What does a NYC landlord have to provide to apartment tenants? – Beragampengetahuan
21 mins read

What does a NYC landlord have to provide to apartment tenants? – Beragampengetahuan

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​​If you are moving into a New York City rental apartment for the first time, it’s best to have a clear idea of what your landlord is required to provide. Heat and hot water are a given, of course—you shouldn’t have to put up with unlivable conditions—but window blinds? Don’t count on finding those.

On the other hand, even though landlords aren’t obligated to provide a number of some pretty essential things, like a refrigerator or stove, most of them do anyway. It makes sense: Installing major appliances attracts renters, not just in market-rate apartments but in affordable housing and rent-stabilized units as well. Just imagine what would happen if you saw two apartments and one had a refrigerator and the other didn’t. Which one are you going to apply for?

But it can be a shock to see an apartment in person that lacks something you’re used to—like closets in the bedrooms. You may find them missing in very old buildings where New Yorkers traditionally made do with wardrobes to hold their clothes.

[Editor’s Note: A previous version of this article ran May 2023. We are presenting it again with updated information for June 2024.]

There are numerous state and local laws that outline a landlord’s responsibility. One of the most important set of rules is the warranty of habitability, which ensures the conditions in your apartment don’t compromise your health in any way. The NYC Housing Maintenance Code, the Multiple Dwelling Law, and the provisions of the Rent Stabilization Regulations are also relevant depending on the type of place you live in. 

For clarity, here’s a list of 11 key items landlords are required to provide (in most NYC rental buildings), followed by a list of what they are not. Prepare to be surprised! 

Contents

1. Heat—and hot and cold water

During the winter months from October 1st through May 31st, when the mercury dips below 55 degrees outside, a landlord must provide heat for a temperature of 68 during the day (6 a.m. to 10 p.m.). At night there must be an indoor temperature of at least 62 degrees maintained, regardless of the outside temperature. 

This period is what’s referred to as “heat season” and building owners face fines during this time if apartments are too cold. 

Hot water must be provided 365 days per year at a constant minimum temperature of 120 degrees Fahrenheit.

This issue came up during Brick Underground Office Hours—a live forum that addressed questions about renter’s rights. 

2. Smoke and carbon monoxide detectors

Landlords must provide and install at least one approved and operational carbon monoxide detector and smoke detector in each apartment. “The caveat here is that you—the renter—must maintain a set of working batteries. At move-in, the apparatus must be working, but keeping it working is on you,” said Mike Jeneralczuk, an agent at Living New York. If you break or remove a detector, you are required to replace it.

3. Fire safety measures

Your apartment should have a Fire and Emergency Preparedness Guide posted on the inside of your front door. This information also needs to be posted in the common area and distributed to each dwelling, new tenants, and annually during fire prevention week. It’s worth a read too—it will tell you how to stay safe in a fire. Generally, this guidance will direct you to leave the building, close the door, and call 911. In some buildings, however, you may be safer staying in your apartment. The fire escape plan will tell you if this is the case. 

Another feature of buildings with three or more apartments is self-closing doors—these can help prevent fire and smoke from one apartment from spreading quickly throughout the building. Your landlord must also make sure there are clear, unobstructed exits. And if you have a gas stove, you can request stove knob covers that can keep them off-limits from pets or kids. If there’s a child living with you under the age of six, stove knob covers should be provided regardless of your request. (Read Brick’s fire safety checklist for details.)

Also, if you’re thinking of installing a key-locked gate on your fire escape window, or a double-cylinder lock, think again—they’re illegal. (The same goes for using a fire escape for storage.)

4. Pest-free residences

Chances are you will come across some icky critters while living in a NYC apartment, but know that your landlord has an obligation to keep the building free of pests. Property owners are also required to use ongoing measures to prevent infestations in or around their buildings. This is a requirement of Local Law 55, passed in 2018. If mice, rats, or roaches are in either an apartment or common area, it’s a violation and the landlord faces fines. You may want to take action yourself by following advice from a pest expert.

Apartment building owners must also annually inspect units for indoor allergen hazards, including mice, rats, roaches, and mold.

As for bedbugs, New York State law requires property owners to disclose infestation history dating back one year to new tenants through the bedbug disclosure form you get with a lease. They must also submit an annual report on bedbug infestations and eradication methods. However, a Brick Underground investigation found that a small number of landlords are not truthful on their disclosure forms.

5. Lead-free walls

NYC banned the use of lead-based paint in residential buildings in 1960, but it can still exist in buildings built before then. That was the purpose of the city’s Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Act, which was enacted in 2004 and requires landlords to identify and remediate lead-based paint hazards in apartments where there are young children under the age of six years old. (It is the parents’ responsibility to notify landlords of any kids under six in the home.) And in January 2021, the act was expanded to cover mom-and-pop landlords, too.

6. Paint or wallpaper on the walls

Landlords need to paint or cover your apartment’s walls with wallpaper—so no exposed sheetrock—and they should also repaint or recover the walls every three years. Sarah Adler, an agent at Corcoran, said the requirement to repaint often comes as a pleasant surprise to renters. 

“If someone is settling into a place and they have been there for five years or so, sometimes they are not even aware of the fact that they have the right to have that apartment painted every three years,” she said

Just don’t expect a landlord to volunteer to do this on their own—it’s up to you to make the request (and prepare to do some negotiating to get it done quickly).

The only time the cost of painting can be passed to the tenant is if you request a special brand of paint or a particular color, in which case you may buy the paint yourself. But if you are covering dark paint that you applied yourself, or if you cause damage that requires a new paint job, you’ll likely have the cost of painting deducted from your security deposit. 

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