At the last minute in December, the New York City Council approved and enacted an extension on Local Law 152 Gas Piping Inspections for those properties due for an inspection in the 2020 calendar year. This gives property owners and managers a reprieve on gas inspections given the unusual circumstances around the pandemic this year. Here’s a refresher on your inspection requirements and what the extension means for you.
If you are new to property ownership or management in New York City, you may not yet be familiar with Local Law 152. If you own a residential property of one or two units (class R-3), you are exempt from the law. Otherwise, you must adhere to Local Law 152, whether you own apartments or commercial buildings.
The law was created in 2016 and finally implemented in 2019 to reduce the risk of gas explosions and fires for city dwellers, workers, and first responders. If you are a landlord or property manager, following Local Law 152 can also help protect you from property damage, lawsuits, and up to $10,000 in fines.
Local Law 152 states that all applicable properties must have their gas piping inspected regularly on a four-year schedule. Only a licensed master plumber (LMP) like Sanitary Plumbing, or certain persons with the right qualifications working under a master plumber, may perform inspections.
The LMP submits a Gas Piping Periodic Inspection Report (GPS1) to the building owner within 30 days of performing an inspection. Within 60 days of the inspection, the property owner must then file a Gas Piping System Periodic Inspection Certification (GPS2) with the New York City Department of Buildings (DOB). Whoever performs the inspection for you completes the certification, which is signed and sealed.
You may submit your GPS2 documentation through a city portal dedicated to this purpose. There is no fee to submit a GPS2 with the city.
Any exposed gas piping from the point of entry to your building must be inspected. The following may be included:
Your tenants may not even know your property is being inspected because it’s so unobtrusive. Piping within individual units is not inspected. There is no air pressure test with this inspection, nor does your service need to be interrupted.
If your inspector finds anything with your gas piping that is an immediate danger, such as a gas leak, your gas will be shut off and the Utility will be called. All the normal precautions, like not using electronic devices or light switches, should be followed until the fire department has responded and the area has been made safe.
If there is nothing dangerous, but there are still things that need to be fixed, you have 120 days to remedy the issue and submit a new certification (Certification of Correction), which still must be signed and sealed by your LMP.
If repairs are necessary that may take longer than the 120 days, which can happen, especially during winter, you have 180 days to perform the repairs and submit your documentation through the portal. However, your licensed master plumber has to indicate that you need extra time when the GPS1 inspection report is filled out.
Under normal conditions, the city keeps an inspection schedule online. It organizes inspection timelines by district, so you should check which district your property is in. This year is an anomaly, though, so be sure to check out the information about inspection extensions for 2021, below.
If you don’t have gas piping, you are exempt from the inspection requirement. In that instance, you need to submit a certification every four years from a registered design professional, such as an architect, documenting your lack of gas piping.
All documentation relating to Local Law 152 must be kept by the property owner for at least 10 years following inspection and submission.
The best way to prepare for your NYC gas piping inspection is to keep up with maintenance on your property related to gas piping. There are some things you can do on your own, but if you find repairs beyond your expertise or run into problems, we’re happy to make a service call to assist you.
The extension on gas inspections for Local Law 152 in 2021 has two key provisions:
The extension is favorable for many New York City properties, but June 30th will be here before you know it. Therefore, you don’t want to wait to schedule your gas piping inspection for Local Law 152.
Sanitary Plumbing performs gas inspections as licensed master plumbers. Call us at 212-734-5000, or use our convenient online form to schedule an appointment.