I have done minor electrical work on my property, is it a violation?

Question

so I live in NYC and I recently become a homeowner. I'm handy and I tend to fix/repair small things myself most of the time. in my condo, I replaced old/broken sconces and kitchen ceiling lamps, replaced old greasy switches with WIFI switches, and install a Nest thermostat. I didn't do any rewiring, I didn't move any box or any other hack. simply connected black with black, red with red, white with white (and double-checked everything with a tester.)

Reading official blogs etc, I'm now confused because it seems the law is very strict and you need a permit for the banalest thing.

So what should I do now? Do I have to have an electrician come and inspect and certify my work? Will I get a violation ticket IF an inspector or a neighbor sends me one? Even our property manager didnt know too much about it and she mentioned permits only for rewiring

What I'm confused about the most is that when i bought my property i didn't get any certification on paper regarding the electrical or plumbing system. I don't have a piece of paper to submit to my insurance (which they don't require btw) to say hey this condo is certified. So how can anyone prove the certification btw?

everything seems a little blurry

please recommend or share your personal experience

Answer 1

The letter of the law is addressed in an earlier answer, so we'll leave that discussion there, but I do want to address the point

I replaced old/broken sconces and kitchen ceiling lamps, replaced old greasy switches with WIFI switches, and install a Nest thermostat.

The issues here are often overlooked by the DIY and the point is that you don't know what you don't know. Now, I don't meant to poke holes in your knowledge or skills, but there is a reason why some types of DIY work should be inspected.

Did you use the right type of wire? Did you know there are fire rating requirements, even for LV wiring? For instance, one cannot put just any speaker wire behind walls, and not all LV cabling is allowed for thermostats...etc.

Did you use approved wire nuts? Are the sconces grounded correctly?

Are the WiFi and other IoT type electronics UL listed? Did you check the box fill?

Your concern is really what will legally happen in the event of a fire or personal injury, and are you then covered by a) your condo/property insurance and b) your private contents insurance.

Depending on the magnitude of the damage, lawyers may call on technical experts to find even the smallest flaw. If no flaws are found you might be off the hook, but it will be an arduous and nerve wrecking process nevertheless.

Your way out of this is to inquire with both insurance companies or your broker, and ask if submitting a certified electrician's inspection report would satisfy your coverage requirements. Often this is acceptable to them because it shifts liability to the electrician's professional insurance.

What remains then is any punitive consequences (fines) for not arranging a city permit. This is often limited by what is on record and the dollar value of the work done, and it really only matters if and when the un-permitted work is discovered, and even then in the case of minor work it may depend on whether it was done with proper or blatantly poor workmanship.

Answer 2

Here is what the official NYC government website has to say:

Work you can do without a permit, Licensed Master Electrician or Registered Design Professional

No installation and modification to any electrical systems can be performed without a permit and a Licensed Master Electrician.

Work you can do without a permit

No installation and modification to any electrical systems can be performed without a permit.

That same page defines "Electrical Systems work" as:

Electrical Systems work is the new design and installation, alteration, or repair of any electric wires, wiring apparatus and other appliances used or to be used for the transmission of electricity for electric light, heat, power, signaling, communication, alarm and data transmission.

Installation and modification work may also include the necessary equipment, usually consisting of a circuit breaker(s), switch(es), fuse(s) and their accessories, connected to the load end of service conductors to a building or other structure, or an otherwise designated area, and intended to constitute the main control and cutoff of the supply.

It is pretty clear that this includes light switches and fixtures (see below).

There are many thousands of people who are doing the same thing you have done, and in most cases nobody from the government knows or cares.

However, if you would have an electrical fire as a result of your work, it is extremely likely that your insurance company would try to get out of paying, and you might face legal penalties.

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Your thermostat is probably not included in the above requirements because it is low voltage, not full line voltage. There may be separate requirements for modifications to HVAC systems, but I am not aware of them.

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UPDATE: There was some discussion in the comments about whether your case is included in the definition of "Electrical Systems work" or not, so here is another quote from the page:

Minor Electrical Work. Replacement and repairs, listed below, requires a NYC Licensed Master Electrician and an electrical permit, but does not require a DOB Inspection, for this type of work.

...

D. Replacement of defective controls (30 amps and under);

...

F. Replacement of fixtures in existing outlets (no more that 5 fixtures; no increase in wattage;

I could not find an official code definition of "Controls" used in part D, but a dictionary definition would definitely include light switches.

"Outlets" mentioned in part F means any place in the wiring system that is meant to connect something. This includes any wall or ceiling junction box intended to connect a light fixture (what code calls a "luminaire"), and it therefore prohibits you from replacing light fixtures by yourself.

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A comparison between the city code for plumbing vs. electrical is also informative.

Section 28-105.4.2 of the NYC Construction code defines "Ordinary repairs" to include:

... the repair or replacement of any plumbing fixture, piping or faucets from any exposed stop valve to the inlet side of a trap.

Such "ordinary repairs" for plumbing do not require a permit.

I have not found any similar exception for electrical fixtures.