Landlord Repair Responsibilities in New York: What You Have to Fix and When

New York Law Does Not Care About Your Excuses

If you own rental property in New York, you are legally required to keep it habitable. That is not a suggestion. It is codified in Real Property Law Section 235-b, known as the warranty of habitability. Every residential lease in New York includes this warranty whether you write it into the lease or not.

The warranty cannot be waived. A tenant cannot sign it away. If your lease says “tenant responsible for all repairs,” that clause is unenforceable for anything covered under habitability. Courts throw those provisions out routinely.

What Counts as a Habitability Violation

The law does not give you a neat checklist. Instead, it requires that the property be “fit for human habitation.” Courts have interpreted this broadly over decades of case law. Here is what consistently triggers violations:

• Heat: You must provide heat from October 1 through May 31. Daytime indoor temperature must reach 68 degrees when outdoor temps fall below 55. Nighttime minimum is 62 degrees between 10 PM and 6 AM regardless of outdoor temperature.
• Hot water: Must be available 24 hours a day, year-round, at a minimum of 120 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Plumbing: Working toilets, sinks, and drainage. Sewage backups are emergency-level violations.
• Structural integrity: Holes in walls or floors, broken windows, damaged stairs and railings, roof leaks.
• Pests: Roach and rodent infestations. Bed bugs fall under this as well. New York City has additional bed bug disclosure rules, but upstate courts apply the same habitability standard.
• Mold: If caused by a building condition you control (leaking pipes, poor ventilation in common areas), this is on you.
• Electrical: Faulty wiring, non-functioning outlets, lack of adequate lighting in common areas.
• Lead paint: If the building was built before 1978 and a child under 6 lives there, you have specific obligations under EPA and New York law.
• Smoke and carbon monoxide detectors: Must be installed and functional at move-in. Replacement batteries during tenancy are typically the tenant’s responsibility, but the units themselves must work.

Timelines for Repairs

New York law does not specify an exact number of days for most repairs. The standard is “reasonable time.” What counts as reasonable depends on the severity.

No heat in January? That is an emergency. You have hours, not days. A leaking faucet? A few days to a week is typically reasonable. A cosmetic ceiling stain from a fixed leak? You have more time, though you still need to address it.

Local codes may impose stricter timelines. In Syracuse, code enforcement can issue orders with specific deadlines. The same applies in Oswego, Auburn, and Utica. If you receive a code violation, the clock is set by the inspector, not by your convenience.

What Tenants Can Do If You Do Not Fix Things

Tenants in New York have several legal remedies. All of them cost you more than just doing the repair.

Rent Withholding

A tenant can withhold rent if conditions are genuinely uninhabitable. They do not need your permission or a court order to do this. If you try to evict for nonpayment, the tenant raises the habitability defense, and the court decides. If the judge agrees the conditions were bad, you lose the eviction case and may owe the tenant a rent abatement.

Repair and Deduct

The tenant hires someone to fix the problem and deducts the cost from rent. This is legally supported when the landlord has been notified and failed to act within a reasonable time. You will not like what they pay for the repair. It will be retail price or higher.

HP Actions (Housing Court)

In cities with housing courts, tenants can file an HP proceeding. This brings a housing inspector to your property. The court can order repairs with deadlines and impose fines for noncompliance. In some cases, the court appoints a receiver to manage the property and make repairs at your expense. This is the nuclear option, and judges in New York use it.

Code Enforcement Complaints

Tenants can call the local code enforcement office. An inspector shows up, documents violations, and issues orders. Fines accumulate daily in some municipalities. Repeat violations can result in the property being condemned.

How Code Enforcement Inspections Work

When a tenant complains to code enforcement, the process moves faster than most landlords expect. An inspector contacts you to schedule access. If you refuse or dodge, they can obtain an administrative warrant.

The inspector documents everything with photos. You receive a written notice of violations with deadlines. Re-inspection follows. If violations remain, fines start. In Syracuse, the fines can stack quickly. The city has been aggressive about rental property enforcement in recent years.

Some municipalities require rental property registration and periodic inspections. If your property is in one of these areas, you cannot hide from deferred maintenance.

How to Handle Repair Requests Properly

The single most important thing you can do is document everything. Every request, every response, every repair.

Step 1: Accept Requests in Writing

Set up a system where tenants submit maintenance requests in writing. Email, a tenant portal, or even text messages work. What does not work is relying on verbal requests that you can deny later. A property management system that logs requests with timestamps protects you in court.

Step 2: Acknowledge Immediately

Respond within 24 hours confirming you received the request. Even if you cannot fix it that day, the acknowledgment matters. “We received your maintenance request regarding the kitchen faucet leak. A plumber is scheduled for Thursday.” That takes 30 seconds and looks great in front of a judge.

Step 3: Fix It or Explain the Timeline

Get the repair done. If parts need to be ordered or a specialist scheduled, communicate the timeline. Silence is what gets landlords in trouble. Tenants escalate when they feel ignored.

Step 4: Document the Completed Repair

Take photos. Save receipts. Have the tenant sign off that the work was completed if possible. This paper trail is your defense if the tenant later claims you never fixed anything.

What Happens When You Ignore Repair Requests

You lose. That is the short version.

New York courts are extremely tenant-friendly on habitability issues. Judges have seen every landlord excuse in the book. “The tenant caused the damage.” “I did not know about it.” “My handyman was busy.” None of these hold up when the tenant has a written request with a timestamp and you have no documentation of a response.

The financial consequences compound. Rent abatements can cover months of rent. Code enforcement fines stack. Attorney fees pile up on both sides. If the tenant hires a legal aid attorney (common in New York), you are fighting a lawyer who does nothing but housing cases while you are paying your attorney by the hour.

In extreme cases, courts have awarded tenants damages beyond rent abatement. If a child gets lead poisoning because you did not address peeling paint, you are looking at a lawsuit that could exceed the value of the property.

Tenant-Caused Damage vs. Landlord Responsibility

Tenants are responsible for damage they cause. If a tenant puts a fist through the wall, that is not a habitability issue. If a tenant clogs the toilet by flushing objects that should not be flushed, you can charge them for the plumber.

But here is where it gets tricky. Even if the tenant caused the problem, you still have to fix it if it affects habitability. You can charge them for the repair. You can deduct from security deposit at move-out. But you cannot leave a broken toilet unfixed for three months to “teach them a lesson.” The court will not see it your way.

The Bottom Line for New York Landlords

New York gives tenants significant legal protections around repairs and habitability. Fighting this reality is expensive and pointless. The landlords who succeed in this state are the ones who respond quickly, document thoroughly, and treat repairs as a cost of doing business rather than an inconvenience.

A good property management system handles the documentation automatically. Requests come in with timestamps. Responses are logged. Work orders track the repair from request to completion. When code enforcement shows up or a tenant files in court, you have a complete record that shows you acted responsibly.

If you manage rentals in Syracuse, Oswego, Auburn, or Utica and need help staying on top of maintenance obligations, call RenPro Property Management at 315-400-2654. We track every request, handle every repair, and keep the documentation that protects you.