For homeowners and landlords in New York City, Westchester, and both Nassau and Suffolk Counties
The heat rules for the city and the suburbs, what to check on a boiler or a mini-split, and what a landlord should have lined up before January.
If you’d rather watch than read. The rules and the details are below.
Last reviewed against the published rules on September 29, 2026. The rules below apply to rented homes. If you live in your own home, the same checks save you a cold night and a surprise bill.
From October 1 through May 31, the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) requires:
The penalties are per day: $250 to $500 for each initial heat or hot water violation, and $500 to $1,000 for a repeat at the same building.
Outside the city, the New York State Property Maintenance Code (§ 602.3) requires heat from September 15 through May 31, enough to keep habitable rooms and bathrooms at 68°F. Westchester County’s health department summarizes it here. Your city, town or village building department enforces it.
The Nassau County Public Health Ordinance applies from October 1 through May 31 whenever it is below 55°F outside: at least 68°F from 6 AM to 10 PM and 65°F from 10 PM to 6 AM. Some villages and cities in the county enforce their own heating rules.
People ask whether they should drain the boiler. Usually the answer is no, and which kind you have decides it.
Steam (there is a sight glass on the side). The water should sit at the level the manufacturer marks, usually about halfway up the glass. Flush the low-water cutoff the way the manufacturer says, until the water runs clear.
Hot water (a pressure gauge, no sight glass). Don’t drain it. Fresh water brings in oxygen and minerals that corrode the system. Check the pressure gauge against the label, often 12 to 15 psi when cold, and bleed the air out of any radiator or baseboard that stays cold at the top.
A tank water heater is the one you do flush: once a year, to clear the sediment.
October 1, and it runs through May 31. From 6 AM to 10 PM the inside temperature has to be at least 68°F whenever it is below 55°F outside; from 10 PM to 6 AM it has to be at least 62°F in any weather.
Under the New York State Property Maintenance Code, September 15, through May 31, at 68°F. Nassau County also has its own ordinance, October 1 through May 31, with 68°F by day and 65°F overnight when it is below 55°F outside.
Usually not. A hot water boiler should not be drained, because fresh water brings in oxygen and minerals that corrode it. A steam boiler’s low-water cutoff is flushed per the manufacturer. The one you do flush every year is a tank water heater.
On a cold day, no. That is the defrost cycle, and it is normal.
I am a licensed real estate broker, not a plumber or an attorney, and this is not legal advice. Local law governs, and the links go to the sources.
Keeping a building’s heat, its vendors and its compliance dates on track is part of the property operations work I do for owners. Tell me about the building and I’ll tell you whether it’s a fit.
Would rather just talk? Call 929-400-7653.
