Cal. Civ. Code § 32
Alcoves
Operative Text
§ 32. Alcoves. 1. Every alcove, except a lawful cooking space, opening from any room in any multiple dwelling erected after April eighteenth, nineteen hundred twenty-nine, shall be separately lighted and ventilated as provided for other rooms in section thirty. It shall have a floor area of at least seventy square feet, a least horizontal dimension of at least seven feet and an opening at least sixty square feet in area into the room which it adjoins. 2. Except for cubicles permitted in lodging houses, no part of any room in any multiple dwelling erected after April eighteenth, nineteen hundred twenty-nine, shall be enclosed or subdivided at any time, wholly or in part, by a curtain, portiere, fixed or movable partition or other contrivance or device, unless each such enclosure or subdivision shall contain a separate window as required for a room by section thirty and a floor space of at least seventy square feet.
N.Y. Mult. Dwell. Law § 32 governs alcoves and room subdivisions in multiple dwellings built after April 18, 1929. Any alcove (other than a lawful cooking space) must meet minimum size requirements—at least 70 square feet of floor area, a least horizontal dimension of 7 feet, and an opening of at least 60 square feet into the adjoining room—and must have its own lighting and ventilation consistent with Section 30 standards. Additionally, no part of a room in such a building may be enclosed or subdivided by any means, including curtains, partitions, or similar devices, unless each resulting space has its own qualifying window and at least 70 square feet of floor space. The only exception to the subdivision rule applies to cubicles permitted in lodging houses.
Plain English — not legal advice.
Operators of multiple dwellings constructed after April 18, 1929 generally ensure that any alcove off a habitable room satisfies the dimensional and ventilation thresholds set out in N.Y. Mult. Dwell. Law § 32, including the 70-square-foot floor area minimum and the required opening into the adjoining room. Compliant operators also avoid creating—or permitting tenants to create—room subdivisions using curtains, partitions, or similar devices unless each enclosed section independently meets the window and floor-space requirements of the provision. Routine inspections of unit configurations can help identify arrangements that may fall outside what § 32 permits.
General guidance for property managers — not legal advice for your specific situation. Consult an attorney for advice on your case.
Under N.Y. Mult. Dwell. Law § 32, tenants living in buildings erected after April 18, 1929 have an interest in knowing that alcoves and any subdivided room spaces must meet specific size and ventilation standards. If a unit contains an alcove or a partitioned area that appears to fall short of these requirements, a tenant may raise the issue with the local housing or building department, which has authority to inspect and enforce compliance. Tenant-rights organizations familiar with New York's Multiple Dwelling Law can help explain what options are generally available when a § 32 concern arises.
General guidance for tenants — not legal advice for your specific situation. Consult a tenant-rights organization or attorney for advice on your case.
Generated September 13, 2026 — auto-generated, not yet human-reviewed. See /transparency for methodology.
Effective Timeline
References Out
No outbound references recorded yet for this provision.
References In
No inbound references recorded yet for this provision.