N.Y. Laws » CHAPTER General Municipal / ARTICLE Sewer Rent Law
New York Consolidated Laws

N.Y. General Municipal Law § 451 (2026)

Definitions

✓ current as of May 2026
Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section NY-LEGnysenate.gov Justiaon Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar 
§ 451. Definitions. As used in this article, the following terms shall
mean and include:
  1. "Sewer rents." A scale of annual charges established and imposed in
a city or village or in a sewer or wastewater disposal district in a
county or town pursuant to this article for the use of a sewer system or
any part or parts thereof. Such charges may be based on either (a) the
consumption of water on the premises connected with and served by the
sewer system or such part or parts thereof, (b) the number and kind of
plumbing fixtures on the premises connected with and served by the sewer
system or such part or parts thereof, (c) the number of persons served
on the premises connected with and served by the sewer system or such
part or parts thereof, (d) the volume and character of sewage,
industrial waste and other wastes discharged into the sewer system or
such part or parts thereof, or (e) upon any other equitable basis
determined by the local legislative body, including but not limited to
any combination of the foregoing.
  2. "Sewer System." All sewer pipes and other appurtenances which are
used or useful in whole or in part in connection with the collection,
treatment or disposal of sewage, industrial waste and other wastes and
which are owned, operated or maintained by a city or village or a sewer
district in a county or town, including sewage pumping stations and
sewage treatment and disposal works and private on-site wastewater
disposal systems, if any.
  3. "Part." As used in relation to the term "sewer system":  all
lateral sewers, or all branch sewers, or all interceptor sewers, or all
trunk sewers, and any sewage treatment and disposal works, and private
on-site wastewater disposal systems, each part with necessary
appurtenances including sewage pumping stations.
  4. "Sewage." The water-carried human or animal wastes from residences,
buildings, industrial establishments, or other places, together with
such ground water infiltration and surface water as may be present. The
admixture with sewage as above defined of industrial waste or other
wastes as hereafter defined, also shall be considered "sewage" within
the meaning of this article.
  5. "Industrial waste." Any liquid, gaseous, solid or other waste
substance or a combination thereof resulting from any process of
industry, manufacturing, trade or business or from the development or
recovery of any natural resources.
  6. "Other wastes." Garbage, refuse, decayed wood, sawdust, shavings,
bark, sand, lime, cinders, ashes, offal, oil, tar, dye stuffs, acids,
chemicals, and all other discarded matter not sewage or industrial
waste.
  7. "Local legislative body." In cities and villages, the body
authorized to adopt local laws pursuant to the municipal home rule law;
in counties, the board of supervisors and in towns, the town board.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 12 cases, 1990–2020 · leading case: Hull v. Town of Warrensburg, 207 A.D.2d 37 (N.Y. App. Div. 1994).
Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment
Hull v. Town of Warrensburg, 207 A.D.2d 37 (N.Y. App. Div. 1994). · cites it 3× “rved on the premises connected with and served by the sewer system or such part or parts thereof, (d) the volume and character of sewage, industrial waste and other wastes discharged into the sewer system or such part or parts thereof, or (e) upon any other equitable basis…”
Welch Foods, Inc. v. Wilson, 277 A.D.2d 882 (N.Y. App. Div. 2000). “When plaintiff moved a substantial portion of its operations out of New York State prior to 1986, the plant became underutilized.”
Frontier Ins. v. Town Bd. of Thompson, 285 A.D.2d 953 (N.Y. App. Div. 2001). · cites it 2× “General Municipal Law § 451 (1) allows municipalities to *956 impose sewer rents based on consumption of water on the premises, the number and kind of plumbing fixtures on the premises, the number of persons served on the premises, the volume and character of sewage discharged…”
Rezek v. Vill. of Richmondville, 24 A.D.3d 1169 (N.Y. App. Div. 2005). “Petitioners argue that the Local Law violates General Municipal Law § 452 (5) (b) because it does not sufficiently describe the basis on which the Village may charge water and sewer rents and, thus, allows the Village to charge property owners unequally.”
Arcuri v. Vill. of Remsen, 202 A.D.2d 991 (N.Y. App. Div. 1994). · cites it 2× “The "user unit” system was promulgated by the Village pursuant to General Municipal Law § 451 (1) (e). General Municipal Law § 451 (1) states that sewer rents may be based on (a) consumption of water, (b) number and kind of plumbing fixtures, (c) number of persons served, (d)…”
Kinkead v. Vill. of Round Lake, 187 A.D.2d 905 (N.Y. App. Div. 1992). “The issue presented by this appeal is whether defendant may properly charge plaintiffs water and sewer rents even though their property was uninhabitable at the time the charges were imposed.”
Pearl Leather Finishers, Inc. v. Gloversville-Johnstown Jt. Sewer Bd., 162 A.D.2d 923 (N.Y. App. Div. 1990). · cites it 2× “General Municipal Law § 451 (1) provides that sewer rents can be based upon any one of four specific factors or upon any other equitable basis determined by the local legislative body, including but not limited to any combination of the four specified factors.”
Home Builders Ass'n of Cent. New York, Inc. v. Cnty. of Onondaga, 151 Misc. 2d 886 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. 1991). “Therefore, the sewer connection fee is not a sewer rent, as article 14-F of the General Municipal Law defines sewer rents as a scale of annual charges established and imposed in a sewer district (General Municipal Law § 451), nor is the sewer connection fee a special assessment…”
Chelsea Piers Mgmt., Inc. v. Chapin, 7 A.D.3d 389 (N.Y. App. Div. 2004). · cites it 2× “astewater system, and any person benefitting from the use of services furnished or made available by the wastewater system, shall pay wastewater charges for the use of services furnished or made available by the wastewater system; if not connected but required to be connected,…”
Bd. of Educ. of E. Meadow Union Free Sch. Dist. v. Cnty. of Nassau, 120 A.D.3d 1170 (N.Y. App. Div. 2014). “The plaintiffs commenced a hybrid CPLR article 78 proceeding and declaratory judgment action, alleging, inter alia, that the ordinance violates the Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses of the New York and United States Constitutions, General Municipal Law §§ 451 and 452, and…”
Matter of Milford Mgt. v. New York City Water Bd., 2020 NY Slip Op 72 (N.Y. App. Div. 2020). “The Rate Schedule generally charges for use of the sewer system based on consumption of water (General Municipal Law § 451[1]; see Public Authorities Law § 1045-j[1] [charges appropriate for "services .”
Long Island Power Auth. v. Anderson, 21 Misc. 3d 161 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. 2008). “Because the property receives no benefit from nor is attached to the sewer system, it cannot be charged sewer rents or assessments.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.