March 2023 Bulletin to Property Owners

Dear Property Owners,

The Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) periodically provides updates on new legislation and information on available materials and resources to residential building owners to support compliance with the New York City Housing Maintenance Code, the New York State Multiple Dwelling Law and other relevant city codes. To translate this webpage, click on the translate button in the header above.

This publication is intended for informational purposes only and is not intended as legal advice. This information is not a complete or final statement of all the duties of owners and tenants regarding laws and rules relating to housing in New York City.

Lead Annual Notice

If you have not received the completed Annual Notice from the tenant and cannot determine based on follow-up investigations whether there is a child under six residing in the unit by March 1st, the owner must notify DOHMH in writing that no notice has been received back from the tenant (a copy of this notification should also be maintained by the owner). The owner’s notification to DOHMH should be mailed to:

Department of Health and Mental Hygiene — Healthy Homes
125 Worth Street, Sixth Floor, CN58
New York, NY 10013

Completed Annual Notices received from tenants must be kept by the owner for ten years from the date of receipt or transferred to a subsequent owner.

NYS Homes and Community Renewal Annual Registration (HCR)

New York State Law requires owners of housing accommodations to file apartment registrations with the NYS Homes and Community Renewal (HCR) and provide each tenant in occupancy with a copy of the registration as it pertains to the tenant’s unit.

Annual registration information reflects apartment information for April 1st of the registration year and is submitted through the Owner Rent Regulation Application (ORRA) online system.

Owners of rent regulated buildings not registered with HCR’s Office of Rent Administration will need to file a paper initial registration submission of information applicable to the registration year the building first became subject to Rent Stabilization. The building is usually newly constructed and has become subject to Rent Stabilization due to receipt of 421-A Tax Benefits and/or a NYC Regulatory Agreement. For more information, please visit www.hcr.ny.gov/rent-registration.

Low Income Household Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP)

The Low-Income Household Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP) helps low-income households pay the cost of drinking water and wastewater services. The program can assist households who have past due bills (arrears) for drinking water and/or wastewater services.

LIHWAP is a benefit based on the actual amount of drinking water and/or wastewater arrears, up to a maximum of $2,500 per drinking water or wastewater provider, or $5,000 if drinking water and wastewater services are combined, per applicant household. Benefits are paid directly to the household’s drinking water and/or wastewater vendor(s).

To find out if you are eligible and how to apply visit Low Income Household Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP) | OTDA (ny.gov)

Fire Safety

Self-Closing Doors

Self-closing doors in apartments and in public hallways are a critical component of fire safety. Self-closing doors are equipped with a device that will ensure the door, when opened and released, returns to the closed position and self-latches shut. Self-closing doors prevent fire and smoke from spreading from one apartment to affect an entire building. Self-closing doors should never be blocked and can help contain a fire from spreading throughout a building.

HPD is required by law to attempt to reinspect the correction of all self-closing door violations. Emergency repairs will be made by HPD and billed to the property if the owner fails to correct the condition in the required time. The Notice of Violation clearly indicates both the date for correction of the condition and the date for the certification of correction to be submitted to HPD. To simplify certification, explore the option to eCertify correction.

Fire Escapes and Sprinkler Systems

Fire escapes and sprinkler systems must be maintained in proper working order. Any defect which causes these or any other means of egress to be defective will result in a class C violation.

Fire Safety Notice

HPD inspectors check the inside of apartment doors for the FIRE SAFETY NOTICE that is required by the NYC Fire Code to be posted there. The Fire Safety Notice is required to be posted on each dwelling unit door by Section FC401.6 of the New York City Fire Code and Section 401-06 of the Fire Department’s rules (3 RCNY 401-06) so that tenants know how to respond in the event of a fire.

There are two versions of the required notice. Please select the proper version - based on whether your building is fireproof or non-fireproof - and make sure that the notice is posted in each apartment as required as soon as possible. If HPD identifies that the signage is missing/damaged or for the wrong building type, HPD will send a notice to you. The missing/damaged/incorrect notices will also be reported to the New York City Fire Department for appropriate action. You should post the required notice in each apartment promptly. You do not need to notify either HPD or FDNY when you post the proper signage.

All apartment building owners and managing agents are also required to distribute the current (2021) NYC Apartment Building Emergency Preparedness Guide (“Guide”), with a building-specific Building Information Section; the Individual Emergency Preparedness/Evacuation Planning Checklist; and the Fire Safety Notice Certification Form.

Section 401-06 and all the materials mentioned above may be viewed on the Fire Department’s website at:
https://www1.nyc.gov/site/fdny/codes/fire-department-rules/fire-dept-rules.page
https://www1.nyc.gov/site/fdny/codes/reference/reference.page (materials)

You may also visit HPD’s website: Fire Safety - HPD (nyc.gov)

HPD Mold Violation Work Required and Dismissal Process

Two conditions must be met to allow the removal of a mold violation issued after March 31, 2018, by HPD if the violation is not timely certified. We encourage property owners to correct conditions as required by law, by the correction date indicated on your Notice of Violation, and for the certification to be submitted with the appropriate contractor filings if the violation is an original Class B or a Class C violation issued in a building with 10 or more units. Read the Notice of Violation for more information about how to correct the condition, and the work practices that must followed.

Once a mold violation passes its correction and certification period, two conditions must be met for the violation to be dismissed:

An HPD inspection has visually determined that the violation was addressed.

If there has not already been such an inspection, you must file for a Dismissal Request and pay the appropriate fee for the reinspection. NOTE: If HPDONLINE indicates that the violation is in DEFECT status, then the inspection has already been completed and HPD has verified that the condition was corrected. If you receive a DEFECT letter in the mail, this condition has also been met.

The appropriate affidavit(s) and required documents related to each violation must be submitted:

NOTE: if the Dismissal Request is not required because the inspection has already been completed and the violation is in DEFECT status, you can submit the Affidavit, properly completed, by itself to the Borough Office for the borough in which the building is located.

Below are the links to the required Affidavits and specific instructions about which affidavit is required based on the date of the violation issuance, the size of the building and the class of the violation:

Mold Affidavit of Compliance (AF-9) Mold violations issued to any residential building with three or more units between March 31, 2018, and January 18, 2019.
- Although not required to use professional firms to complete this work, if firms licensed to perform mold assessment and mold remediation or abatement in accordance with New York State Labor Law Article 32 were used, you must submit the mold assessment contractor license (firm) and the mold remediation license (firm) or the mold abatement worker supervisor license with this form.
Mold Affidavit of Compliance (AF-8) Original Class B or Class C mold violations issued on or after January 19, 2019, to any residential building with 10 or more units.
- This type of Affidavit must be accompanied by the appropriate contractor filings. Owners of residential properties with 10 or more units are required to hire a New York State Department of Labor-licensed mold assessor and remediator (these two contractors must be completely independent of each other) to assess and remediate conditions whenever there is more than 10 square feet of mold (original Class B and Class C violations). To find a licensed mold contractor in your area, use the NYS Department of Labor's Licensed Mold Contractors Search Tool. These licensed workers must comply with New York City Administrative Code section 24-154 and New York State Labor Law Article 32. Additional information and a portal for the contractors to file required documentation under Local Law 61 of 2018 with the NYC Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) can be found on DEP's Air Pollution webpage. There may be penalties to a property owner for failure to comply with DEP requirements. Copies of these filing receipts are required to be provided to the owner by the contractors after filing, and HPD requires copies of these same documents to be filed with a Certification of Correction or Mold Affidavit of Compliance (AF-8) for Class B and Class C mold violations issued in buildings with 10 or more units.
Mold Affidavit of Compliance (AF-7) Mold violations issued to any residential building issued on or after January 19, 2019, if the violation is:

A Class A or Upgraded Class B violation in a building with 10 or more units (An Upgraded Class B is a violation that was originally a class A violation but was upgraded to a class B violation because the owner failed to certify correction. The violation will indicate if it is an upgraded violation.)
A Class A, Class B, Upgraded Class B or Class C violation in a building with fewer than 10 units
Although not required to use professional firms to complete this work, if firms licensed to perform mold assessment and mold remediation or abatement in accordance with New York State Labor Law Article 32 were used, you must submit the mold assessment contractor license (firm) and the mold remediation license (firm) or the mold abatement worker supervisor license with this form.