Landlord Didn't Give DEP Access for Boiler Room Inspection

DEP issued a violation notice to landlord for failing to make a building's boiler room accessible for inspection. The inspector stated that he was refused access to the heating equipment and got no response to repeated attempts to make an appointment for the inspection with the managing agent. Landlord claimed that it had no knowledge of the inspector's requests and that the building was closed and unoccupied at the time of inspection since a Certificate of Occupancy hadn't been issued. Landlord wouldn't agree to an adjournment so that the inspector could appear at the scheduled hearing and was fined $350. Landlord appealed and lost. Building Code Section 24-108(F) requires landlord to make heating equipment readily accessible for inspection when a reasonable access request is made. Under Building Code Section 27-2033, landlords also must post a notice with contact information if the building or boiler area is locked. Landlord failed to make the boiler room readily accessible, and therefore was properly fined.

232 E. 50th St. LLC: ECB App. No. 1200066 (4/26/12) [3-pg. doc.]