Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
My son-in-law and his cousin who does construction work on the side,built a bathroom in his basement. It has a shower stall, sink and toilet...Now he wants to extend the house. A contractor told him that he can't do it because a basement bathroom is illegal and if an extension is built, an inspector will come into the home and make him rip out the bathroom. They live in Seaford, Town of Hempstead, Nassau County.
Can a basement bathroom be legal? What should he do now? They are NOT making an illegal apartment, just needed a second bathroom.
My son-in-law and his cousin who does construction work on the side,built a bathroom in his basement. It has a shower stall, sink and toilet...Now he wants to extend the house. A contractor told him that he can't do it because a basement bathroom is illegal and if an extension is built, an inspector will come into the home and make him rip out the bathroom. They live in Seaford, Town of Hempstead, Nassau County.
Can a basement bathroom be legal? What should he do now? They are NOT making an illegal apartment, just needed a second bathroom.
Check the local Town code. Probably online - "Town of Hempstead"
It CAN be legal but chances are the one that's there is not. I can guarantee you that the contractor is correct and if the town comes in and sees it, they will want it all brought to code which will be a headache but do-able since they are doing other work.
A bathroom in the basement can be legal but, it can only be a 2 fixture bath. Most people will do a toilet and sink. To get the CO though they are probably gonna have to get an affidavit from a licensed plumber proving that all the plumbing was done to code. A 3 piece bath though will not be approved.
I didn't think ours was legal / had a CO (I still have not seen a CO for it but it went through the sale just fine) but in mynassauproperty.com (after our whole-house renovations), it lists that we have 5 baths (which the basement would be the 5th). So does that mean it's legal? It is a full 3-pc bath.
I didn't think ours was legal / had a CO (I still have not seen a CO for it but it went through the sale just fine) but in mynassauproperty.com (after our whole-house renovations), it lists that we have 5 baths (which the basement would be the 5th). So does that mean it's legal? It is a full 3-pc bath.
I'm pretty sure in ToHemp the 2-pc is the rule. Not positive though. Also how old is the bathroom? If it was from the heyday it might be grandfathered in.
It can be legal but the usual red tape (permit, architectural drawing, inspection, CO, etc.) process will have to be endured. I had exactly the type of bathroom you're describing - shower stall, sink, and toilet (so a 3 piece is fine) - and lived in the Town of North Hempstead. If anything wasn't done to code, it will have to brought up to code. The town inspector will determine whether it was done to code or not. The bathroom won't be overlooked simply because it's already there - if anything, the permit fee will be doubled, triped, or quadrupled as a penalty for going through the process after the fact. It certainly can be a headache but it's much better to go through the process now, before the time to sell comes.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
