Revisions to Riverhead’s rental dwelling code were unanimously approved by the Town Board Tuesday.
The new regulations make it illegal for landlords to rent to people that are not a “family or the functional equivalent thereof.” They also impose restrictions on the number of commercial vehicles that can be parked in driveways on rental properties and establish other new requirements for driveways on rental properties.
The rules also prohibit more than two “lawful” sleeping rooms in the basement of any home, other than a pre-existing basement in a single-family dwelling that contains more than two lawful sleeping rooms, as long as the dwelling had a valid certificate of occupancy. The rules ban sleeping rooms in basements of two-family and multi-family homes, garden apartments, condominiums and townhouses —with the exception of lawfully pre-existing habitable space or bedroom(s) in such structures.
Under the new rules the use of third-floor or attic space for habitable space or sleeping rooms is “strictly prohibited,” with an exemption carved out for a pre-existing multi-family rental dwellings that have met all standards set forth in the code with respect to “life safety features required for third floor occupancies.” Those “life safety features were adopted by the Town Board in June 2022, following a November 2021 fatal fire in a multi-family rental dwelling on East Second Street that killed five members of a family living on the third floor of the home. The family was trapped in the burning house after a staircase collapsed in the fire, leaving them without any means of escape.
MORE COVERAGE: Town Board adopts revised rental housing code with increased safety measures, after fatal downtown fire
The new regulations adopted Tuesday also enshrine in town code maximum occupancy limits for bedrooms based on bedroom area that are already spelled out in state law.
The regulations drew both support and opposition from residents and advocacy groups at a Sept. 17 public hearing at Riverhead Town Hall.
MORE COVERAGE: Speakers divided over new rental housing regulations in Riverhead during public hearing
Supporters voiced concerns about overcrowded rental houses around town, which they said jeopardize the safety of occupants and also concerns about the impact of overcrowded houses on neighbors’ quality of life. Others have expressed concerns about the impacts on town services and the Riverhead Central School District, which is struggling to cope with overcrowded classrooms.
Opponents questioned whether the law would run afoul of the federal Fair Housing Act. They also argued that the town’s existing rental codes already adequately address safety issues, but the town does not consistently enforce its existing code due to lack of personnel.
Letters both for and against the new code provisions continued to arrive at Town Hall during a 10-day, post-hearing comment period. Among them was a letter from the Long Island Board of Realtors, which objected to the requirement involving the definition of a family.
Riverhead Town Code has included the “family” definition since 2006, but the new revision incorporates the definition into the rental code to make it unlawful for anyone to rent to a group of persons that does not meet the definition’s criteria.
The criteria in the definition may violate federal law, the Long Island Board of Realtors warned, because the criteria may have a “disparate impact on protected classes.” The definition could negatively impact multi-generational households, the group said.
A previous attempt in 2021 to add similar regulations to the town’s rental code faced extreme blowback from fair housing and immigrant advocate groups, who said during a public hearing in August of that year that the regulations would likely violate laws protecting against housing discrimination.
MORE COVERAGE: Opponents blast Riverhead’s proposed housing code changes as discriminatory against immigrants
Board members voted without comment to pass the measure at Tuesday’s Town Board meeting. It will take effect 20 days after it is filed with the New York Secretary of State.
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