Brrr, It's Getting Chilly Outside: Residents of NYC Learn the Heatings Rules for Your Apartment

The City Housing Maintenance Code and Multiple Dwelling Law requires building owners to provide heat and hot water to all tenants.Building owners are required to provide hot water 365 days per year at a constant minimum temperature of 120 degrees Fahrenheit.  Between October 1st and May 31st, a period designated as "Heat Season," building owners are also required to provide tenants with heat under the following conditions:

• Between the hours of 6am  and 10pm, if the outside temperature falls below 55 degrees, the inside temperature is required to be at least 68 degrees Fahrenheit.

• Between the hours of 10pm and 6am, if the temperature outside falls below 40 degrees, the inside temperature is required to be at least 55 degrees Fahrenheit.

Tenants who are cold in their apartments should first attempt to notify the building owner, managing agent or superintendent.  If heat is not restored, the tenant should call the City's Citizen Service Center at 311.  For the hearing impaired, the TTY number is (212) 504-4115. The Center is open 24-hours a day, seven-days a week.

REMEMBER: If your landlord doesn't fix the heat, call 311

A landlord who does not provide the proper temperatures can be fined $200 to $500 for initial violations and $500-$1,000 per day for each subsequent violation at the same building, according to the city's Department of Housing and Preservation.

There have been 24,674 heat-related complaints since Oct. 1, compared to 2012's 32,526 for the same period, according to HPD. The agency filed 2,844 heat cases in court last heat season, and collected $2.4 million in fines.

Thank you to New York State Senator Liz Krueger’s Office for making this information available to the public.

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