Can my landlord give me a space heater instead of fixing the heat?
- In most cases, space heaters do not satisfy your landlord’s legal obligation to provide heat
- If your landlord refuses to solve the issue, you should report the problem to the city
While there are very rare cases where electric space heaters are permitted, your landlord is likely violating their legal responsibilities under chapter two of the Housing Maintenance Code.
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My building's heat isn’t working, and instead of fixing it, my landlord gave me two electric space heaters. By giving me the space heaters, is he meeting his responsibility to provide heat, and is there anything I can do to get him to fix the heating system?
Space heaters are not an adequate source of heat during the winter months, and in most cases, they cannot replace a building’s heating system, according to our experts.
Landlords are obligated to keep apartments warm from Oct. 1st through the end of May, a period known as heat season. Your landlord should have fixed the heat within 24 hours of when the issue first occurred, said Jennifer Rozen, managing attorney at law firm Rozen Law Group.
“Generally, buildings must have central gas or electric heat for the building,” Rozen said. “Lack of heat or hot water is a Class C, rent-impairing violation that landlords are required to fix within 24 hours.”
While there are very rare cases where electric space heaters are permitted, your landlord is likely violating their legal responsibilities under chapter two of the Housing Maintenance Code.
[Editor's Note: Realty Bites tackles your NYC rental questions. Have a query for our experts? Drop us an email. We respect all requests for anonymity. A previous version of this article ran in October 2023. We are presenting it again in case you missed it.]
A short-term solution
Space heaters can be used as a temporary fix if a building’s heat is out, but the apartment must be as warm as it would have been if the heating system was functioning under the Housing Maintenance Code, said Jason Blumberg, a staff attorney at Mobilization for Justice, a free legal assistance service for New Yorkers.
Regardless of the heating method, your landlord is required to keep your apartment at 68 degrees if outdoor temperatures drop below 55 degrees during the day, from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., throughout heat season. At night, the temperature inside must be at least 62 degrees—regardless how warm it is outside.
It’s likely your landlord would need special approval from the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development, which enforces the Housing Maintenance Code, before making a permanent switch to electric space heater heat, Blumberg added.
Only buildings that used electric heat systems before July 14th, 1967, with permission from the department, or those with approval from another city agency can use electric or gas heating for individual apartments, according to the Housing Maintenance Code. Otherwise, buildings are required to have heat from a central heating system.
Getting your landlord to turn on the heat
If your landlord does not fix the issue, you should call 311 or Housing Preservation and Development to report the problem, or submit a complaint online. The department may send an inspector to check the heating system and can stick your landlord with fines from $250 to $500 per day until the problem is fixed.
HPD can also send a contractor to fix the problem and bill the property—something your landlord would likely want to avoid.
If your landlord still doesn’t fix the problem, you can file an HP action with the housing court in your county. The legal proceeding requires your landlord to make repairs, but beware that your landlord could retaliate by not renewing your lease if you reside in a market-rate apartment that is not protected by the Good Cause eviction law.
You can also try to negotiate a rent abatement with your landlord for the days you spent without adequate heat, but be careful about withholding rent, it could land you in an expensive and time-consuming court battle.
“Tenants should be aware that non-payment of rent could prompt the landlord to file a non-payment proceeding, where the tenant would have to present evidence of the lack of heat to get an abatement,” Rozen said.
You would have to prove that your landlord violated the warranty of habitability—a list of requirements that every landlord must provide regardless of whether it's stated in the lease. That includes adequate heat, safe living conditions, and a bug and mold-free apartment.
Use caution in the interim
In the meantime, you should be extremely careful when using space heaters. Never keep the device near anything that could burn, keep them away from running water, do not place them on uneven surfaces, and plug them directly into an outlet—not a power strip. And never hang clothes over a space heater to dry.
Faulty space heaters can kill. In 2022 a Bronx fire sparked by a malfunctioning electric space heater killed 17 people, including eight children. After the tragedy, Governor Kathy Hochul signed legislation to require electric space heaters sold in New York state to have a thermostat and automatic shut off.
—Earlier versions of this article contained reporting and writing by Celia Young.
