New York’s Scaffold Law imposes strict liability on contractors and property owners for gravity-related workplace injuries, a standard that is unique to the state and differs from the comparative negligence models used elsewhere. This page covers CBC’s work on construction liability standards, the impact of legal mandates on development costs, insurance premiums for building projects, and the relationship between regulatory reform and affordable housing production.
This page was created with AICBC Insights uses AI to group, analyze and present data and recommendations from CBC's publications. Always reference the cited sources to verify important details..
Amending the Scaffold Law to move from an absolute liability standard to a comparative liability standard for contractors’ liability insurance would bring New York in line with the other 49 states.
Key Data
In September 2025, the CBCNY reported that New York State's Scaffold Law, which assigns strict liability to contractors and owners for fall-related injuries, increases total development costs by at least 7%.
According to a November 2020 letter, the Scaffold Law (Labor Law §§ 240/241) was enacted in 1885, predating more than 135 years of modern worker safety laws, and New York remains the last state to maintain this absolute liability standard.
A November 2020 joint letter highlighted that if the excessive insurance and development costs from the Scaffold Law were instead invested in housing, an additional 12,600 affordable housing units could have been created and preserved under the state's 5-year housing plan.
New York's Scaffold Law, which imposes strict liability on contractors for on-the-job falls regardless of fault, significantly inflates construction costs by at least 7%. Repealing this unique regulation in favor of standard comparative liability models used in other states could help reduce the high price of building new housing in the city.
Recommendations related to Scaffold Law
The State should repeal New York’s exceptional Scaffold Law and adopt the liability standards used in every other state in the country.
Key Data
7%
— The minimum increase in total development costs attributed to the Scaffold Law.
New York City's persistent housing shortage, which has led to record-low vacancy rates and rising costs, requires urgent state-level policy changes to boost production. These necessary reforms include repealing the Scaffold law to lower insurance costs, alongside modernizing building codes and reforming property tax policies.
Recommendations related to Scaffold Law
The State should repeal the Scaffold law, which drives up insurance costs.
While providing one-time state aid to address NYCHA's $450 million rent arrears is reasonable, such assistance should be paired with a plan to restore rent collection rates and offset by state savings. To further support NYCHA's long-term financial sustainability, the state should help reduce operating costs by reforming the Scaffold Law and increasing the housing trust's unit cap.
Recommendations related to Scaffold Law
The State should help NYCHA reduce costs by reforming the Scaffold Law.
New York City's housing affordability crisis is exacerbated by regulatory barriers that hinder new construction and increase development costs. To address this, the city should pursue reforms to laws that discourage development, including the state's Scaffold Law, while also modernizing building codes and property tax systems.
Recommendations related to Scaffold Law
The incoming Administration should support reform of laws that disincentivize development, such as the New York State’s Scaffold Law, the Multiple Dwelling Law, and rent stabilization.
The proposed New York City Public Housing Preservation Trust aims to preserve 110,000 units of affordable housing, but its effectiveness is threatened by legislative mandates like the Scaffold Law and Wicks Law that increase project costs and complexity. Without sufficient flexibility and operational reform, the Trust may struggle to deliver projects efficiently or manage properties effectively.
The Scaffold Law's strict liability standard significantly increases construction and development costs, driving up insurance premiums and hindering the creation of affordable housing. Replacing this standard with a comparative negligence model could reduce these costs, potentially allowing for the creation of thousands of additional affordable housing units without requiring state funding.
Recommendations related to Scaffold Law
The state should include reform of Labor Law §§ 240/241 in the 2021-22 Executive budget proposal to encourage the development of additional housing units.
New York should replace the existing strict liability standard with a more common-sense comparative negligence standard that considers the respective negligence of the property owner, employer, contractor, and/or injured party.
The state should apportion liability based on the actual negligence of the parties rather than relying on the current absolute liability standard.
Key Data
7 percent
— The Scaffold Law's strict liability standard has increased affordable housing and other development costs by an estimated 7 percent.
12,600
— If the excessive costs associated with the Scaffold Law had been invested in housing during the current 5-year housing plan, an additional 12,600 affordable housing units could have been created and preserved.
New York's Scaffold Law, which imposes absolute liability on contractors for gravity-related workplace injuries, contributes to the region's high construction costs and housing shortage. Reforming this unique legal requirement is essential to reducing insurance premiums and facilitating the development of necessary dense housing.
Recommendations related to Scaffold Law
State and city lawmakers should reform the Scaffold Law, which makes it costly to build dense housing.
The Scaffold Law, which mandates an absolute liability standard for construction insurance in New York, significantly increases development costs and should be amended to a comparative liability standard to align with other states. This reform is essential to reduce the financial burden on construction projects and help address the region's housing production crisis.
Recommendations related to Scaffold Law
Amending the Scaffold Law to move from an absolute liability standard to a comparative liability standard for contractors’ liability insurance would bring New York in line with the other 49 states.
Key Data
7 percent
— The amount by which the Scaffold Law may increase total development costs.
49 states
— The number of other states that use a comparative liability standard for contractors' liability insurance, unlike New York.
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