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N.Y. SOS Law § 459-B

This is the official text of N.Y. SOS Law § 459-B, part of New York’s SOS Law — part of the compiled statutory law of New York, published by the state as "SOS Law." Browse the sections below, each linked to its official government source.

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Residential services for victims of domestic violence

Official statutory text

§ 459-b. Residential services for victims of domestic violence. In\naccordance with section one hundred thirty-one-u of this chapter and the\nregulations of the office of children and family services, a social\nservices district shall offer and provide necessary and available\nemergency shelter and services for up to ninety days at a residential\nprogram for victims of domestic violence to a victim of domestic\nviolence who was residing in the social services district at the time of\nthe alleged domestic violence whether or not such victim is eligible for\npublic assistance. Two forty-five day extensions of necessary and\navailable emergency shelter may be granted beyond the maximum length of\nstay at a residential program for victims of domestic violence for\nresidents who continue to be in need of emergency services and temporary\nshelter. If the victim of domestic violence has a service animal as such\nterm is defined in section one hundred twenty-three-b of the agriculture\nand markets law, or therapy dog as such term is defined in section one\nhundred eight of the agriculture and markets law, respectively, such\nservice animal or therapy dog shall be allowed to accompany the victim\nat the residential program authorized pursuant to this section, so long\nas such accompaniment would not create an undue burden as defined by\nsection two hundred ninety-six of the executive law.\n Where such accompaniment would constitute an undue burden, the\nresidential program shall make reasonable efforts to facilitate\nplacement of such animal at an off-site animal care facility or if\nreasonable efforts fail, provide referral to one or more off-site animal\ncare facilities. Such off-site animal care may include, but not be\nlimited to, boarding at a veterinary hospital or under the auspices of a\nduly incorporated humane society, or duly incorporated animal protection\nassociation approved for such purpose by the department of agriculture\nand markets.\n Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit any rights or\nobligations provided pursuant to federal or state law, including but not\nlimited to providing reasonable accommodations for individuals with\ndisabilities.\n

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About this page: Statute text is reproduced from official government publishers via the Open US Law dataset (Vaquill AI, snapshot v2026.08, CC BY 4.0). Primary legislative text like this is public domain under the government-edicts doctrine (Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). We link every section back to its official source so you can verify it independently.