Albany, N.Y., Code of Ordinances ch. 231 § 231-135
Registration renewal and de-registration
Operative Text
A. Rental dwelling units shall be re-registered in accordance with this chapter every 24 months or after New York State building codes or Albany City Code compliance has been achieved following de-registration. B. Where the Department of Buildings and Regulatory Compliance determines that a rental dwelling and/or rental dwelling unit is in violation of the New York State building codes, the rental dwelling units may be de-registered according the following procedure: (1) The Department of Buildings and Regulatory Compliance, after discovering a violation, shall notify the responsible party of the alleged violation(s) in writing. (2) If the violation has not been corrected within 30 days, or 14 days in the event of violations imposing a threat to the health and safety of building occupants or public at large as determined by the Department of Buildings and Regulatory Compliance, of mailing of said notice, the rental dwelling unit containing the violation or all rental dwelling units affected by the violation may be de-registered by the Chief Building Official or their designee subject to the following conditions: (a) Where the Chief Building Official or their designee determines that a lack of compliance is attributable to a tenant's refusal to allow a rental dwelling owner or their designee sufficient access to an area under the exclusive control of the tenant which must be accessed in order to obtain compliance, the compliance period shall be extended to the 14th day of consecutive access after the date the rental dwelling owner secures such access provided that reasonable action is taken to ameliorate the effect of such a violation on tenants other than the tenant denying access. Where the code violation is attributable to the actions of a tenant and affects only the offending tenant, deregistration shall not occur until 14 days after these conditions no longer obtain. (b) If the Department of Buildings and Regulatory Compliance is not able to confirm compliance due to a tenant's explicit or implicit refusal to allow re-inspection of the affected area, the period of compliance shall be extended to the date the Department is granted the ability to perform a re-inspection. (c) Where the rental dwelling owner has made a good faith effort to comply within the time allowed, has taken concrete steps towards compliance, and where the underlying violation is not a threat to health and safety, the Department may extend the compliance period for up to 60 additional days. (3) Upon the correction of the violation, the rental dwelling unit(s) shall be re-registered on the Rental Dwelling Registry by the owner. If a court of law determines that the rental dwelling unit was de-registered in error, the rental dwelling unit(s) shall be re-registered on the Rental Dwelling Registry by the Chief Building Official or their designee. The expiration of rental dwelling registration following de-registration pursuant to this section shall be same as the period as that of the rental dwelling unit's most recent registration or, if that date has expired, determined according to § 231-132F of this Code. There shall be no fee for re-registration following a determination in a court of law that no violation occurred.
Albany City Code § 231-135 establishes a system for renewing and revoking the registration of rental dwelling units. Registrations must be renewed every 24 months, and units can be de-registered when the Department of Buildings and Regulatory Compliance finds a building code violation that is not corrected within the applicable notice period—generally 30 days, or 14 days for health-and-safety threats. Once violations are corrected, owners must re-register the units, and if a court finds a de-registration was made in error, re-registration occurs at no charge.
Plain English — not legal advice.
Under § 231-135, compliant rental property operators keep track of their 24-month registration renewal cycle and respond promptly to any written violation notices from the Department of Buildings and Regulatory Compliance. When a notice is received, operators generally document all steps taken toward correction and, where a tenant's refusal to grant access is the obstacle, take reasonable steps to mitigate effects on other occupants and pursue access through proper channels. Good-faith efforts and concrete progress toward correction—particularly for non-health-and-safety violations—can support a request for up to 60 additional days to achieve compliance before de-registration occurs.
General guidance for property managers — not legal advice for your specific situation. Consult an attorney for advice on your case.
Section § 231-135 contains provisions that can directly affect tenants: de-registration of a unit can be delayed or avoided when a code violation is caused solely by a tenant's own actions and affects only that tenant, and the compliance clock is paused when a tenant's refusal to allow access or re-inspection is the reason compliance cannot be confirmed. Tenants who believe their unit was wrongly de-registered may have recourse through a court of law, which can order re-registration at no fee if it finds no violation occurred. Tenant-rights organizations in Albany can help residents understand how de-registration under this section may interact with their housing rights and what general options exist for raising concerns.
General guidance for tenants — not legal advice for your specific situation. Consult a tenant-rights organization or attorney for advice on your case.
Generated November 7, 2026 — auto-generated, not yet human-reviewed. See /transparency for methodology.
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