NYC Indoor Allergen Law (Local Law 55) for Owners

Local Law 55 of 2018 requires owners of NYC buildings with three or more apartments to inspect every apartment and the common areas for mold, cockroaches, mice and rats at least once a year, fix those problems and their causes using set safe work practices, and clean out mold and pests before each new tenant moves in. Owners must also give every tenant a lease notice and a city fact sheet explaining these duties.

The law treats an indoor allergen hazard as a condition dangerous to health. It is enforced by HPD, and the violation classes can escalate quickly if a problem is not fixed. The same rules also reach co-op, condo, shelter and public housing units where a tenant has asthma, according to the city's fact sheet.

1. Inspect every year, and when there is a reason to

Admin. Code §27-2017.2 requires an investigation for indoor allergen hazards in all occupied apartments and the common areas at least once a year. You must also inspect more often when:

• a tenant complains about a condition likely to cause mold or pests, or asks for an inspection;
• you know, or with reasonable care should have known, about a condition likely to cause a hazard; or
• HPD issues a violation or order for such a condition.

HPD's owner calendar puts the annual allergen inspection in January, alongside the window guard and lead paint notices, so many owners do them together. HPD publishes a sample investigative report you can use to document each visit. Look for leaks, water stains, visible mold (including behind furniture), droppings, nests, and gaps around pipes and baseboards.

2. Give the lease notice and fact sheet

Every lease offered in a covered building must include an HPD-approved notice, set out conspicuously, explaining the owner's and tenant's obligations. You must also give the tenant the Health Department pamphlet What Tenants and Landlords Should Know About Indoor Allergens and Local Law 55. Both are available in English and the city's covered languages on HPD's site.

3. Use integrated pest management (IPM)

When there is an infestation, or HPD cites one, §27-2017.8 requires these work practices. Spraying alone does not satisfy the law.

1. 1

   Remove nests, droppings and debris

   Use a HEPA vacuum, wash surfaces or otherwise collect and discard the debris, while limiting dust.
2. 2

   Seal entry points

   Repair holes, gaps and cracks in walls, ceilings, floors, moldings, baseboards, around pipes and conduits, and in cabinets with sealant, plaster, cement, wood, escutcheon plates or another durable material.
3. 3

   Install door sweeps

   On every door to a hallway, basement or outside, so gaps are no more than one-quarter inch.
4. 4

   Remove water sources

   Repair leaking drains, faucets and plumbing; remove and replace saturated materials inside walls.
5. 5

   Use pesticides only as a supplement

   Any pesticide must be applied by a pest professional licensed by the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation.

4. Remove mold the right way

The law and HPD rules set work practices for any mold you fix, whether HPD cited it or you found it yourself:

• Find and fix the underlying defect first: the leak, water infiltration or other moisture problem.
• Move furniture out of the work area or cover it with plastic sheeting.
• Limit dust: seal vents and openings with plastic, isolate the area, cover the path out, mist surfaces with dilute soap or detergent before removal, and use HEPA-equipped tools or vacuums.
• Clean mold with soap or detergent and water, and throw out materials that cannot be cleaned.
• Bag plastic sheeting, cleaning tools and waste in sealed heavy-duty plastic bags.
• Wet-clean or HEPA-vacuum remaining dust, and leave the area dry and visibly free of mold, dust and debris.

5. Turnover: clean before the next tenant moves in

Before a vacant apartment is re-rented, §27-2017.5 requires you to remediate all visible mold, pest infestations and any underlying defects in the unit, and to thoroughly clean and vacuum any carpeting and furniture you provide, using the same work practices. You then certify in writing to the incoming tenant that you did it. HPD's Lease/Commencement of Occupancy Notice includes the certification line for the owner or representative to sign.

How HPD classifies violations

Mold on tile or grout does not count toward these violations. In common areas, 30 square feet or more in one room or one hallway level, or 50 square feet in total, is a hazardous violation; less is non-hazardous. Violations escalate: an uncorrected or falsely certified Class A mold violation becomes Class B if the mold is still there, and an uncorrected Class B can become Class C after a reinspection. HPD can postpone a Class C deadline by up to 14 days if you show prompt action and a real obstacle, such as no access to the apartment, but not when the C came from an uncorrected B.

Certifying a mold or pest violation as corrected requires an affidavit that you followed the required work practices. See how to certify HPD violation corrections for the process.

Owner duty checklist

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Related duties

Bedbugs are pests under this law, and they have their own disclosure and filing rules; see bedbug disclosure and annual filing. Tenants' side of the same rules is covered in mold tenant rights and pests and your landlord's duty. To see whether a building has open mold or vermin violations, search it on Roofy's building lookup, and keep January inspections on your landlord compliance calendar.

This guide is general information, not legal advice. HPD's Code Enforcement staff can answer questions about specific violations.