Expanded rights. New responsibilities. What owners, boards, managers, and developers need to know.
New York’s Senate Bill 3799, now passed by both legislative houses and awaiting the Governor’s signature, marks a major turning point for construction and repair work across the state. This update to Section 881 of the Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law (RPAPL) applies statewide, but is particularly impactful in densely developed areas like New York City, where buildings often share walls and lot lines are tight.
For property owners and managers, boards, and developers, the new law offers a clearer, more practical path for gaining legal access to neighboring properties when needed for repairs, restoration, or new construction. Property owners can still reach private agreements with neighbors, but the law now provides a clear legal process to follow when access is denied or delayed.
The Current Challenge: When Good Neighbors Aren't Enough
Throughout New York, especially in New York City’s tightly packed urban landscape, exterior work often requires temporary access to a neighboring property. This is especially common in Facade Inspection Safety Program (FISP) projects, where inspections and facade repairs frequently require swing staging, pipe scaffolding, or protection that extends onto adjacent properties. Yet owners have long struggled with delays, refusals, or silence from neighbors, creating costly setbacks and compliance risks.
The original 1968 statute offered only vague guidance and more problematically, it failed to define what constitutes "refusal" of access, leaving property owners without a clear path forward when neighbors ignore or delay access requests. Without formal mechanisms to address non-response or obstruction, many owners found themselves in legal limbo.
How Senate Bill 3799 Reframes the Process
The amended law brings long-overdue clarity and accountability to the access process in several key ways:
Non-Response = Refusal
Perhaps most significantly, the amended law explicitly defines "refusal" to include situations where a written request receives no response within a "commercially reasonable time." This seemingly simple addition addresses one of the most common frustrations in property development: the neighbor who simply doesn't respond, effectively blocking projects through inaction.
For property managers and developers, this means no more indefinite waiting periods. The law now recognizes that silence can be just as obstructive as an explicit "no," providing a clear path forward when neighbors choose non-engagement as a strategy.
Expanded Legal Scope of Access
The law now expands the types of access that can be legally compelled, including:
- Preconstruction surveys to document existing conditions
- Installation, maintenance, inspection, repair, or removal of:
- Vibration, crack, or optical monitoring devices
- Scaffolding, netting, bridges, or protective coverings over roofs, facades, windows, skylights, chimneys, or other exterior features
- Sheeting, shoring, bracing, or other retaining structures
- Structural supports, such as wall ties, tie-backs, anchors, straps, and underpinning, including for party walls
- Flashing, sealing, or materials needed to keep the building weatherproof
- Temporary projections into airspace over the adjoining property
- Temporary or permanent relocation or adjustment of rooftop elements such as chimneys, vents, flues, and exhausts, as required by code
- Construction staging necessary to complete work
- Any other actions required by applicable law or good construction practice
Mandatory Compensation for Use
A key change in the amended law is the explicit requirement that the party requesting access must reasonably compensate the adjoining owner for the use and occupancy of their property.
In the past, compensation was not guaranteed, often negotiated informally and applied inconsistently. This uncertainty led to delays, disputes, and drawn-out negotiations that stalled critical work.
For adjoining property owners, the new law provides a formal right to compensation that helps offset the disruption of construction and brings greater fairness to the process.
Insurance Requirements: A Critical New Obligation
Another important update is the law’s requirement that the access-seeking party provide commercial general liability insurance for the adjoining property and its occupants. This insurance must:
- Name the adjoining owner, and known lessees, as additional insureds
- Be issued in commercially reasonable amounts
- Be in place prior to any work commencing
For adjoining owners, this requirement offers important protection. For access-seeking owners and their project teams, it means insurance coordination should now be considered part of the early planning process. We recommend engaging your insurance broker early so that proper coverage is in place before any access request is made.
Other Key Legal Requirements
In addition to compensation and insurance, the law sets other clear expectations:
- Access-seeking owners must provide relevant documents (such as plans, specifications, and schedules) in advance
- Courts may award reimbursement for professional review costs (e.g., architectural or engineering fees)
- Attorneys’ fees may also be awarded in cases of bad faith or delay by either party
What It Means for Key Stakeholders
For Adjoining Owners:
Owners who previously received no compensation for construction-related disruption now have a clear legal right to request it, along with protection through insurance coverage and access to advance documentation. However, they may also face legal consequences for unreasonably denying or ignoring access requests.
For Property Managers and Building Decision-Makers:
Whether you're a managing agent, board member, or on-site staff, responding promptly and in writing to access requests is now critical. Under the new law, letting a request go unanswered can be treated as a refusal, exposing the building to potential legal and financial consequences.
For Developers and Access-Seeking Owners:
While the law offers a more structured and enforceable path to gaining access, it also comes with greater responsibility. Insurance coordination, clear documentation, and reasonable compensation must now be factored into project planning from the outset.
Planning Ahead
Although the law takes effect immediately once signed, there’s still time to prepare. At RAND, we recommend that property owners, managers, and boards begin preparing projects for the new framework by:
- Reviewing existing access agreements to make sure they reflect current requirements.
- Updating insurance coverage with your broker to meet additional insured standards
- Developing response protocols to avoid “refusal by silence”
- Creating documentation templates for common access scenarios
This is particularly important for FISP projects, which often require temporary access to neighboring properties for staging and protection. Project teams should begin evaluating how the new rules might affect access negotiations already in progress or planned for upcoming facade cycles.
DOB Notification Requirements Still Apply. In addition to the new legal framework, the NYC Building Code still requires written notice to adjoining property owners at least 60 days before work begins, followed by a second notice 30–45 days prior if no response is received. These timelines should be factored into your overall project schedule.
Organizations that prepare now will be best positioned to benefit from the expanded access rights.
A Clearer Path for Construction Across New York
By removing ambiguity and encouraging reasonable engagement, this legislation supports safer, faster construction and repair projects, while protecting the rights of both the party requesting access and the adjoining property owner.
At RAND, we’ve worked on hundreds of projects where access was a critical hurdle. This new framework gives building owners the tools to navigate those challenges more effectively.
Need Help Navigating the New Requirements?
If your upcoming work may require access to a neighboring property, our team can help you plan ahead and coordinate the necessary steps. Contact RAND at 212-675-8844 or info@nullrandpc.com to discuss how the new access law may apply to your project.
You can view the full text of Senate Bill S.3799 and its legislative history on the New York State Senate website.
RAND Engineering & Architecture, DPC has been serving New York’s building community for nearly 40 years. Founded in 1987, our firm designs and administers programs for the repair, upgrade, restoration, and adaptive reuse of residential, commercial, institutional, and retail properties.
Our expertise includes exterior envelope repair - with a particular focus on FISP - parapet inspections and repair programs, window and door replacement, heating, plumbing, and electrical upgrades, garage inspections and repair programs, architectural design and ADA compliance, feasibility studies and plan reviews, structural engineering, forensic surveys, benchmarking, energy audits, and retro-commissioning, green roofs, and historic restoration.
RAND also has dedicated groups for Building Design, Industrial Rope Access, Drone Services, Infrared Surveys, and 3D Laser Scanning. We also have a Code & Zoning Compliance Team and are an accredited Special Inspections Agency.
To learn more, please visit randpc.com.
