No Heat In Apartment - Renter Rights

What no heat in your apartment and it is getting cold outside? A scenario I recently was told was that a renter’s radiator in their apartment was leaking and the leak was causing water to run down the walls and to the ceiling of the apartment below them. This was causing a big problem for the apartment below and so the landlord just turned off the heat in their apartment. He wasn’t concerned with the apartment below and it had been a couple of weeks and still no heat in their apartment. This is definitely a no heat complaint.

I hope this has happened to you or that you are facing a similar problem. As a renter or tenant in NYC, you have the right to having heat in your apartment. There is a warranty of habitability that entitles you as a tenant to a safe, livable and sanitary apartment. Not having heat during the winter months would not be safe.

I see a twofold problem with this scenario:

• No heat in your apartment
• Possible mold problems in the apartment below

Both of these conditions could be a breach of warranty and the landlord should take care of both problems as quickly as possible. If the landlord is unwilling to work with you, you can file a complaint with the Rental Protection Agency.


There may be lots of different reasons as to why the heat is shut off but the landlord cannot shut off heat because he wants you out of the building and is trying to make you leave. If he wants to evict you, he has to do through the proper court channels to do so or you are being evicted illegally. You can file a complaint against your landlord for trying to do this.

As in the case above, there was a problem with the radiator and so to stop the water, he turned off the heater. But I would think he should provide you with some other means of getting heat such as an electric heater until the problem can be fixed. If the problem is going on for a length of time that is deemed unreasonable, then you may want to file a complaint with the Rental Protection Agency.

If you have no heat on a continual basis, this might be classified as a breach of warranty and could possibly give you a reason to break your lease early and move to another apartment. You should always check your lease for any clauses that may override these kinds of things.

When you talk to your landlord about a no heat problem or any other renter problem always follow up with a certified letter with a return receipt and always keep a copy of the letter for yourself. This will be documentation as to when you requested something fixed in your apartment and then document everything that happened after that point to fix the problem or document no action taken.

If no heat in your apartment is a problem for you, know that your landlord can and should fix your heat so that you can live in a safe and livable place. There may even be a possibility that you can get a reduction in your rent because the heat is not working in your apartment until the problem is fixed. This is something you will need to work out with your landlord. There are options for you and you need to find what will work best for you. Don’t just try to live with no heat.