October 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 and rules. Visit the HPD website to read this bulletin (and past bulletins) in other languages.

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.

Heat Season Started October 1^st

Under Housing Maintenance Code Section 27-2029, building owners are legally required to provide heat to their tenants. Heat must be provided between October 1^st and May 31^st, under the following conditions:

Day

Between the hours of 6:00am and 10:00pm, if the outside temperature falls below 55 degrees, the inside temperature is required to be at least 68 degrees Fahrenheit.

Night

Between the hours of 10:00pm and 6:00am, the inside temperature is required to be at least 62 degrees Fahrenheit.

Failure to comply will lead to violations. Violations may result in civil penalties, heat reinspection fees, and selection for enhanced enforcement under the Heat Sensors Program.

Penalty Changes

Local Law 71, which was enacted on June 13^th, becomes effective December 8, 2023. This Law has several important changes that property owners should be aware of:

Property Registration

The civil penalty associated with a failure to properly register should be subject to the following penalties:
- not less than five hundred dollars and not more than one thousand five hundred dollars for a multiple dwelling containing five or less dwelling units.
- not less than one thousand dollars and not more than five thousand dollars for a multiple dwelling containing more than five dwelling units.

A person who provides false information on the registration statement is subject to a civil penalty of not less than seven hundred and fifty dollars and not more than five thousand dollars. The department shall invalidate any statement required under this article that has been found to contain false information.The following is a sample, but not exhaustive, list of false statements:
- Indicating the building address as the home or office address of an owner or agent, when the individual does not have an office or live at the building premises.
- Listing a superintendent as the managing agent or owner of a building when the individual does not serve that role.

As a reminder, an owner who is required to file a statement of registration under this article and who fails to file as required shall be denied the right to recover possession of the premises for nonpayment of rent during the period of noncompliance, and shall, in the discretion of the court, suffer a stay of proceedings to recover rents, during such period.

Civil Penalties Increases

Civil penalties for HPD Violations are increasing, as indicated below.

Civil penalties	Current	Violations issued after December 8, 2023
Class A	$10-$50	$50-$150, plus $25/day
Class B	$25-$100, plus $10/day	$75-$500 plus $25-$125/day
Class C, buildings with 5 or fewer units (except for the below detailed class C violations)	$50 per day	$150-$750 plus $50-$150/day
Class C, buildings with more than 5 units (except for the below detailed class C violations)	$50/150 days plus $125 per day	$150-$1,200 plus $150-$1,200 per day
Class C, Lead-based paint hazard	$250 per day, up to $10,000	$250 per day, up to $10,000 (NO CHANGE)
Class C Heat and hot water	$250-$500 per day AND $500-$1000 per day for subsequent violations	$350 - $1,250 per day AND $500 - $1,500 per day for subsequent violations.
Class C Heat and hot water - illegal device	$25 per day or $1000, whichever is more	$50 per day or $2,000, whichever is more
Class C, self-closing doors	$250-$500, plus $250 per day for each day from date set for correction until correction	$250-$500, plus $250 per day for each day from date set for correction until correction (NO CHANGE)

False Certification

Property owners and agents who certify the correction of conditions (which is your obligation and, if not done, may lead to emergency repair work related to certain class C violations and civil penalties) must do so only after conditions are corrected properly. Properly certified violations are deemed complied and closed seventy days from the date of the receipt of the certification unless the department has determined by a re-inspection made within such period that the violation still has not been corrected (except for lead-based paint hazard violations, which require reinspection).

Falsely certifying the correction of HPD violations may lead to the following:

A person who makes a false certification of correction of a violation shall be subject to a civil penalty as follows:
- For each non-hazardous violation falsely certified, not less than fifty dollars nor more than two hundred fifty dollars;
- For each hazardous violation falsely certified, not less than two hundred fifty dollars nor more than five hundred dollars; and
- For each immediately hazardous violation falsely certified, not less than five hundred dollars nor more than one thousand dollars.
False certifications may result in future certifications not being deemed complied without an inspection attempt beginning in January 2025 for buildings which have a significant number of false certifications in 2024.
By January 15, 2025, or the first business day thereafter, and each calendar year thereafter, the department shall compile and post on its website a list of 100 multiple dwellings for which the department has determined that:
- more than 20 hazardous violations or immediately hazardous violations have been certified as corrected during the previous calendar year, other than a violation issued pursuant to section 27-2017.4 of this code, and
- at least four of such hazardous or immediately hazardous violations that have been certified as corrected during such calendar year were falsely certified as corrected
Bedbug Annual Report

Property owners of multiple dwelling(s) are required to file an Bed Bug Annual Report with HPD every year between December 1 and December 31.
- Corporate owners (corporations, LLCs, etc) can only file electronically through the application available at Annual Bed Bug Report. Paper submissions will be returned to you.
- Individual owners and joint owners (as indicated on your property registration) may file using a paper form. Copies of this form are available at Bed Bug Annual Filing Form.
- Buildings that are not registered, with a registration expiration date of August 31, 2023, will not be able to file this report. Property owners can register by visiting the Property Registration Online System (PROS), completing that form, paying any required fee and mailing the registration form to HPD.
What information are property owners required to file?

Property owners are required to file the following based on the bedbug activity in the building between November 1, 2022, and October 31, 2023:
1. Total dwelling unit count. The total number of units in the multiple dwelling (whether or not the unit is occupied).
2. Infested dwelling unit count. The number of units, as reported by a tenant or otherwise known to the property owner, to have had a bedbug infestation for the reporting period and annually for each subsequent report.
3. Eradication measures within a dwelling unit count. The number of units where eradication measures were employed for the reporting period.
4. Re-infested dwelling unit count. The number of units that reported having a bedbug infestation after eradication measures were employed for the reporting period and annually for each subsequent report.
Do property owners need to file a Bedbug Annual Report even if the building is bedbug free?

Yes.

Are property owners required to file bedbug infestation history for each dwelling unit?

Property owners are required to file an aggregate report of the bedbug infestation history of the multiple dwelling that includes infestation history for all units – not an infestation history for an individual dwelling unit.

What if a tenant doesn’t want to provide bedbug infestation history?

The owner must employ best efforts to obtain information from all units.

Do hotels have to file the Bedbug Annual Report?

Yes.

Are co-operatives and condominiums required to file the Bedbug Annual Report?

Yes, if any units are leased out by the coop or condo owner. Bedbug infestation history should be collected by the dwelling unit owner for any non-owner occupied co-op or condo unit. The dwelling unit owner should then submit the information to the coop or condo board for inclusion in the submission of one infestation history for the entire building to HPD.

Can an owner create one log-in account and file all Bedbug Annual Reports through that log-in?

Yes.

Can owners create their own template of the Bedbug Annual Report Filing Receipt to distribute to tenants or to post in a prominent location?

No. Property owners are required to distribute or post the electronic form established by HPD.

Are property owners required to distribute the Bedbug Annual Report to tenants that renewed a lease or signed a vacancy lease during the filing period?

Property owners are required to provide bedbug infestation history upon commencement of a new lease or renewal tenancy lease that begins after submission of the Bedbug Annual Report.

Who can be contacted if there are issues with filing a Bedbug Annual Report or accessing the Bedbug Portal?

Issues with the filing can be reported via email to HPD at enforcementdesk@hpd.nyc.gov.

What happens if I do not file Bedbug Annual Report?

A violation will be issued to the property owner for failure to file.

What happens after I file the report?

After filing the report and receiving the receipt from HPD, the owner is required to:
- provide the receipt from HPD to occupants upon lease commencement or renewal OR post the report in a prominent public location within the multiple dwelling.
- keep a record of how the report was provided to occupants.
- either distribute or post a copy of the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene’s Bedbug Information Notice. This notice provides information about the prevention, detection, and removal of bedbug infestation. The form must be posted within 60 days of the filing of the Bedbug Annual Report.