Q:  What are the different deadlines for my Safety Mailings?

JA:  I’m glad to see that safety mailings are not only on our team’s minds. There is a reason that come the end of September/beginning of October, we start receiving questions about this NYC requirement. Taking care of safety mailings is a big job with many parts and deadlines, and keeping track of it is hard. Because it also comes at a busy season, it’s smart to start thinking about it earlier rather than later.

 

The deadlines you need to know are as follows:

Notices sent with Rent Bill: December 15th – January 16th

Notice sent via mail: January 1st – 15th

Receive Tenant Responses: February 15^th

 

For more information about your requirements, you can download our Jaffa minute on the topic.

Q: I’m trying to be organized and start thinking about my annual Safety Mailings. I know the city keeps changing the requirements, and I can’t seem to keep up with all the changes. What forms do I need to include?

JA: Great question.

But before I answer, can I ask, why are you not using the Jaffa Safety Mailing Services instead of doing it on your own and wasting time, energy, and frustration, increasing your possibility of being non-compliant and receiving fines and penalties?

You can find out more information about our annual mailing service here or sign up for the service before it’s too late here and not have to worry about a thing.

Okay, I had to do a quick plug for our service, but if you are insistent on doing it on your own, our team has created a quick checklist of those forms that must be included.  You can download and print this checklist for yourself by visiting our resource page.

New to 2023, the FDNY now requires an FDNY safety guide warning about fires caused by e-bike batteries. For more information about this requirement, you can check out my LinkedIn Post on the topic.

 

Why You Should Be Digitizing Your Inspection Process

New York City is notorious for its rigorous compliance landscape. With frequent audits and strict regulations governing what seems like almost every aspect of property management, navigating these compliance requirements can be a daunting task for property owners and managers, often leading to headaches, stress, and, most painfully, violations. However, embracing digital solutions like the Jaffa deFINEd app can offer a transformative approach to compliance management, revolutionizing operations while ensuring adherence to NYC’s complex regulatory environment.

In addition, the high frequency of audits in NYC underscores the importance of digitizing your compliance management, as traditional manual processes are time-intensive and susceptible to errors and delays, putting properties at risk of non-compliance and penalties. By adopting the Jaffa deFINEd app, property owners and managers can proactively address these challenges, reducing the likelihood of mistakes and streamlining their compliance efforts.

Digitization brings several key advantages, particularly in the context of audits.

1. Seamless Audit Preparation: The Jaffa deFINEd app centralizes compliance-related data, documentation, and tasks, facilitating comprehensive audit preparation. Property owners and managers can easily access and present the necessary information during audits, reducing the stress and time required to compile and submit physical documents.
2. Document Management: The Jaffa deFINEd app facilitates seamless document management by allowing property owners and managers to capture, upload, and store photos, signatures, and files directly within the app. This feature eliminates the need for physical paperwork, making documentation easily accessible during audits and inspections.
3. Accurate and Transparent Reporting: Digitizing compliance management ensures accurate and transparent reporting. The app’s robust record-keeping capabilities maintain precise compliance records, eliminating discrepancies and providing an audit trail for regulatory authorities.
4. Real-time Collaboration: The app promotes real-time collaboration among in-office and in-field team members. Property owners or management companies, on-site managers, inspectors, and contractors can communicate, share updates, and collaborate on compliance-related tasks, ensuring streamlined operations and efficient decision-making.
5. Proactive Compliance Monitoring: The Jaffa deFINEd app’s automated reminders and notifications are crucial in staying ahead of compliance requirements. Property owners and managers receive real-time alerts for upcoming inspections, certifications, or renewal deadlines, reducing the risk of missed deadlines and non-compliance issues that could trigger audits.
6. Multilingual Support: NYC is a diverse city with a multicultural workforce. The Jaffa deFINEd app offers multilingual support, ensuring employees from different linguistic backgrounds can effectively use and navigate the app. App users can choose English, Spanish, Albanian, and Russian, making it accessible to everyone on your team. Clear communication in their preferred language fosters understanding and improves compliance management across the board.
7. Remote Access and Data Sync: The app allows property owners and managers to access compliance data anytime, anywhere, through secure remote access. Real-time data sync ensures that all team members are working with the most updated information, enhancing collaboration and streamlining compliance management processes.
8. Complete overview of your portfolio: The Jaffa deFINEd dashboard provides a comprehensive overview of all your buildings, upcoming deadlines, tasks, upcoming HPD violations, ECB hearings, and open corrections, so you’re always confident of the status of any of your properties.
9. Geo-location Verification: The app incorporates geo-location verification, enabling property owners and managers to validate inspections and document their occurrence at specific locations. This feature adds an extra layer of accuracy and accountability, enhancing the integrity of compliance management.

 

But the Jaffa deFINEd app is about more than just inter-team communication and staying ahead of your audits. Its complete set of features allows for in-app compliance task completion. That’s right! Those pesky tasks that used to involve hours of work and mountains of paperwork you can now do with a few clicks of a button on your phone.

1. Customizable Inspections with Automated Recurring Inspections: The Jaffa deFINEd app allows you to schedule, perform, and track inspections directly on your phone. It also offers customizable inspection templates, empowering property owners and managers to tailor inspections to their specific compliance requirements. And with the ability to combine inspections and automate recurring inspections, keeping up with all your required and preventative inspections has never been easier.
2. Work Orders Management: With the app’s streamlined work order management feature, property owners and managers can easily assign tasks, track progress, and communicate with their team members who are completing work orders. This automated system ensures that compliance-related work orders are efficiently executed, reducing the chances of errors and delays and ultimately contributing to overall compliance.
3. Safety Mailing Processing: For NYC property owners and managers, safety mailings are a tedious task they must complete once a year. And if the initial job of sending out these mailings isn’t annoying enough, chasing after tenants for their responses makes this one task we all genuinely dread. The Jaffa deFINEd app allows for in-app responses, making it easy to both record your attempts (in the case of those aforementioned audits) and get your tenants’ responses.
4. In-App Support: Because we all need some help sometimes, the Jaffa deFINEd app offers plenty of that. Featuring a complete help section with resources for the NYC property owner or manager, the ability to view open violations on BIS, and an Ask-a-Question button to ask a Jaffa representative your compliance questions, the Jaffa deFINEd makes it easy to get you the help you need. You can even hire Jaffa to resolve your violations for you directly in the app.

 

As NYC property owners and managers continue to be inundated with NYC’s high audit frequency and stringent regulations, the Jaffa deFINEd app has emerged as a powerful and revolutionizing tool. Embracing digital solutions is the key to simplifying NYC property compliance, and through digitizing compliance processes, property owners and managers can focus on delivering exceptional property management services while ensuring full compliance with NYC’s ever-evolving requirements. As NYC’s compliance landscape continues to evolve, adopting digital solutions like the Jaffa deFINEd app is a strategic investment that paves the way for efficient compliance management and success in the property management industry.

Q: I recently installed a pool in one of my buildings. Now that summer is coming, we’ll be opening it to our tenants. What inspections and obligations do we need to fulfill to meet safety and health standards?

JA: Firstly, good for you for putting a pool in your building, and even better that you’re being proactive about its compliance!

Pools are a great addition to any building, but they do require proper maintenance and inspections. Therefore, you will want to be sure to do regular water quality testing and proper maintenance of pool equipment.

You should also make sure to comply with fencing and barrier requirements and adhere to safety standards for pool operations and local health department regulations.

And more importantly, you’ll want to perform regular inspections of your pool.

If you’re already using our Jaffa deFINEd app, then you can use our pool inspection template and tweak it to your specific requirements. The easy-to-use inspection portal for all preventative inspections such as pool inspections coupled with the ability to customize inspections, makes the task of inspections as easy as clicking some buttons. Now if only everything in your life was this simple, you might actually be able to enjoy a few laps in your building’s pool yourself.

If you want more information about how the inspection portal works, you can check out our tutorial video on our PREdeFINEd module here.

And if you’re not using our app yet?
It’s worth a try, especially for all your inspections. Our clients are loving how easy it is to manage their compliance but are especially blown away by the inspection options. Trust us, it will revolutionize the way you stay compliant and help you to ensure your entire building, including your pool is always safe & compliant.

Try it out today.

Q: Summer is coming up, and some of my tenants are planning on renting out their apartments for the summer. What are my responsibilities as a property manager?

JA:With the weather warming up and summer vacation fast approaching, lots of people are renting out their apartments on Airbnb or other short-term rental platforms. But having a tenant rent out their apartment isn’t as simple as it seems.

In addition to existing laws for short-term rental in NYC, last year, LL18 was put into effect. As per this law, hosts are required to register their apartment with the city before renting out their homes for less than 30 days, under penalty of a fine.

And this law doesn’t just affect your tenants. As a building owner or property manager, you’re responsible for the safety and compliance of your properties, so YOU will be issued a violation for any illegal short-term rentals on your property.

If you don’t want your apartments being used as short-term rentals, you can always have your building listed on the Forbidden Building list with the OSE.

To learn more about LL18 and how it affects you, you can check out our CEO Jack’s blog on the topic.

Q: Spring is here, but the weather is still too fickle to shut the heat for the season. Until when do I need to provide heat for my tenants?

JA: That’s a great question! Winter frosts can last deep into spring, and the HPD has taken measures to ensure that no NYC tenant will be left out in the cold. Official “heat season” runs from October 1st to May 31st each year.

During heat season, landlords must follow these guidelines:

· From 6 a.m.-10 p.m., when it’s below 55 ℉ outside, heat must be maintained at 68℉

· From 10 p.m.-6 a.m., heat must be maintained at 62℉ (no outside heat required)

Some days this month, you may need to turn on the Central AC in your buildings, but don’t shut the heat for the season just yet! Be sure to follow the HPD guidelines for heat season through the end of May.

You can also check out this Jaffa Minute page for more information about this requirement.

Q: How high do I need to keep my building’s temperature during the winter months?

JA: In NYC, owners of buildings with 3+ apartments, or of tenant-occupied 1-2 family dwellings must provide heat for their tenants from Oct. 1 through May 31 each year. Some building owners are also required to provide hot water during this time.

• From 6 a.m.-10 p.m. when it’s below 55 ℉ outside—heat must be maintained at 68℉
• From 10 p.m.-6 a.m.—heat must be maintained at 62℉ (no outside heat required)

 Important: Thermostats that are programmed to shut off automatically are illegal. Fines can be upwards of $1,000 per violation.

 Want to learn more? Check out the Jaffa Minute page on heat and hot water.

Q: Is my permit at risk of being revoked because of LL160?

JA:  Yes. Local Law 160 of 2017 states that the DOB will now revoke active permits for buildings whose owners owe $25,000 or more in covered arrears to the City.  The DOB will also deny new permits for building owners who fit this criterion.

There are several notable exceptions to the law, including the following:

• The applicant submits a certification from the DOF that binding agreements requiring payment of all covered arrears owed by the property owners are in place and that the owners are in compliance with this agreement.
• The requested permit is necessary to correct an outstanding code violation that the commissioner deems necessary for public health and safety.
• The permit is requested for a portion of a property that is occupied by a tenant who is not responsible for the covered arrears with respect to the property.
• The permit is requested for a dwelling unit within a property that is owned by a condominium or held by a shareholder of a cooperative corporation under a proprietary lease and the owners of the unit do not owe a collective $25,000 or more in covered arrears to the city.
• The permit is requested for a property that was the subject of an in-rem foreclosure judgment in favor of the city and was consequently transferred to a third party.
• The permit is requested for a property that is the subject of a court order in a case brought by the Department of Housing Preservation and Development.
• The permit is requested for a property that is the subject of a loan provided by or through the Department of Housing Preservation and Development or the New York City Housing Development Corporation for the purpose of rehabilitation.
• The permit is necessary for participation in a program that involves rehabilitation of the property as deemed by the Department of Housing Preservation and Development or the New York City Housing Development Corporation.

For more information about how LL160 can affect your permit status you can read our blog on the topic.

Q: Have my gas piping inspection requirements changed under LL152?

JA: Yes, as per LL152, all building owners must complete gas piping inspections every four years after the initial inspection. The due date of the initial inspection varies; and therefore, you’ll need to check what the due date is in your district. The inspection needs to be conducted by a qualified gas piping system inspector who is working on behalf of the building owner. A qualified inspector must be a licensed master plumber, or be working under the direct and continuing supervision of a licensed master plumber who has met additional training requirements.

For more information about your requirements as per this law, you can read more about it on this blog written by our Director of Permit Services, Chase Jaffa.

New Trash Regulations for 2023: The DSNY’s Newest Laws

In an effort to mitigate the City’s rat problem, Mayor Adams and the Department of Sanitation (DSNY) announced new rules for trash and recycling. The new rules, made public on October 17, 2022, will go into effect on April 1, 2023 and strict reinforcements will be in place to ensure compliance.

Here’s what you need to know about the new DSNY laws.

Which buildings will be affected by the new laws?

The new DSNY laws will affect residential and commercial buildings. The rules vary according to building type.

Residential buildings

When the new laws go into effect, residential buildings will have three options for trash disposal:

1. Place the trash in a secure container at the curb after 6 PM and no later than 12AM.
2. Place the trash directly on the curb after 8 PM and no later than 12AM.
3. Buildings with nine or more residential units can choose to opt into the Multiunit Building Collection Program, which allows you to set out the trash after 4AM and no later than 7AM. This program application option will only be available for the month of January of each year and will enable the DSNY to build the most efficient routes, which will take effect on April 1. You can apply to this program HERE.

The new rules will minimize the amount of time trash sits at the curb, which will hopefully reduce the rat problem in the City.

Commercial buildings

Commercial buildings often hire a private waste company to manage their trash removal instead of relying on service from the DSNY. However, they are still required to abide by the new city regulations for trash removal.

Commercial buildings have two options trash disposal:

1. Put trash bags directly on the curb after 8 PM if putting bags directly on the curb.
2. Place trash in a secure container one hour before closing.

Here, too, the new rules will minimize the amount of time trash sits at the curb, which would help resolve rodent issues.

As a property owner, it’s important to note that the new rules will likely have a significant impact on how you manage your buildings, from staff scheduling, to property maintenance and more. Plan ahead for these changes before they actually go into effect so that you are full prepared to remain compliant while keeping your buildings running as efficiently as possible.

How can I keep my property free of rodents?

A rat problem can be a nightmare for a property owner and their tenants. In addition to complying with the city’s trash disposal rules, follow these tips to keep your buildings free of rodents:

• Clean up often and clean up well. Garbage provides a hiding place and source of sustenance for rats. Keep the area surrounding your property free of garbage and clutter.
• Use rat-resistant garbage bags. Invest in specialized rat-proof garbage bags for the trash in front of your tenant buildings to keep the rodents out.
• Make sure your tenants have sufficient trash containers. Any exposed and overflowing garbage will invite rats.
• Trim your grass and landscaping. Overgrown grass, tall weeds and shrubs provide the perfect place for rats to live and nest. Keep your landscaping cut short to keep the rats out.
• Don’t feed the animals. Encourage your tenants not to leave food out for birds, cats, squirrels or any other animals as this will attract undesired creatures, like rats.
• Seal the holes in your property. Have an expert check the foundation of your buildings, the sidewalk in front of your properties and under doors for holes and cracks. Seal every hole as each one can be an access point for rats.

The new rules won’t go into effect for another few months, but you may want to familiarize your staff with the new trash disposal system in advance so they are fully prepared. You can view the DSNY updated rules on their SITE.

Still confused about the DSNY’s new rules? We can help! Contact Jack Jaffa & Co. today to learn more.