You Have a Legal Right to a Livable Apartment
Under New York Real Property Law Section 235-b, every residential lease in New York — written or oral — comes with an implied warranty of habitability. This means your landlord is legally required to keep your apartment fit for human habitation, safe, and free from conditions that are dangerous, hazardous, or detrimental to your life, health, or safety.
This isn’t optional. Your landlord can’t make you sign it away. Any lease clause that tries to waive or limit the warranty of habitability is void under New York law as contrary to public policy.
If you’re living with conditions that make your apartment unsafe or unlivable, you have rights — and real options for getting them enforced.
What Your Landlord Must Provide
The warranty of habitability works together with the NYC Housing Maintenance Code to set the baseline for what your landlord must maintain. Here’s what that means in practice:
Heat: During heat season (October 1 through May 31), your landlord must provide heat when outdoor temperatures require it. Between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m., if the outside temperature drops below 55°F, your apartment must reach at least 68°F. Between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., if the outside temperature drops below 40°F, your apartment must reach at least 62°F. These requirements come from NYC HPD’s heat regulations.
Hot water: Your landlord must provide hot water 365 days a year, 24 hours a day. In NYC, hot water must register at or above 120°F at the tap, according to the NYS Attorney General’s Residential Tenants’ Rights Guide.
Working plumbing: Toilets, sinks, and bathtubs must function properly. Persistent leaks, backed-up drains, and broken fixtures are violations.
Pest control: Your landlord is responsible for addressing infestations of roaches, mice, rats, and bedbugs. Under NYC’s bedbug disclosure law, landlords must also disclose any bedbug history for the unit before you sign a lease.
Structural safety: Walls, ceilings, floors, and windows must be intact. Broken windows, holes in walls, collapsing ceilings, and damaged fire escapes all violate the warranty.
Smoke and carbon monoxide detectors: Your landlord must install and maintain working smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors in your apartment.
Window guards: If a child under 10 lives in the apartment, window guards are required by law.
Lead paint compliance: In buildings built before 1960 (or between 1960 and 1978 if the landlord knows lead paint is present), landlords must follow NYC’s lead paint safety laws, including testing and remediation if a child under 6 lives in the unit.
Common areas: Hallways, stairwells, lobbies, and laundry rooms must be kept clean, lit, and safe.
What Counts as a Violation
A breach of the warranty of habitability occurs when conditions in your apartment are dangerous, hazardous, or seriously affect your ability to live there safely and comfortably. Common examples include no heat or inadequate heat during heating season, no hot water, persistent water leaks or flooding, mold growth (especially from unaddressed leaks), roach, mouse, rat, or bedbug infestations your landlord won’t address, broken or missing locks on exterior doors, broken windows that won’t close or lock, lead paint hazards in apartments with young children, exposed wiring or non-functioning electrical outlets, and gas leaks or malfunctioning gas appliances.
The key legal standard is whether the condition would be considered dangerous, hazardous, or detrimental to life, health, or safety. Minor cosmetic issues generally don’t qualify, but anything that affects your safety, health, or basic ability to use your apartment can.
What to Do When Your Landlord Fails
If your landlord isn’t meeting their obligations, here’s how to protect yourself:
Step 1: Document everything. Take dated photos and videos of the condition. Keep a written log of when the problem started, when you reported it, and what (if anything) your landlord did. Save all texts, emails, and letters.
Step 2: Notify your landlord in writing. Send a written complaint describing the condition and requesting repair. Email works, but a letter sent by certified mail creates a paper trail. Be specific: describe exactly what’s wrong and where.
Step 3: Call 311 to file an HPD complaint. The NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) inspects apartments for Housing Maintenance Code violations. You can file a complaint online through 311 or by calling 311. An inspector will schedule a visit. If they find violations, they’ll issue orders requiring your landlord to make repairs within a set timeframe.
Step 4: File an HP Action in Housing Court. If your landlord still won’t make repairs, you can file an HP proceeding in NYC Housing Court. This asks a judge to order your landlord to fix the conditions. You don’t need a lawyer to file, and free legal help is available for many NYC tenants through the Right to Counsel program.
Step 5: Request a rent abatement. If conditions have substantially affected your ability to use your apartment, a court can order a rent reduction — essentially reducing your rent to reflect the diminished value of the apartment while the conditions existed. This can result in significant refunds for prolonged violations.
Your Protections Against Retaliation
New York law makes it illegal for your landlord to retaliate against you for exercising your rights. Under Real Property Law Section 223-b, if you file a complaint with a government agency like HPD, or if you take legal action to enforce your rights, your landlord cannot raise your rent, reduce services, or try to evict you in response.
If your landlord does retaliate, you can raise retaliation as a defense in Housing Court and may be entitled to additional damages.
Special Situations
Rent-stabilized tenants: If you’re in a rent-stabilized apartment, you can also file a complaint with the Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR) at (833) 499-0343. DHCR can order rent reductions for service decreases in regulated apartments. To check whether your apartment is rent-stabilized, see our guide: Is My Apartment Rent Stabilized?
Emergency conditions: If your apartment becomes completely uninhabitable due to fire, flood, or structural damage that isn’t your fault, you may have the right to vacate and cancel your lease without owing future rent. This is a serious step — consider getting free legal advice before acting.
Repair and deduct: In limited circumstances where a landlord negligently refuses to make urgent repairs, tenants may hire a contractor, pay for the repair, and deduct the reasonable cost from rent. Keep all receipts and documentation, and be aware that this remedy carries risk — it’s best used with legal guidance.
Action Steps
1. Know the baseline. Your landlord must provide heat, hot water, pest control, working plumbing, structural safety, and functioning smoke and CO detectors — at minimum.
2. Document the problem. Photos, videos, dates, and written communications are your evidence.
3. Put your landlord on notice in writing (email or certified letter).
4. File a 311 complaint with HPD online or by calling 311.
5. Get legal help if needed. Check if you qualify for free legal representation through NYC’s Right to Counsel program, or contact the NYS Attorney General’s office at (800) 771-7755.
