How Do I Force My Landlord to Fix My Apartment in Brooklyn?

Your Landlord Has a Legal Duty

Under New York Real Property Law §235-b, every residential lease includes an implied warranty of habitability. Your landlord must keep your apartment safe, clean, and fit for human living.

This isn't optional. It doesn't matter what your lease says. It applies to rent-stabilized tenants, market-rate tenants, and month-to-month tenants alike.

When landlords fail to maintain habitable conditions, tenants have legal tools to force action—and recover money for the time they suffered.

Conditions That Violate Habitability

Not every inconvenience is a habitability violation. But serious conditions that affect health, safety, or the ability to live normally qualify:

Heat and hot water issues

• No heat during heating season (October 1 – May 31)
• Inadequate heat (below legal minimums)
• No hot water at any time of year

Pest infestations

• Roaches
• Mice or rats
• Bedbugs

Water and structural problems

• Persistent leaks from ceiling, walls, or pipes
• Mold growth
• Flooding or sewage backup
• Holes in walls, floors, or ceilings

Safety hazards

• Broken locks on entry doors or windows
• No smoke or carbon monoxide detectors
• Exposed wiring or electrical hazards
• Lead paint (especially with children under 6)

Utility failures

• No gas for cooking or heat
• No electricity (when landlord-provided)
• Broken intercom or buzzer system in secure buildings

Brooklyn's older housing stock—brownstones, prewar buildings, aging multifamily homes—often means more of these problems. That history doesn't excuse your landlord from fixing them.

NYC Heat Laws: Know the Numbers

During heating season (October 1 through May 31), your landlord must maintain:

Daytime (6 AM – 10 PM): 68°F inside when outdoor temperature falls below 55°F

Nighttime (10 PM – 6 AM): 62°F inside regardless of outdoor temperature

Hot water must be available year-round at a minimum of 120°F at the tap.

If your apartment falls below these temperatures, that's a violation. Document it with a thermometer, take photos showing the reading, and file a 311 complaint immediately.

How to Document Problems

Before you file anything, build your evidence. Courts and inspectors rely on documentation.

Call 311:

• Report every condition separately
• Save the confirmation number for each complaint
• These complaints trigger HPD inspections

Request an HPD Inspection:

• Housing Preservation & Development sends inspectors to verify complaints
• Violations get classified: A (non-hazardous), B (hazardous), C (immediately hazardous)
• C violations require correction within 24 hours

Create your own record:

• Photograph and video conditions with timestamps
• Keep a written log (date, time, description)
• Save all communication with your landlord (texts, emails, letters)
• Get statements from neighbors with the same problems
• Keep copies of any repair requests you submitted

This evidence becomes essential whether you file an HP Action, defend an eviction, or seek rent abatement.

What Is an HP Action?

An HP Action (Housing Part Action) is a lawsuit you file against your landlord to compel repairs. It's heard in the Housing Part of Civil Court—the same building as Housing Court, 141 Livingston Street in Brooklyn.

What an HP Action can do:

• Order your landlord to make specific repairs
• Set deadlines for completion
• Impose civil penalties for continued non-compliance
• Award rent abatement for the period you lived with violations

Who can file:

• Individual tenants
• Groups of tenants (for building-wide issues)
• HPD (on behalf of tenants)

Where to file: Room 303, Kings County Housing Court, 141 Livingston Street, Brooklyn. Bring your documentation: 311 confirmation numbers, HPD violation reports, photos, and a list of the conditions you need fixed.

You can file without an attorney, but a lawyer can help navigate procedural requirements and maximize rent abatement.

Rent Abatement: Getting Money Back

Rent abatement is a retroactive rent reduction for the period you lived with habitability violations. Courts calculate it as a percentage of your rent based on how severely the conditions affected your living situation.

How it's calculated:

• Minor issues (intermittent problems, small leaks): 5-15% reduction
• Moderate issues (recurring pests, inconsistent heat): 15-30% reduction
• Severe issues (no heat in winter, major mold, flooding): 30-50% reduction
• Uninhabitable conditions (no utilities, structural danger): up to 100% reduction

Abatement typically runs from when you first notified your landlord (or filed a 311 complaint) through when repairs were completed.

In an HP Action, the judge can order abatement as part of the decision. In an eviction case for non-payment, habitability problems are a defense—you may owe less than your landlord claims, or nothing at all.

Habitability as an Eviction Defense

If you're being evicted for non-payment and your apartment has serious problems, the conditions become your defense.

Courts can:

• Reduce the amount of rent owed based on abatement
• Dismiss the case if conditions made the apartment uninhabitable
• Order repairs as part of any settlement

This is why documentation matters before you ever get to court. If you've been calling 311, requesting HPD inspections, and photographing problems, you walk into court with evidence. If you haven't, it becomes your word against your landlord's.

When Landlords Block Repairs

Some landlords refuse to let repair workers access apartments to fix violations. Others claim they "can't get in" when the tenant is available and willing.

If your landlord is using access as an excuse:

• Send written notice offering specific dates and times for access
• Keep copies of all correspondence
• Note any no-shows or cancellations by the landlord

Courts don't look kindly on landlords who claim they couldn't make repairs while refusing to schedule access. Your documentation proves you weren't the obstacle.

Civil Penalties Add Up

Beyond repair orders and rent abatement, landlords face civil penalties for unresolved violations:

• Class C (immediately hazardous): Up to $500/day if not corrected within 24 hours
• Class B (hazardous): Up to $250/day after the correction deadline
• Class A (non-hazardous): Up to $50/day after the correction deadline

These penalties give judges leverage. Landlords who ignore orders face compounding fines until they comply.

You Don't Have to Live Like This

Brooklyn apartments can be old. Old doesn't mean unlivable. Your landlord is legally required to maintain habitable conditions, and you have tools to enforce that obligation.

If you've been calling 311, sending repair requests, and nothing changes, it's time to escalate. Call (347) 669-3256 or visit 592 Pacific Street in Boerum Hill to discuss your options.