HP actions: taking your landlord to Housing Court for repairs

An HP action is a case a tenant files in New York City Housing Court to make the landlord do repairs or restore services like heat and hot water. You file it yourself at the Housing Court clerk's office in your borough, you don't need a lawyer, and the filing fee (reported as $45 by Legal Services NYC) can be waived if you can't afford it.

The same case can also include a claim that your landlord is harassing you. This guide walks through when an HP action makes sense, how filing works, what happens at court, and what to do if the landlord ignores the judge.

What an HP action can and can't do

An HP action is about getting things fixed. The judge can order the landlord to correct violations by set dates, can order the landlord to stop harassing you, and can impose penalties if the landlord ignores those orders. According to Legal Services NYC, penalties for not complying with an order to correct are paid to HPD, the city housing agency.

What you ask for in an HP action is a court order: repairs, restored services, and an end to harassment. If you also want a rent reduction, the routes the New York Attorney General describes are a counterclaim when a landlord sues for rent, or, if your apartment is rent stabilized or rent controlled, a decreased-services complaint to New York State Homes and Community Renewal (HCR). See Warranty of habitability in New York and Can I withhold rent for repairs? for how those work.

Before you file: build your record

Judges and inspectors look for proof that the landlord knew about the problem and didn't fix it. Legal Services NYC and LawHelpNY both recommend these steps first:

1. 1

   List every condition, room by room

   Write down each problem in your apartment and in the hallways, lobby or basement, with roughly how long it has existed. One condition per line makes the court forms easier.
2. 2

   Take dated photos and videos

   Photograph leaks, mold, holes, pests and broken fixtures. For heat or hot water, keep a log with dates, times and temperatures.
3. 3

   Tell the landlord in writing

   Send a letter listing the repairs and a reasonable date to finish them. Certified mail with a return receipt gives you proof it arrived. Keep a copy.
4. 4

   Call 311

   A 311 complaint goes to HPD and creates an official record. An HPD inspector may issue violations. See our guide to filing an HPD complaint through 311.
5. 5

   Find the landlord’s legal name and street address

   You need the owner’s exact legal name (person or company) and a street address, not a P.O. box. Look it up in the building’s HPD registration on HPD Online or on the building’s Roofy page. For NYCHA buildings, LSNYC says to use 90 Church St, New York, NY 10007.

Search your address on Roofy's building lookup to see the owner of record, the HPD registration, and every open violation. Open violations that match your list are strong evidence. Our guide to HPD violation classes explains what A, B and C mean.

How to file an HP action

Go to the clerk's office at the Housing Court in the borough where your building is and say you want to start an HP action. The papers you file and later serve are an Order to Show Cause and a Verified Petition, along with a form listing the conditions you want HPD to inspect, room by room and in the public areas.

• Make the lists match. LSNYC notes the list of conditions appears on two sheets and both must match. Ask for extra forms if you run out of lines.
• Fee or waiver. If you can't afford the fee, fill out the fee waiver request forms. A judge reviews them.
• Inspection date. When you hand in the papers, the clerk schedules an HPD inspection of your apartment.
• Judge signs, court date set. You're sent to a courtroom where a judge signs the order and sets your first court date.
• Serve the papers exactly as told. You must deliver copies to the landlord and to HPD in the way and by the deadline the court tells you, often certified mail with a return receipt. LSNYC warns that if you don't, the judge can throw out the case. Keep your mailing receipts as proof of service.

What happens after you file

1. Filing day

   Papers signed, inspection and court date set

   Keep your copies and the instructions for serving the landlord and HPD.

2. Within the court’s deadline

   Serve the landlord and HPD

   Follow the method the judge wrote on the order. Keep proof of mailing or delivery.

3. Before the first court date

   HPD inspection

   An HPD inspector visits and records violations. The report becomes evidence. Be home, and show every condition on your list.

4. First court date

   Order to correct, consent order or default

   If the landlord agrees, you sign a consent order or stipulation with repair deadlines and access dates. If the landlord doesn’t appear, the judge can issue a default order.

5. Repair deadlines

   Give access and keep notes

   Be home (or have someone home) on the access dates. Write down when workers arrive, leave and what they did.

6. If deadlines pass

   Bring the same case back

   File an Order to Show Cause in the same case asking for penalties or a new order. Don’t start a new case.

Arrive on time. LSNYC warns that if you're late the judge may dismiss the case and you'll have to start over. Bring your photos, heat log, letters, texts and emails to the landlord, 311 complaint numbers, and any other inspection reports (for example, from a Section 8 inspection). Think ahead about which days you can let workers in.

How long the landlord has to fix things

The court sets deadlines in the order to correct. HPD's own correction periods are a useful benchmark for how urgent each kind of problem is. These are HPD's correction periods from the date a violation is served:

Adding a harassment claim

You can ask the Housing Court to find that your landlord harassed you, and to order a civil penalty and an order to stop. HPD quotes the legal definition: "any act or omission by or on behalf of an owner that causes or is intended to cause" a lawful occupant "to vacate the unit or to surrender or waive any occupancy rights." Examples HPD lists include:

• using force or threats
• repeated interruptions of essential services such as heat, hot water or gas
• frequently filing baseless court cases against you
• removing your possessions
• removing or tampering with doors or locks
• other acts that substantially interfere with your comfort, peace or quiet

Harassment claims turn on evidence, so keep a dated log of each incident with witnesses, texts and photos. See Tenant harassment in NYC for more.

Group HP actions

Neighbors can bring an HP action together. That makes sense when the problems are building-wide: a failing boiler, a broken elevator, roof leaks, pests in common areas, or a pattern of harassment. JustFix notes that organized groups of neighbors filing together may have an easier time getting free legal help than individual tenants, and suggests contacting tenant organizing groups or legal services providers. A tenant association can help organize it; see Starting a tenant association.

HP action or something else?

An HP action is one of several tools. A 311 complaint alone may be enough if the landlord responds to violations. For immediately hazardous conditions the owner won't fix, HPD can step in through the Emergency Repair Program. If you're thinking of holding back rent instead, read about the risks first in Can I withhold rent for repairs?

Free help

• Housing Court Answers: hotline 212-962-4795 and information tables at Housing Court in each borough (Monday to Thursday, 9am to 5pm, except Staten Island, per HPD).
• Legal Services NYC: 917-661-4500, Monday to Friday, 9:30am to 4pm.
• If your landlord sues you: read Right to Counsel to see whether you qualify for a free lawyer in an eviction case.

This is general information, not legal advice. Court procedures and fees can change, so confirm details with the Housing Court clerk before you file.