Can a New York town ban using old mobile homes as backyard storage units?

Plain-English summary

The Town of Mayfield was concerned about old mobile homes being parked on residential lots as backyard storage sheds. The structures were unsightly and the town worried they were fire hazards. The town attorney asked whether the town could simply ban that use.

The AG concluded the town had authority to regulate, but not to uniformly prohibit without procedural protections.

Town Law § 130(16) is the statute on unsafe buildings. It authorizes a town board to enact regulations providing for removal and repair of unsafe buildings, but only with the procedural safeguards in § 130(16)(a)-(e): inspection by a duly appointed town official; notice to the owner specifying in what ways the structure is unsafe and an order to make it safe or remove it; a specified time for compliance; filing of the notice with the county clerk; and a hearing before the town board. The AG had previously held in 1984 Op Atty Gen (Inf) 176 that regulating unsafe buildings is an exercise of the town's broad police power under Municipal Home Rule Law § 10(1)(ii)(a)(12).

The AG also cited earlier opinions allowing regulation of junk and prohibition of front-lawn vehicle parking as examples of police power. It treated an old trailer used exclusively as a fixed-base storage facility as a structure subject to regulation under Town Law § 130(16) and that police power.

The crucial limit: the town's local law had to operate through investigation of each trailer, application of safety standards, and the § 130(16) procedural sequence. Ordering removal of unsafe trailers could only follow notice, opportunity to repair or remove, and a hearing. A uniform ban that skipped those steps would conflict with § 130(16) and be invalid.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2002. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Common questions

Could the town just use zoning instead?

The opinion does not analyze zoning authority or a proposed zoning ordinance. Its answer concerns Town Law § 130(16) and the town's police power.

What counts as a "fixed-base storage facility"?

The AG used the phrase for an old trailer used exclusively as a fixed-base storage facility. It did not define a broader category or address other trailer uses.

Do the same procedures apply to other unsafe structures?

Town Law § 130(16) sets safeguards before a town orders removal or repair of an unsafe building or structure. The AG cited earlier junk and front-lawn parking opinions as examples of police power; it did not say those opinions applied § 130(16)'s procedure.

Could the town require new mobile homes to be registered?

The opinion does not analyze permits or registration for new mobile homes. It addresses old trailers used as fixed-base storage facilities.

What if the owner doesn't comply after the hearing?

The AG lists inspection, owner notice, time to begin securing or removal, filing the notice with the county clerk, and a town board hearing as safeguards before an order. It does not analyze the steps or costs after the hearing.

Background and statutory framework

Town Law § 130(16) is the unsafe-buildings statute. The procedural safeguards in (a)-(e) form a notice-and-hearing template that must be respected in any town regulation aimed at removal of unsafe structures.

Municipal Home Rule Law § 10(1)(ii)(a)(12) is the general police power grant to local governments to legislate on the protection, order, conduct, safety, health, and well-being of persons or property in the locality.

Municipal Home Rule Law § 10(1)(ii)(d)(3) authorizes local laws that amend or supersede the Town Law, so long as the legislature has not expressly prohibited supersession and the local law is consistent with the Constitution and general laws.

The relationship between the two: § 10(1)(ii)(a)(12) is the affirmative grant; § 10(1)(ii)(d)(3) lets the town tailor Town Law provisions, but does not let the town discard procedural safeguards that the Town Law builds in.

Citations

• Town Law § 130(16) (unsafe buildings; regulations).
• Town Law § 130(16)(a)-(e) (procedural safeguards: inspection, notice, time, filing, hearing).
• Municipal Home Rule Law § 10(1)(ii)(a)(12) (police power; safety and well-being).
• Municipal Home Rule Law § 10(1)(ii)(d)(3) (supersession of Town Law by local law).
• 1984 Op Atty Gen (Inf) 176 (regulation of unsafe buildings is exercise of police power).
• Op Atty Gen (Inf) No. 90-5 (regulation of junk).
• 1986 Op Atty Gen (Inf) 60 (parking on front lawns of residential buildings).

Source

• Landing page: https://ag.ny.gov/libraries-documents/opinions/opinions-year
• Original PDF: https://ag.ny.gov/sites/default/files/opinions/I_2002-2_pw.pdf

Original opinion text

TOWN LAW §§ 130(16); MUNICIPAL HOME RULE LAW § 10(1)(ii)(a)(12), 10(1)(ii)(d)(2). A town may regulate the use of old mobile homes as fixed-based storage facilities pursuant to section 130(16) of the Town Law, but it may not enact a local law that uniformly prohibits such structures without satisfying the statute's procedural safeguards regarding removal and repair of unsafe buildings and structures. February 11, 2002 Eleanor M. Zimmerman, Esq. Town Attorney Town of Mayfield 352 County Hwy. 146 Gloversville, New York 12078

Informal Opinion
No. 2002-2

Dear Ms. Zimmerman:
You have inquired whether the Town of Mayfield may enact a local law prohibiting the use of old mobile homes (trailers) as storage facilities. The town is concerned that such structures appear unsightly, and may constitute fire hazards or otherwise be unsafe. We conclude that the town may regulate such structures pursuant to N.Y. Town Law § 130(16), but that it may not enact a local law that uniformly prohibits such structures without satisfying the Town Law's procedural safeguards regarding removal and repair of unsafe buildings and structures. Section 130(16) of the Town Law authorizes a town board to enact regulations providing for the removal and repair of unsafe buildings, in accordance with certain enumerated procedural safeguards. Town Law § 130(16)(a)-(e). Before ordering the removal or repair of a building deemed unsafe, the town must provide for an inspection and report by a duly appointed town official; serve notice upon the property owner specifying the particulars in which a building or structure is unsafe or dangerous and an order requiring same to be made safe and secure or removed; specify the time within which the person served may commence the securing or removal of such structures; file the notice in the office of the county clerk in the county within which such building or structure is located; and provide a hearing before the town board. Town Law § 130(16)(a)-(e). A town may also adopt rules relating to its property, affairs or government which amend or supercede the provisions of the Town Law, provided that the legislature has not expressly prohibited the adoption of such local laws, and that the regulations are not inconsistent with the constitution or any general law. N.Y. Municipal Home Rule Law § 10(1)(ii)(d)(3). In delegating police power to local governments, the legislature has also specifically authorized towns to adopt local laws in relation to the government, protection, order, conduct, safety, health and well-being of persons or property therein. Municipal Home Rule Law § 10(1)(a)(12). We have previously opined that "the regulation of unsafe buildings" is clearly an exercise of this broad police power, and that towns may therefore regulate unsafe structures if such regulation is in accordance with both Town Law 130(16) and Municipal Home Rule Law § 10(1)(ii)(d)(3). 1984 Op. Att'y Gen. (Inf.) 176. We have opined that this police power authorizes the regulation of junk, Op. Att'y Gen. (Inf.) No. 90-5, and may be used to prohibit the parking of vehicles on the front lawns of residential buildings, 1986 Op. Att'y Gen. (Inf.) 60. Consistent with this precedent, we view an old trailer that is used exclusively as a fixed-base storage facility as a structure subject to a town's regulation under Town Law § 130(16) and the town's police power. In our view, this broad delegation of authority may be invoked to regulate trailers by establishing a procedure whereby each trailer is investigated for safety, applying standards established in the local law. Removal of unsafe trailers may be ordered only after the procedural requirements of Town Law § 130(16) have been satisfied. We believe, therefore, that a town may properly regulate the use of old mobile homes as fixed-base storage facilities pursuant to Town Law § 130(16), or its police powers, but that it may not uniformly prohibit such structures in a manner that conflicts with the procedural requirements of Town Law § 130(16). The Attorney General renders formal opinions only to officers and departments of State government. This perforce is an informal and unofficial expression of the views of this Office. Very truly yours, JAMES COLE Assistant Solicitor General In Charge of Opinions By:_________ PATRICK J. WALSH Assistant Solicitor General