Conversions to rooming units prohibited

NYC Housing Maintenance Code § 27-2077, "Conversions to rooming units prohibited", is cited on a violation when an HPD inspector finds the condition it covers. No rooming unit which was not classified and recorded as such in the department prior to May fifteenth, nineteen hundred fifty-four or converted to such use prior to April thirtieth, nineteen hundred fifty-six, shall be created in any dwelling, whether such conversion is effected with or without physical alterations, except for rooming units: (1)Owned or controlled and operated by a hospital for occupancy by nurses and interns on its staff; or (2)Owned and operated without profit by an educational, religious or charitable institution as a residence for the aged, or for working girls or women, or for working boys or men, or for delinquent, dependent or neglected children, or for students attending a school or college; or, (3)approved by the commissioner of the department and created with the substantial assistance of loans, grants or subsidies from any federal, state or local agency or instrumentality; or (4)approved by the commissioner of the department and owned, operated or used by any federal, state or local agency or instrumentality or by a non-profit organization.

Each notice carries its own deadline set by the violation's hazard class. Across 8,092 § 27-2077 notices, the median legal deadline was 35 days from the notice date.

Measured across 2,999 § 27-2077 violations that reached "violation closed", the median took 1,145 days from the notice date, against a median legal deadline of 35 days.

1,918 of 8,092 § 27-2077 notices (23.7%) are marked rent-impairing by HPD. When a rent-impairing violation goes unrepaired, New York's Multiple Dwelling Law § 302-a can let tenants deposit rent with the court instead of paying the owner. The specifics depend on the case.

3,988 § 27-2077 violations are open as of Aug 7, 2026, and 3,962 of them are already past the legal deadline on the notice.