Last August, Governor Cuomo signed Chapter 201 L.2014 into law. This law requires home builders to provide paperwork to prospective buyers on the benefits and costs of installing fire sprinklers in their homes.
The law states that the New York State will provide “written materials prepared by the Office Of Fire Prevention and Control, which details the benefits of and includes factors that can affect the costs associated with the installation and maintenance of automatic fire sprinkler systems.” While NYSBA is not thrilled with the final product, builders are still required to present the documentation to all prospective home buyers.
Here is a link to an online version of the brochure without the OFPC logo at the bottom. If you would like New York State to send you copies contact the Office of Fire Prevention and Control at (518) 545-6685 or by email.
NYSBA recommends that when you hand this document to the prospective home buyer, you include a sign-off sheet to show that you provided them with the proper documentation (for liability purposes).
Also, Executive Law § 382-b, as added by Chapter 353 of the Laws of 2014, provides that any person utilizing truss type, pre-engineered wood or timber construction for the erection of any new residential structure, for any addition to an existing residential structure, or for any rehabilitation of an existing residential structure must (1) notify the local government that will issue the building permit that truss type, pre-engineered wood or timber construction is being utilized and (2) affix a sign or symbol to the electric box, if any, on the exterior of the structure indicating that truss type, pre-engineered wood or timber construction has been used.
A new Part 1265 to Title 19 of the New York Codes, Rules and Regulations (NYCRR) has been adopted. The new Part 1265 prescribes (1) the form to be used to notify code enforcement officials that truss type, pre-engineered wood or timber construction is to be used in a residential structure; (2) the sign or symbol to be affixed to the exterior of a residential structure that has been constructed, added to or rehabilitated using truss type, pre-engineered wood or timber construction.
New Executive Law § 382-b does not apply, and this rule will not apply, in New York City.
NOTE: This rule was adopted as an emergency rule on December 30, 2014, and is currently in effect. A public hearing on the proposal to adopt this rule on a permanent basis will be held at 10:00 am on March 2, 2015 at 99 Washington Avenue, Albany, NY in Room 505.
Code Enforcement Officials should not issue a Certificate of Occupancy for a residential building that contains truss-type construction, pre-engineered wood construction or timber construction unless:
- the owner has notified the AHJ, on the form prescribed in the rule, that contains truss-type construction, pre-engineered wood construction or timber construction has been used and;
- the structure has the sign prescribed in the rule attached in the place prescribed in the rule.
Code Enforcement Officials may want to notify people who received a permit prior to January 1, 2015 but did not receive a Certificate of Occupancy prior to January 1, 2015, so that those people can file the required notice and affix the required sign before the final inspection.
The rule text is available by clicking here.