NYC LANDLORD LIGHTING REQUIREMENTS

NYC Housing Maintenance Code §§ 27-2037 & 27-2038 — Artificial Lighting

New York City residential building owners have legal responsibilities for providing, operating and maintaining required electric lighting.

These requirements are particularly important for public hallways, stairways, fire stairs, fire towers, means of egress and other required areas of residential buildings.

This informational landlord flyer provides a simple reminder of the major lighting responsibilities established by NYC Administrative Code §§ 27-2037 and 27-2038.

The NYC Housing Maintenance Code is enforced by HPD, whose inspectors may inspect residential properties and issue violations for Housing Maintenance Code conditions. New York City Government

• 27-2037

DUTY TO PROVIDE ELECTRIC LIGHTING EQUIPMENT IN ALL DWELLINGS

WHAT THE LAW REQUIRES

The building owner is responsible for equipping the dwelling for electric lighting and for providing and maintaining required light fixtures.

DIRECT CODE QUOTE

“The owner shall equip every dwelling for lighting by electricity.”

The section further requires the owner to provide and maintain fixtures for public parts of the dwelling, including the means of egress, as well as required rooms, bathrooms and water-closet compartments. It also addresses required receptacle outlets. New York City Government

IN SIMPLE WORDS FOR THE LANDLORD

The owner is responsible for providing and maintaining the building's required lighting equipment.

This means the landlord should make sure required fixtures are present, functional and maintained.

• 27-2038

ELECTRIC LIGHTING FIXTURES REQUIRED IN CERTAIN PUBLIC PARTS OF DWELLINGS

This section establishes specific lighting requirements for multiple dwellings and tenant-occupied two-family dwellings. New York City Government

AREAS COVERED INCLUDE:

• Public hallways
• Stairs
• Fire stairs
• Fire towers
• Common laundry rooms while occupied

REQUIRED LIGHTING LEVEL

The code requires electric light and daylight together to provide:

“an illumination level of no less than one foot-candle, measured at the floor level”

throughout the covered public hallways, stairs, fire stairs and fire towers.

The required illumination must be maintained:

“at all times of the day and night”

For common laundry rooms, the required illumination applies while the rooms are occupied. New York City Government

SIMPLE LANDLORD EXPLANATION

Public hallways and stairs cannot be left inadequately lighted.

The owner must provide enough lighting to satisfy the code during both daytime and nighttime.

OWNER MUST INSTALL AND MAINTAIN THE LIGHTS

• 27-2038 places the responsibility directly on the owner.

The code requires the owner to:

“install, position, operate and maintain sufficient electric lighting fixtures”

to assure that the required illumination level is maintained. New York City Government

WHAT THIS MEANS FOR A LANDLORD

The owner should:

☐ Provide sufficient lighting fixtures.

☐ Make sure fixtures are positioned so required areas are adequately illuminated.

☐ Keep required fixtures operational.

☐ Replace failed or burned-out lamps as necessary.

☐ Repair defective fixtures, switches or lighting controls as necessary.

☐ Make sure the required illumination is maintained throughout the covered area.

SOME LIGHTS MUST REMAIN ON CONTINUOUSLY

This is an especially important part of §27-2038(b).

The owner of a multiple dwelling must keep electric lighting fixtures:

“on continuously, during the day as well as at night”

in every fire stair and fire tower.

Continuous lighting is also required in a stairway or public hall that lacks a qualifying window supplying enough daylight to maintain the required illumination level. New York City Government

SIMPLE LANDLORD RULE

FIRE STAIR & FIRE TOWER LIGHTING: KEEP REQUIRED LIGHTING ON DAY AND NIGHT.

For public halls and stairways, do not assume that lights can simply be switched off during daytime. Whether daylight is sufficient matters under the code.

WHAT ABOUT WINDOWS AND NATURAL DAYLIGHT?

Natural daylight can contribute to the required illumination.

However, §27-2038(b) specifically addresses public halls and stairs without a window opening onto a qualifying street, court, yard, space above a setback or shaft that supplies enough daylight to maintain the required illumination.

If sufficient qualifying daylight is not available, the required electric fixtures must remain continuously on. New York City Government

A window by itself does not automatically mean the electric lights can be turned off. The required illumination still has to be maintained.

ARE PHOTOSENSORS ALLOWED?

Yes, under the conditions stated in the code.

• 27-2038(c) permits photosensor lighting controls for public halls and stairs according to the amount of available daylight.

However, the required illumination must continue to be maintained.

The code also requires the controllers to have fail-safe operation, so a sensor/control failure does not cause the lighting to fall below the required level. New York City Government

SIMPLE RULE

Energy-saving lighting controls cannot be used in a way that leaves required public areas inadequately illuminated.

COMMON LAUNDRY ROOMS

The law specifically addresses common laundry rooms.

Automatic, occupant-sensor and photosensor controls may be used there when the requirements of §27-2038(d) are satisfied.

For occupant sensors, the code provides for a maximum 30-minute illumination duration and requires the sensor to activate based on occupant movement in the area served by the fixtures. Fail-safe requirements also apply. New York City Government

LANDLORD LIGHTING CHECKLIST

NYC Housing Maintenance Code §§27-2037 & 27-2038

☐ LIGHT FIXTURES — Are required fixtures installed and working?

☐ PUBLIC HALLWAYS — Are hallways properly illuminated?

☐ STAIRWAYS — Are stairs properly illuminated?

☐ FIRE STAIRS — Are required lights operating continuously?

☐ FIRE TOWERS — Are required lights operating continuously?

☐ DAY & NIGHT — Is the required illumination maintained at all required times?

☐ BURNED-OUT LIGHTS — Are failed lamps replaced promptly when needed to maintain compliance?

☐ BROKEN FIXTURES — Are defective fixtures repaired?

☐ DAYLIGHT — If electric lighting is reduced during daylight hours, is there sufficient qualifying daylight to maintain the required illumination?

☐ PHOTOSENSORS — If used, do they maintain the required lighting level and provide required fail-safe operation?

☐ LAUNDRY ROOM — Is required illumination available whenever the common laundry room is occupied?

IMPORTANT: DO NOT USE THE OLD WATTAGE RULE FOR §27-2038

For your BigCommerce description, I recommend specifically including this warning.

The current §27-2038 is based on an illumination requirement, rather than the old general wattage-based approach.

NYC enacted Local Law 52 of 2010, repealing the former §§27-2038 and 27-2039 and replacing §27-2038 with the present lighting-efficiency/illumination standard. New York City Council

Therefore, don't advertise a generic sign such as:

“60 WATT BULB REQUIRED BY §27-2038.”

That can misrepresent the current code.

RELATED CODE — §27-2040

ENTRANCE, YARD AND COURT LIGHTING

For landlords reviewing the building's complete lighting obligations, §27-2040 is also important, although it is a separate requirement from §§27-2037 and 27-2038.

It requires multiple-dwelling owners to install and maintain specified lighting at or near the exterior front entrance and in yards and courts.

The required lights must be kept burning:

“from sunset on each day to sunrise on the day following.”

Unlike the current §27-2038, §27-2040 still contains incandescent-wattage-or-equivalent requirements based on building frontage and location. New York City Government

SHORT LANDLORD MESSAGE FOR THE FLYER

NYC LANDLORD: CHECK YOUR BUILDING LIGHTING

NYC Administrative Code §§27-2037 & 27-2038

YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR PROVIDING AND MAINTAINING REQUIRED BUILDING LIGHTING.

✓ Keep required public hallways and stairs properly illuminated.

✓ Keep fire stair and fire tower lighting operating continuously, day and night.

✓ Maintain required lighting during both daytime and nighttime.

✓ Replace failed lamps and repair defective fixtures when necessary.

✓ Maintain sufficient lighting throughout required public areas.

✓ Make sure lighting controls and photosensors do not cause required areas to become inadequately illuminated.

CODE QUOTES

“The owner shall equip every dwelling for lighting by electricity.”
— §27-2037

“at all times of the day and night”
— §27-2038(a)

“on continuously, during the day as well as at night”
— §27-2038(b)

“install, position, operate and maintain sufficient electric lighting fixtures”
— §27-2038(a) New York City Government

 

 

 

 

 

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