NYC Renters Face Two Major Housing Changes Wednesday

NEW YORK CITY— Renters face two major housing changes on Wednesday: the start of the annual heat season and a rent freeze for rent-stabilized apartments.

Landlords must keep apartments at least 68 degrees Fahrenheit during the day when the outdoor temperature falls below 55 degrees.

At night, indoor temperatures must reach at least 62 degrees regardless of the outdoor temperature.

"It's essentially the period where landlords are legally obligated to make sure that you have working and sufficient heat," said Allia Mohamed, co-founder and chief executive of Openigloo, a rental housing platform.

At the same time, the Rent Guidelines Board's freeze means qualifying rent-stabilized tenants beginning new or renewal leases will pay no rent increase for one- or two-year leases.

The freeze remains in place while landlords challenge the Rent Guidelines Board's decision in court.

What Should Renters Do If Their Apartment Is Cold?

Renters should notify their landlord or property manager as soon as a heating problem begins and keep the communication in writing, Mohamed said.

She recommends recording indoor temperatures when an apartment falls below the required level.

Thermostat readings, photographs, emails and text messages can help create a record of the problem.

"I definitely encourage renters to get things in writing and have that correspondence with their landlords," Mohamed said.

If a landlord or management company does not respond for a prolonged period, renters can file a complaint with the City's Department of Housing Preservation and Development by calling 311 or submitting a complaint online.

New York City recorded 344,437 heat complaints during the 2025-26 heat season, up 21.9 percent from the previous season, according to city data.

Renters can also discuss temporary solutions with their landlords, including space heaters and higher electricity costs, Mohamed said.

Depending on the circumstances, tenants could seek a rent concession or reimbursement.

The requirement does not necessarily mean landlords must pay for the heat, Mohamed said.

Some renters control their own heating systems, including certain apartments with electric heating and cooling systems.

About 70 percent of renters rely on their landlords to operate their building's heating system, according to Mohamed.

For renters with radiators, landlords must install radiator covers for tenants with children younger than 10, Mohamed said.

She also recommends asking for a cover even when one is not automatically required.

Loud clanking from a radiator can signal trapped air in the system and should be reported to the landlord, Mohamed said.

Another common source of confusion: the valve on many radiators does not work like a normal temperature control.

"A lot of renters think that that knob controls the heat, and this is a common, common mistake," Mohamed said. "That knob just turns the radiator on or off."

Partially turning the valve can trap air in the radiator, she said.

Renters who find their apartments uncomfortably hot can turn the radiator off, but Mohamed cautioned them to turn it back on when temperatures fall and heat becomes necessary.

What Happens If A Rent-Stabilized Lease Renews?

Rent-stabilized tenants whose new or renewal leases begin Oct. 1 or later should see no rent increase under the Rent Guidelines Board's current order.

The board voted in June to set increases at zero for both one-year and two-year rent-stabilized leases.

Mohamed urged renters to check their renewal paperwork carefully before signing.

"One of the things that I am encouraging renters to do is lock in that two years," Mohamed said.

The freeze remains in place while a lawsuit brought by landlords moves through Manhattan Supreme Court.

Judge Brendan Lantry declined to restore the rent increases approved by the previous Rent Guidelines Board.

That board had approved increases of 3 percent for one-year leases and 4.5 percent for two-year leases beginning in 2025.

Lantry expects to rule by the end of the year on whether the board legally approved the freeze and whether the rent-setting process must begin again.

Could The Freeze Push Up Other Rents?

Openigloo's rental data does not show a broad pattern of large increases in market-rate renewals following previous rent freezes, Mohamed said.

About 80 percent of market-rate renewals recorded by Openigloo over the past five years had increases of less than 5 percent, according to the company's data.

"We just haven't seen the data corroborate that hypothesis ever," Mohamed said.

She said landlords have historically had the ability to impose larger increases on market-rate apartments, but have not consistently done so.

The largest increases tend to appear in some of Manhattan's most expensive and sought-after neighborhoods, including Tribeca, the West Village and the Upper West Side, according to the data.

Those neighborhoods have added relatively little new housing compared with areas such as Crown Heights, Gowanus and Bed-Stuy, Mohamed said.

"Those Manhattan neighborhoods are always bearing the brunt of this of the housing crisis," she said.