(a) No property owner, condominium association, managing agent, lessee or other person in possession or control of any residential building (hereinafter “”property manager””) shall forbid

or prevent any occupant, tenant or lessee (hereinafter “”tenant””) of any such building from

(1) receiving cable television service from a cable operator, nor

(2) demand or accept payment from any cable operator or such tenant in any form as a condition of permitting the installation of cable television facilities or the maintenance of cable television service in any such building or any portion thereof occupied or leased by such tenant, nor

(3) discriminate in rental charges or otherwise against any tenant receiving cable service; provided, however, that the property manager of such building may require, in exchange and as compensation for permitting the installation of cable television facilities within and upon such building, the payment of just compensation by the cable operator which provides such cable television service, said sum to be determined in accordance with the provisions of subparagraphs (c) and (d) hereof, and provided further that the cable operator installing such cable television facilities shall agree to indemnify the owner of such building for any damage caused by the installation, operation or removal of such cable television facilities and service.

No cable operator shall install cable television facilities within a residential building pursuant to this subparagraph (a) unless the property manager of such residential building, or a tenant of such residential building requests the delivery of cable television services. In any instance in which a request for service is made by more than three (3) tenants of a residential building, the cable operator may install cable television facilities throughout the building in a manner which enables the cable operator to provide cable television services to tenants of other residential units without requiring the installation of additional cable television facilities other than within the residential units occupied by such other tenants.

(b) No property manager of any improved or unimproved real estate shall forbid or prevent a cable operator from entering upon such real estate for the purpose of and in connection with the
construction or installation of such cable television system and cable television facilities, nor shall any such property manager of such real estate forbid or prevent such cable operator from constructing or installing upon, beneath or over (hereinafter “”upon””) such real estate, including any buildings or other structures located thereon, hardware, cable, equipment, materials or other cable television facilities utilized by such cable operator in the construction and installation of such cable television system; provided, however, that the property manager of any such real estate may require, in exchange and as compensation for permitting the construction or installation of cable television facilities upon such real estate, the payment of just compensation by the cable operator which provides such cable television service, said sum to be determined in accordance with the provisions of subparagraphs (c) and (d) hereof, and provided further that the cable operator constructing or installing such cable television facilities shall agree to indemnify the owner of such real estate for any damage caused by the installation, operation or removal of such cable television facilities and service.

(c) In any instance in which the property manager of a residential building or improved or unimproved real estate intends to require the payment of just compensation in excess of $1 in exchange for permitting the installation of cable television facilities in and upon such building, or upon such real estate, the property manager shall serve written notice thereof upon the cable operator. Any such notice shall be served within 20 days of the date on which such property manager is notified of the cable operator’s intention to construct or install cable television facilities in and upon such building, or real estate. Unless timely notice as herein provided is given by the property manager to the cable operator, it will be conclusively presumed that the property manager of any such building or real estate does not claim or intend to require a payment of more than $1 in exchange and as just compensation for permitting the installation of cable television facilities within and upon such building or real estate. In any instance in which a cable operator intends to install cable television facilities as herein provided, written notice of such intention shall be sent by the cable operator to the property manager. Such notice shall include the address of the property,
the name of the cable operator, and information as to the time within which the property manager may give notice, demand payment as just compensation and initiate legal proceedings as provided in this subparagraph (c) and subparagraph (d). In any instance in which a cable operator intends to install cable television facilities within a residential building containing twelve(12) or more residential units, the written notice shall further provide that the property manager may require that the cable operator submit written plans identifying the manner in which cable television facilities are to be installed, including the proposed location of coaxial cable. Approval of such plans by the property manager shall not be unreasonably withheld and such property manager’s consent to and approval of such plans shall be presumed unless, within 30 days after receipt thereof, or in the case of a condominium association, 90 days after receipt thereof, the property manager identifies in writing the specific manner in which such plans deviate from generally accepted construction or safety standards, and unless the property manager contemporaneously submits an alternative construction plan providing for the installation of cable television facilities in an economically feasible manner. The cable operator may proceed with the plans originally submitted if an alternative plan is not submitted by the property manager within 30 days, or in the case of a condominium association, 90 days, or if an alternative plan submitted by the property manager fails to comply with generally accepted construction and safety standards or does not provide for the installation of cable television facilities in an economically feasible manner.

(d) Any property manager of a residential building described in subparagraph (a), and any property manager of improved or unimproved real estate described in subparagraph (b), who shall have given timely written notice to the cable operator as provided in subparagraph (c), may assert a claim for just compensation in excess of $1 for permitting the installation of cable television facilities within and upon such building or real estate. Within 30 days after notice has been given in accordance with subparagraph (c), the property manager shall advise the cable operator in writing of the amount claimed as just compensation. If within 60 days after the receipt of the property manager’s claim, the cable
operator has not agreed to pay the amount claimed or some other amount acceptable to the property manager, the property manager may bring suit to enforce such claim for just compensation in any court of competent jurisdiction and, upon timely demand, may require that the amount of just compensation be determined by a jury. Any such action shall be commenced within 6 months of the notice given by the cable operator pursuant to subparagraph (c) hereof. In any action brought to determine such amount, the property manager may submit evidence of a decrease in the fair market value of the property occasioned by the installation or location of the cable on the property, that the property manager has a specific alternative use for the space occupied by cable television facilities, the loss of which will result in a monetary loss to the property manager, or that installation of cable television facilities within and upon such building or real estate otherwise substantially interferes with the use and occupancy of such building to an extent which causes a decrease in the fair market value of such building or real estate.

(e) Disposition of cable home wiring upon installation. In order to promote competition between cable operators and to assure the smooth transition of services from one cable operator to another, if so desired by a cable subscriber (hereinafter “”subscriber””), and to allow private real property owners to protect the aesthetic integrity and value of their property by preventing unsightly and excessive external cables from being attached to or located upon their property:

(1) Upon the installation of cable home wiring to any residential single unit or multiple unit dwelling by a cable operator, the installed wiring shall be deemed to be a fixture of the dwelling, and ownership of the wiring shall be immediately vested in the owner of the dwelling or premises (hereinafter “”owner””). After installation of the wiring, a cable operator shall make no attempt to remove it or to restrict its use.

(2) Upon voluntary termination of existing cable service by a subscriber, whether or not the subscriber is an owner, a tenant, or a property manager, or upon initial subscription of cable service by a subscriber with an alternate cable operator,
a cable operator shall not remove the cable home wiring unless the cable operator gives the owner the opportunity to acquire the wiring at the replacement cost, and the owner declines. The cost is to be determined based on the replacement cost per foot of the cabling multiplied by the length in feet of the cable home wiring. If the owner declines to acquire the cable home wiring, the cable operator must then remove the cable home wiring within Thirty (30) days or make no subsequent attempt to remove it or to restrict its use.

(3) “”Cable home wiring”” is defined to be the internal wiring contained within the premises of a subscriber which begins at the “”demarcation”” point. For single unit dwellings, the “”demarcation”” point is the point at or about Twelve (12) inches outside of the location where the cable wire enters the subscriber’s premises; for multiple unit dwellings, it is the interconnection point or junction box between the subscriber’s dwelling unit and the cable operator’s distribution system. It does not include active elements such as amplifiers, converter or decoder boxes, or remote control units. It does not include loop through or other similar series cable wiring in multiple unit dwellings. For multiple dwelling units, it does include the adapters, jacks, or “”F”” connectors attaching the cable wire to the interconnection point.

(4) Any cable operator disconnecting its cable wire from the interconnection point shall leave the adapters, jacks, or “”F”” connectors attaching the cable wire to the interconnection point intact and shall not do anything which would otherwise render the cable wire ineffective or unable to be attached to an alternate cable operator’s interconnection point.

(5) The provisions of this Section set forth requirements for the disposition, after a subscriber voluntarily terminates cable service, of that cable home wiring installed by the cable operator or its contractor within the premises of the subscriber. The provisions do not apply where the cable home wiring belongs to the subscriber, such as where the
cable operator has transferred ownership to the subscriber, the cable operator has been treating the wire as belonging to the subscriber for tax purposes, or the wiring is considered to be a fixture by territorial law.

(6) Nothing in this Section shall affect the cable operator’s rights or responsibilities under federal or territorial laws, rules, or regulations to prevent excessive signal leakage while providing cable service, or the cable operator’s right to access the subscriber’s property or premises.

SOURCE: Subpart M § 76.801-76.801 of the FCC’s Rules and
Regulations, added by order in Docket No. 92-260, effective April 1, 1993,
58 FR 11970. For Report see 71 RR 2d 1214).

(f) Neither the giving of a notice by the property manager under subparagraph (c), nor the assertion of a specific claim, nor the initiation of legal action to enforce such claim, as provided under subparagraph (d), shall delay or impair the right of the cable operator to construct or install cable television facilities and maintain cable television services within or upon any building described in subparagraph (a) or real estate described in subparagraph (b).

(g) No landlord shall demand or accept payment of any fee, charge or other thing of value from any cable operator in exchange for giving the tenants of such landlord access to cable television service; and no landlord shall demand or accept any such payment from any tenants in exchange therefore unless the landlord is itself the provider of the cable television service. Nor shall any landlord discriminate in rental charges between tenants who receive any such service and those who do not. Nothing contained herein shall prohibit a landlord from requiring that the cable operator and the tenant bear the entire cost of the installation, operation or removal of the facilities incident thereto, or prohibit a landlord from demanding or accepting reasonable indemnity or security for any damages caused by such installation, operation or removal, or the just compensation as provided in subparagraphs (a) and (b) hereof.

(h) If any provision of this statute or any application of any provision thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of this statute and the application of such provision

and any remaining provision of this statute to any other person or circumstance shall not be affected thereby.

(i) For purposes of this statute, “”cable operator”” has the same meaning as defined in the Cable Television Consumer Protection and Competition Act of 1992, 47 U.S.C. § 522, et seq., as amended. Should the 1992 Cable Act be repealed, the definition in the last version of the Cable Act prior to such repeal shall apply. Notwithstanding the foregoing, for purposes of this statute any entity which provides cable television as of the time of enactment of this Act shall be considered a “”cable operator””.

SOURCE: Added by P.L. 23-068:1 (Feb. 26, 1995).