Oyster Bay, NY Rental Property Rules: Repairs & Habitability (2026)

Chapter 135, Article II of the Town Code, Occupancy, Area, Light and Ventilation, requires every residential building covered by the chapter to comply with specific dimensional and environmental standards so it provides, in the Code's words, a safe and healthful environment (§ 135-7). Section 135-10 sets the core habitable-space test: habitable space must have a minimum ceiling height of seven feet six inches over 50% of the floor area, floor area under six feet of ceiling height doesn't count toward the total, kitchens need at least 60 square feet of floor area, and other habitable rooms need at least 80 square feet with a minimum horizontal dimension of seven feet.

Section 135-11 additionally requires at least one habitable room of 150 square feet with a 10-foot minimum dimension per dwelling unit. Section 135-14 mandates natural light equivalent to 10% of a room's floor area through windows or skylights facing legal open space, plus artificial light, and natural ventilation equal to at least 5% of floor area. Section 135-9 separately bans using kitchens, cellars or nonhabitable space for sleeping, and bans cooking or eating in lodging units. These standards apply to one- and two-family dwellings, multiple dwellings, and mixed-occupancy residential space Town-wide, but exclude mobile homes, hotels, motels and other transient occupancies (§ 135-4).

When the Commissioner of the Department of Planning and Development or a designee finds noncompliance, § 135-53 requires a written notice of violation served on the owner personally or by certified mail, and § 135-54 lets the Town cure garbage, vegetation or similar hazards itself and assess the cost to the owner after five days' noncompliance.