What this checklist is

Owning a rental building in New York City means living with a calendar of deadlines. Miss one and you can face HPD violations, tenant complaints, lost rent-recovery rights, or fines — often for something you didn't even know was due.

Our NYC Landlord Compliance Checklist puts every major obligation on a single, printable page. It's built from the same compliance process we run across nearly 400 units of rent-stabilized, subsidized, and market-rate housing across Brooklyn and greater NYC. Use it to audit your own building, brief a new managing agent, or simply sleep better.

Compliance in New York City isn't one big test you pass once — it's a rhythm of annual filings, seasonal duties, and per-lease paperwork that resets every year. The owners who stay out of trouble aren't the ones with the best memory; they're the ones with a system. This checklist is that system, boiled down to something you can actually work through.

Who it's for

  • First-time and small landlords who just took over a 2–20 unit building and aren't sure what the city expects.
  • Self-managing owners who want a second set of eyes before something becomes a violation.
  • Owners of rent-stabilized or subsidized housing, where the filing requirements are stricter and the penalties steeper.
  • Anyone switching managers who wants to confirm nothing fell through the cracks during the transition.

The checklist

Work through it in an afternoon. Each item names the obligation, why it matters, and where to read the detail — deadlines, temperatures, and dollar figures live on the linked pages, which are the ones we keep current.

Annual filings

  • HPD property registration. Required annually for covered buildings. Missing it is not just a violation — an unregistered building generally cannot certify violation corrections or pursue a nonpayment case, so a paperwork lapse quietly disables your legal rights. Registration guide
  • DHCR rent registration for every rent-stabilized unit. Lapsed years can constrain your legal rent and resurface later as an overcharge claim. Rent stabilization guide
  • Property registration details current — the address on file is where violation notices and hearing dates are sent. If nobody monitors it, deadlines pass unanswered and defaults typically carry the maximum penalty.
  • Income and expense filing with the Department of Finance for income-producing property. It feeds your assessment. Property tax appeals

Periodic inspections and filings

  • Boiler inspection — performed and filed. The most common finding we see on new buildings is an inspection that happened and a report that never got filed. The missing filing is itself the violation. Boiler requirements
  • Gas piping inspection on the cycle for your community district. Local Law 152
  • Elevator inspections where the building has one. Elevator requirements
  • Facade inspection where building height brings it into scope. FISP / Local Law 11

Seasonal

  • Heat and hot water. Heat is required during the heat season at the minimum temperatures the city sets; hot water is required year-round. This is the most complained-about obligation in New York. Heat and hot water requirements
  • Heating system serviced before the season, not during it. Summer property prep covers doing this work while the system is off.
  • Cold-weather protection — pipes, roof drainage, and exterior. Winter property prep

Per tenancy

  • Written lease with the required New York riders and disclosures.
  • Security deposit handled under HSTPA — the limit on amount, how it is held, the tenant's inspection rights, and the return timeline. This is the single most common way a small landlord creates liability, and it always surfaces at move-out. Deposit rules
  • Move-in condition documented and signed by both parties. Move-in / move-out checklist
  • Screening applied identically to every applicant on lawful criteria. Source-of-income discrimination is unlawful in New York City — a voucher holder is evaluated on the same basis as anyone else. Fair Housing guide · Screening checklist
  • Lease renewals offered on schedule, and for regulated units in the required window on the correct form with the correct guidelines applied.
  • Good Cause Eviction considered before any non-renewal on a covered tenancy. What changed

Life safety and per-unit duties

  • Smoke and carbon monoxide detectors installed and maintained, with the required notices.
  • Window guards where required, with the annual tenant inquiry. Window guard requirements
  • Lead paint — disclosure, the annual inquiry, and inspection duties in older housing with young children. Lead paint compliance
  • Bedbug disclosure filing where required. Bedbug responsibility
  • Certificate of occupancy matches the building's actual configuration. If you rent a unit the certificate does not recognize, that affects insurance, lease enforcement, and violation exposure. Certificate of occupancy

Ongoing

  • Open HPD and DOB violations inventoried, with every deadline and any OATH hearing date calendared. Violations attach to the property and follow it through a sale. HPD violations · DOB violations
  • Repairs answered promptly — habitability is a continuing obligation, not an annual one.
  • Records retained: leases, notices, inspections, filings, and correspondence. When something is disputed, the file is the argument.

If you want this specific to your building

Contact us and we will walk your building through it — no cost, no obligation. For a full picture including what the property should be earning, request a property consultation.

A checklist is a start — a partner is better

A good checklist keeps you honest. But if you'd rather not track HPD deadlines, chase DHCR filings, and field 2 a.m. heat complaints yourself, that's exactly what we do. Yak Management is a boutique, principal-led firm with deep rent-stabilization and HPD expertise, same-day owner responsiveness, and a track record of resolving violations before they escalate — like the time we rebuilt trust with a bedridden tenant to complete long-overdue repairs and keep her subsidy intact.

If you're weighing whether to hand off compliance entirely, start with a property consultation. We'll review your building, flag compliance gaps, and show you what it should be earning — no pressure to sign.

Have questions first? See our owner FAQs or reach out directly.

Not legal advice. This checklist and page are for general informational purposes only. NYC housing law changes and depends on your specific building. Consult a qualified attorney for advice on your situation.