How the calendar is built
NYC rental owners face a handful of filings and tenant notices that come back every year on fixed dates. The calendar above asks the questions that decide which ones apply: how many units, when the building was built, whether any apartments are rent stabilized, whether there is a central boiler and whether you know a young child lives there. Each answer turns a rule on or off, and the tasks are sorted by due date. Every row links to the agency page we checked it against.
| When | What | Who it applies to |
|---|---|---|
| Jan 1–16 | Annual window guard and lead paint notices | Window guards: 3+ unit buildings. Lead: pre-1960 buildings with a rented unit |
| Jan 1–Feb 15 | Window guard notice reminder to occupants | 3+ unit buildings |
| Feb 15 | Notices due back; follow up on non-responses | Same as above |
| Feb 16–Mar 1 | Report units that did not return the lead notice to the Health Department | Pre-1960 buildings with a rented unit |
| Apr 1–Jul 31 | DHCR annual rent registration | Buildings with rent-stabilized units |
| Sept 1 | HPD property registration ($13 fee billed by DOF) | 3+ units, or 1–2 units without the owner or family living there |
| Oct 1 | Heat season begins (to May 31) | Rental buildings |
| Dec 1–31 | Annual bedbug report to HPD | Multiple dwellings (3+ units) |
| Jan 1–Dec 31 | Low-pressure boiler inspection, filed within 45 days | Residential buildings with 6+ families and a covered boiler |
Worked example
Take an eight-unit walk-up built in 1928 with some rent-stabilized apartments and a central boiler in the cellar. The calendar produces these dated tasks for 2027: deliver the combined lead paint and window guard notice between January 1 and 16; send the window guard reminder by February 15; collect notices by February 15 and inspect units that didn't answer; report units that didn't return the lead notice to the Health Department by March 1; file DHCR registration for each stabilized unit between April 1 and July 31; renew the HPD registration by September 1; get ready for heat season on October 1; file the bedbug report in December; and finish the yearly boiler inspection by December 31. Because the building has more than five families, the boiler is not exempt.
A two-family house where the owner lives upstairs drops most of that list. It doesn't need HPD registration, a bedbug filing or a window guard notice. If it was built before 1960 and the downstairs unit is rented, the lead paint notice still applies.
Rules worth knowing
- HPD registration matters beyond the fine. HPD says the owner of an unregistered building can't certify violation corrections or ask for a violation dismissal, and a 3+ unit building can't bring a nonpayment case in Housing Court. See our HPD registration guide.
- Window guards are required in any apartment where a child 10 or younger lives (except on windows that open to a fire escape). Tenants can ask for them even without children. The Health Department's updated rules took effect January 1, 2026; they allow the annual notice by email or text with the tenant's written consent.
- Lead paint rules presume that paint in a pre-1960 building contains lead. Read the Local Law 1 duties for turnover work and record keeping.
- Bedbug filings cover November 1 to October 31. You give tenants the receipt, or post it. See bedbug disclosure rules.
- DHCR registration reports each stabilized apartment as of April 1. More in DHCR annual rent registration.
What to do next
Larger buildings also run on multi-year cycles. Check the LL87 energy audit year, the LL152 gas piping inspection, the facade inspection cycle and your Local Law 97 exposure. To see what the city already has on file for your building, search it on Roofy's building lookup.
This is general information, not legal advice. Agencies change forms and deadlines, so confirm on the linked page before you file.