, it would not have a C of O (They weren’t required until 1938). If you have any evidence that it was used as a two family prior to 1938, the DOB might accept the building as a “existing” 2 family.
In any event, 1 and 2 family dwellings are in the same Use category. You should be able to do work under an Alt2 if you can show that there is no change to egress. But with DOB, since they are obsessed with the new building code, you never know how changes to existing buildings will be interpreted.
daveinbedstuy | 8 years and 1 month ago
My house was reconfigured and never had a C of O. That was back in 2007 and in Bed Stuy when inspections were lax and where neighbors didn’t call the DOB for unpermitted work. It was done a lot. The only way I even knew was that the billing addresses for the floors of the Con Ed accounts didn’t match the meters which were for the actual new configuration. If you feel you need to permit the work then you will be required to get a new C of O. What jimhillra said.
bk123 | 8 years and 2 months ago
Martin, that sounds like a good idea at first but DOB wants to see existing conditions
and then the architect is lying by showing kitchens on ea floor. Add in some people dying in a fire a few years later and your savy architect is ruined because he did not put sprinklers in an illegal 4 family.
Guest User | 8 years and 2 months ago
No Cert of occ is a good thing. All you need is a savvy architect. He or she will Submit plans to renovate existing 4 family house or whatever configuration you decide. No change in occupancy or use.
Guest User | 8 years and 2 months ago
No Cert of occ is a good thing. All you need is a savvy architect. He or she will Submit plans to renovate existing 4 family house or whatever configuration you decide. No change in occupancy or use.
Guest User | 8 years and 2 months ago
No Cert of occ is a good thing. All you need is a savvy architect. He or she will Submit plans to renovate existing 4 family house or whatever configuration you decide. No change in occupancy or use.
jimhillra | 8 years and 2 months ago
If you’re planning on changing the configuration from double duplex to triplex and simplex, then most likely you will need to do some physical work to the residence to make that code compliant. That work would require a DOB Alteration Type 1 application and construction permit. When the work is completed, the DOB will provide the C of O.
A Letter of No Objection (LNO) is a statement that the current conditions are acceptable. It is not something that would allow you to change the configuration. So, even if there is no work, you’d need that Alt 1 and C of O because you’re changing the path of egress and dwelling unit configuration.
Most likely, you can live in the house as it is currently configured without ever needing a C of O or LNO. There’s no I-card because they were only given for 3 families and up. You can live in it this way until you decide to change the configuration, so it sounds like you can move in, plan and file the renovation, and move out before construction starts if it’s necessary for the work to be performed.
Sheffey | 8 years and 2 months ago
What year was the house built? C of O’s can be costly. I had an expediter apply for the c/o while the plans were being approved. You can apply for a temporary one if work has started already.