Housing & Tenant Safety
NYC owner & manager guide • Reviewed October 8, 2026
← Resource Center · Compliance Calendar
Use this guide to organize coverage, deadlines, and follow-up for your buildings. Requirements depend on the property and equipment; confirm applicability and current filing instructions with the responsible agency and qualified professional.
HPD property registration
A current registration gives HPD the people to contact and supports access to owner filing services.
Who should check coverage?
Residential buildings with three or more units and one- or two-unit dwellings where neither the owner nor the owner’s immediate family resides.
Timing
Annual registration by September 1; also update required information when ownership or registration details change.
Your action checklist
1. Verify the owner entity, managing agent, emergency contacts, and unit information.
2. Complete the current registration process and applicable payment.
3. Confirm HPD’s record shows the registration as valid; a payment alone is not the same as accepted registration.
Records to keep
Completed registration, payment evidence, submission/delivery proof, and the validated agency record.
Official sources: HPD owner services
Lead-based paint: notices and annual investigations
Lead compliance is an ongoing process of identifying occupancy, investigating hazards, completing safe work, and keeping records.
Who should check coverage?
Covered older rental housing, including specified tenant-occupied private dwellings and rented co-op/condo units. Building age, known lead, occupancy, and exemptions matter.
Timing
Annual notices and required investigations, plus action when hazards are reported or occupancy changes trigger duties.
Your action checklist
1. Use the appropriate annual inquiry to identify children under six who reside or routinely spend the qualifying time in a unit.
2. Document required investigations of apartments and common areas.
3. Use certified firms/workers and safe work practices for applicable repairs.
Records to keep
Notices, responses, access attempts, investigations, work documentation, testing and clearance, retained for at least ten years where required.
Official sources: HPD lead-based paint · HPD annual notices and investigations
Lead XRF testing and exemptions
XRF testing identifies lead in painted surfaces. It is different from dust clearance testing after work.
Who should check coverage?
Covered apartments and common areas in older housing, under the applicable lead-testing requirements.
Timing
The broad August 9, 2025 testing deadline has passed. Missing testing is a current compliance gap, not a future 2027 requirement.
Your action checklist
1. Confirm which apartments and common areas have complete testing records.
2. Use an independent EPA-certified inspector or risk assessor as required.
3. Review results and pursue an HPD exemption only when the property qualifies and the required evidence is available.
Records to keep
Full XRF reports, inspector certifications, surface inventory, abatement evidence, and approved exemption documents.
Official sources: HPD testing and exemptions
Lead work at turnover and in child-under-six units
Required lead work can be triggered without waiting for a violation. Unit turnover and qualifying child occupancy need their own tracking.
Who should check coverage?
Dwelling units covered by HPD’s turnover and child-under-six lead requirements.
Timing
At turnover and on the applicable child-occupancy schedule. The law includes a July 1, 2027 milestone for qualifying units where a child resided on January 1, 2025; later occupancy can trigger a different deadline.
Your action checklist
1. Review the unit’s occupancy history and completed turnover work.
2. Have qualified professionals scope required hazard remediation and door/window friction-surface work.
3. Document safe completion, required clearance, and any applicable exemption.
Records to keep
Occupancy evidence, turnover checklist, scope, contractor credentials, clearance records, and required reports.
Official sources: HPD turnover and child-under-six requirements · HPD adopted lead rule
Indoor allergens, mold, and pests: Local Law 55
Effective correction addresses both the visible condition and the source, such as leaks, openings, or conditions supporting pests.
Who should check coverage?
Covered multiple dwellings under LL55, with additional professional requirements depending on building size and mold area.
Timing
Annual inspections and notice duties, plus prompt response to complaints and violations.
Your action checklist
1. Inspect for mold, mice, rats, and cockroaches and document findings.
2. Repair underlying moisture and entry conditions using required safe methods.
3. For more than 10 square feet of mold in residential properties with ten or more units, use independent licensed mold assessment and remediation professionals as required.
Records to keep
Inspection logs, tenant notices, pest-management records, professional assessments, remediation evidence, and required agency documentation.
Official sources: HPD indoor allergen hazards · NYC Health mold guidance
Bedbugs and annual reporting
The annual report documents infestation history; it does not replace the duty to respond to an active infestation.
Who should check coverage?
Properties subject to HPD’s annual bedbug reporting requirements.
Timing
Annual filing December 1–31 for the preceding November 1–October 31 reporting period.
Your action checklist
1. Collect and reconcile unit-level infestation, treatment, and reinfestation information.
2. Use properly licensed pest-management professionals for treatment.
3. File the annual report and follow HPD’s receipt-posting or distribution requirements.
Records to keep
Tenant reports, treatment and follow-up records, submitted annual report, receipt, and posting/distribution evidence.
Official sources: HPD bedbugs
Annual safety mailings
A useful safety-mailing program tracks delivery, responses, and required action for each unit—not just whether a mailing was sent.
Who should check coverage?
Buildings subject to the particular lead, window-guard, stove-knob, and fire-safety notice requirements.
Timing
Lead/window-guard annual inquiries generally go out January 1–15, with the permitted January-rent-bill delivery alternative. Different materials have different deadlines.
Your action checklist
1. Build the packet from current official forms and the building’s applicable requirements.
2. Reconcile responses and route requests to staff for installation, inspection, or repair.
3. Keep follow-up and access records and complete required agency notifications.
Records to keep
Final packet, mailing/delivery evidence, unit responses, follow-up attempts, work completion, and reporting receipts.
Official sources: NYC Health window-guard annual notice requirements · HPD lead annual inquiries · Annual notice FAQ
Window guards and follow-up
Window safety requires the correct approved device, proper installation, and follow-through when a response or access is missing.
Who should check coverage?
Buildings with three or more apartments: qualifying units with children age ten or younger and units where tenants request guards. The updated rules include routine stays of ten or more hours per week.
Timing
Annual notices; follow up after February 15 when there is no response. Required unresolved-access notifications are due by March 1.
Your action checklist
1. Use approved devices appropriate to the window and preserve required fire-escape access.
2. Inspect and arrange needed installation or repairs.
3. Document at least three contact attempts when the Health Department’s unresolved-access reporting requirement applies.
Records to keep
Forms, device approvals, access logs, installation records, and agency notification receipt.
Official sources: NYC Health window guards
Stove knob covers and safety knobs
The annual notice should offer the applicable choice of covers or permanent safety knobs and create a clear record of the tenant’s request or refusal.
Who should check coverage?
Covered gas-stove units where a child under six resides, and other tenant households that request protection. Compatibility and owner-occupied co-op/condo rules matter.
Timing
Provide the annual notice on or before January 16. HPD’s notice specifies availability within thirty days of distribution.
Your action checklist
1. Use the current HPD annual notice.
2. Review requests, refusals, and compatibility with the actual stove.
3. Document provision and installation as applicable, and retain evidence of any compatibility issue.
Records to keep
Notice, tenant response, stove/device information, and fulfillment record.
Official sources: HPD stove knob requirements
Natural gas detectors: Local Law 157
A gas detector provides warning of fuel-gas leaks. It does not replace gas-piping inspections, repairs, or safe emergency procedures.
Who should check coverage?
Covered residential buildings under the applicable HPD and DOB rules, including Class A/B multiple dwellings and covered private dwellings.
Timing
Confirmed installation deadline: January 1, 2027. Ongoing maintenance, replacement, records, and notices also apply.
Your action checklist
1. Confirm coverage and any exemption with the appropriate professional.
2. Select compliant devices and follow current code, manufacturer placement instructions, and the applicable power requirements.
3. Document installation and provide required resident information and notices.
Records to keep
Device specifications, locations, installation dates, resident notices, and maintenance/replacement records.
Official sources: Adopted HPD gas-detector rule · DOB gas-detector FAQs
Smoke and carbon monoxide detectors
Detector compliance includes installation, working condition, appropriate placement, replacement, and required resident information.
Who should check coverage?
Covered multiple dwellings and applicable private dwellings. Smoke and carbon monoxide coverage and exceptions differ.
Timing
At required installation/replacement events and throughout occupancy; follow device service-life and testing instructions.
Your action checklist
1. Inventory approved devices and check their installation/replacement dates.
2. Follow the correct rules for each detector type and occupancy.
3. Maintain required notices and records; evaluate permitted reimbursements under current rules before charging a tenant.
Records to keep
Installation records, device information, maintenance history, and required notices.
Official sources: HPD detectors
Heat and hot water
Heat season is an operating obligation, not a one-time filing. A responsive complaint process helps identify failures before they become prolonged outages.
Who should check coverage?
Residential housing subject to NYC heat and hot-water requirements.
Timing
Heat season: October 1–May 31. From 6 a.m.–10 p.m., at least 68°F indoors when it is below 55°F outdoors; overnight, at least 62°F indoors regardless of outdoor temperature. Hot water: at least 120°F year-round.
Your action checklist
1. Service the heating system before the season and identify emergency contractors.
2. Log complaints, temperature checks, access, and repair actions.
3. Escalate outages promptly and verify restored service.
Records to keep
Service reports, temperature logs, complaint records, and repair confirmation.
Official sources: HPD heat and hot water
Required signs and resident notices
Signage should be reviewed by location and purpose. A generic sign package can miss requirements or include the wrong contact information.
Who should check coverage?
Buildings subject to HPD and other agency notice/posting requirements.
Timing
Maintain required signs continuously and update them when building information or the applicable requirement changes.
Your action checklist
1. Use the agency’s current list to check entrances, common areas, and equipment spaces.
2. Verify managing-agent contacts and emergency instructions.
3. Check size, wording, placement, language, and legibility requirements for each notice.
Records to keep
Sign register, current notice copies, dated location photos, and replacement history.
Official sources: HPD required signage and notices
DSNY multiunit alternate setout program
The alternate setout program offers qualifying buildings a morning setout window. It does not remove other sanitation obligations.
Who should check coverage?
Qualifying buildings with nine or more residential units and required staffing receiving DSNY collection.
Timing
The published application period is January 1–31. Confirm the applicable program year and approval before using the alternate schedule.
Your action checklist
1. Review eligibility and staffing coverage.
2. Apply through DSNY and retain approval.
3. Train staff to follow the approved 4–7 a.m. collection-day window and the building’s applicable container and separation rules.
Records to keep
Application, approval, program dates, staff instructions, and any opt-out correspondence.
Official sources: DSNY multiunit program · NYC311 current program-year guidance
Steam radiator notices and inspections: Local Law 151
Annual tenant inquiries identify units needing radiator follow-up. Keep this process connected to inspection and repair records.
Who should check coverage?
Covered multiple dwellings with steam heating; qualifying apartments with a steam radiator and a child under six, and applicable common areas.
Timing
First annual notice cycle: January 1–16, 2027, with responses due February 15. Required inspections are at least every two years.
Your action checklist
1. Use HPD’s current notice and required languages/copies.
2. Review prior inspections and arrange qualified inspections where due.
3. Track required nonresponse notifications and defect-specific reporting and repair deadlines.
Records to keep
Notices, responses, qualification records, inspection results, repairs, and agency notifications.
Official sources: HPD steam radiator requirements
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