A Tenant Protection Plan (TPP) is required when buildings are occupied during ongoing construction work. Here’s what you need to do to comply with this rule:
Check if this applies to you before proceeding
There are two documents you’ll need to be aware of:
- The Tenant Protection Plan, submitted to the Department of Buildings before work begins and available on their website
- The Notice announcing the availability of the Plan, be distributed to all occupied units or posted in the required locations
Per the law, the TPP needs to include “means and methods” to safeguard the below categories, “described with particularity” and “detailed and specific.” Specific steps on how your building will comply in each area need to be listed. The law explicitly prohibits using catch-all phrases like code compliant, approved, legal, protected in accordance with the law, or other similar terms.
Here are the areas that must be included, at a minimum:
- Egress – adequate egress as required by code, and identification of the same
- Fire safety laws and controls, and any additional safety measures necessitated by construction
- Health requirements – specifically for dust and pest control, disposal of construction debris, maintenance of sanitary facilities, and limitation of noise to acceptable levels
- In addition, there must be a statement of compliance detailing means and methods of complying with lead and asbestos-related laws
- Housing standards – compliance with NYC code and (where applicable) New York State code
- Structural safety
- Noise restrictions – included the day of the week/hours of the day limitations set by code
- Maintaining essential services (heat, hot water, cold water, gas, electricity, etc.)
- If any disruptions are planned, means and methods to minimize the disruption plus the provision of sufficient alternatives for the above services during the disruption must be detailed
If a tenant requests a copy of the TPP itself, you must provide one. The law states “provide the such occupant with a paper copy.” Once your TPP is approved by the department, you’ll want to have some on hand.
You must notify the DOB online 72 hours before work begins. Here’s the portal for submitting your notification to the Department. While no explicit fines for failing to notify the DOB have been released just yet, it’s critical to comply. With the rapid increase in construction-related enforcement, it’s more important now than ever to cross all your t’s and dot all your i’s before construction starts.
In addition to the TPP, a Safe Construction Bill of Rights must be distributed or posted. Local Law 159 gives explicit details on what should be included and made available in both English and Spanish.
Download the Bill of Rights form provided by the DOB here.
For more details, take a look at the most recent Service Notice issued by the DOB. Stay tuned for more enforcement updates on the recently passed construction & housing regulations!
Keep in mind it is the owner’s responsibility to arrange the preparation and filing of the Tenant protection plan(Occupied residential buildings) or OPP-Occupant protection plan(occupied commercial buildings)Watch the video below to learn more about the Tenant protection plan as explained by NYC DOB. Need to prepare the tenant protection plan, site safety plan, or Occupant protection plan Give us a call at 347-649-4219 or send us an email at info@tr1nyc.com
How to file Tenant protection plan
For occupied buildings, a tenant protection plan must be prepared by Registered Design Professional and submitted to Building Department for approval. We can provide both the preparation and filing services to the Building Department. Feel free to reach out to us in case you need our help. For occupied commercial buildings occupant protection plan must be prepared by a Registered design professional. This occupant protection plan does not require to be submitted to DOB for approval but must be kept at the site at all times.
