NYC Bedbug Disclosure and Annual Filing

NYC landlords have two bedbug paperwork duties: give every tenant signing a new (vacancy) lease a notice of the building's and apartment's bedbug history for the past year, and file a Bedbug Annual Report with HPD between December 1 and December 31 every year, even if the building had no bedbugs. After filing, you must either post the report and the Health Department's bedbug notice in the building or hand them to tenants with each new and renewal lease.

The annual report applies to multiple dwellings, meaning buildings with three or more apartments. Filing is free. HPD warns owners about companies that charge to file it for them.

Duty 1: the bedbug history notice for new tenants

Under Admin. Code §27-2018.1, an owner must give each tenant signing a vacancy lease a notice, on a form promulgated or approved by New York State Homes and Community Renewal (DHCR), setting out the bedbug infestation history for the previous year for both the apartment being rented and the building. HPD's bedbug page links to the state form.

Fill it in from what you actually know: tenant reports, pest control invoices and the same records you use for the annual HPD report below. Keeping those records organized by apartment makes both filings quick. If a tenant says they never received the notice, they can file a written complaint with DHCR, and DHCR will order the owner to provide it. Keep a signed copy in each lease file.

Duty 2: the annual Bedbug Report to HPD

Local Law 69 of 2017 added Admin. Code §27-2018.2, which requires owners of multiple dwellings to report bedbug numbers to HPD every year. Before you file, the law requires you to try to get the past year's bedbug history from each tenant or unit owner, including whether any treatment was done. A short written request to every apartment in October or November works well and gives you a record that you asked.

What the form asks, in plain English

Every box needs a number, including zero. HPD rejects incomplete forms. If something changes after you file, the law lets you submit an amended report at any time.

Your bedbug filing year

1. November 1

   Report period starts

   Track tenant reports and treatments from this date through October 31.

2. October–November

   Ask tenants for their history

   The law requires you to attempt to collect it before you file.

3. December 1–31

   File the Bedbug Annual Report

   Online through HPD’s portal, or on paper if you are an individual or joint owner.

4. After processing

   HPD sends a receipt

   HPD publishes the most recent filing on its website within 30 days of receiving it.

5. Within 60 days of filing

   Post, or start handing out

   If you chose posting, put the filing and the DOHMH notice up in a prominent place and keep a record. If you chose distribution, give both with each new lease and renewal.

6. January 1

   Violation risk

   Once December 31 passes, HPD may issue a violation for failure to file.

Posting or handing out the paperwork

1. 1

   Choose one method on the form

   You certify whether you will post the documents or distribute them. Pick the one you can actually keep up with.
2. 2

   If posting: put it up within 60 days

   Post the latest filing (or receipt) and the Health Department’s bedbug notice in a prominent public spot, such as the lobby. Keep a dated photo or log as your record of posting.
3. 3

   If distributing: attach it to every lease

   Give both documents with each new lease and each renewal lease signed since your last filing.
4. 4

   Use the right Health Department notice

   HPD’s bedbug page points owners to the DOHMH “Stop Bedbugs Safely” guide as the notice to post or distribute. (The link printed on the paper form for a DOHMH notice no longer loads, so use the one on HPD’s page.)

When a tenant reports bedbugs

The paperwork is the easy part. New York State law requires owners to use pest control professionals licensed by the state Department of Environmental Conservation, and HPD expects follow-up visits until the bedbugs are gone. If HPD inspects and finds bedbugs, you get a Notice of Violation and a Health Department Commissioner's Order to inspect the apartments next to, above and below the affected unit and the common areas, and to keep records of everything done. To clear it, you file a certification of correction with a sworn statement that the work was done; see how to certify HPD violation corrections.

Bedbugs count as pests under the city's indoor allergen law too, so the same integrated pest management habits apply. See Local Law 55 for owners.

Why it matters to renters

Renters can look up a building's filings, and many do before they sign. The tenant side is explained in bed bugs in NYC apartments: tenant rights and how to check a building's bed bug history. Add December to your landlord compliance calendar so the filing never slips.

This guide is general information, not legal advice. HPD's Enforcement Desk can answer questions about the form.