P-4Pipes · rent-stabilized repairs
Repairs and heat in a rent-stabilized apartment
Rent-stabilized tenants who lack repairs, heat or hot water can file a DHCR complaint on the right form, and any rent cut comes only by DHCR order; an HP action in Housing Court is the other legal route.
Which building is yours?
- Prewar walk-upPrewar walk-ups can mix rent-controlled, stabilized and market flats; check your registration, then use DHCR forms with an HPD report
- Brownstone or row houseDHCR forms fit only a rent-regulated unit; otherwise go to the owner, then 311 and, if needed, Housing Court
- Co-op or condo high-riseIn a converted co-op, the corporation and its managers must still give stabilized tenants every required service
- Two-family houseOnly a rent-regulated unit uses the DHCR forms; any rented floor can still use 311 and an HP action for heat
- New-build condoSome newer rentals carry stabilization through 421-a or other tax programs; your registration copy settles it
Which building do you live in, and is your apartment actually rent-stabilized? Those two questions decide whether the state’s DHCR forms are open to you at all. A rent-stabilized tenant has every tool any New York City renter has, 311, HPD inspections and Housing Court, plus a DHCR complaint that can end in a rent reduction ordered by the state. The routes are set out below by building and by form. If you rent in a prewar walk-up or a converted co-op high-rise, read on; in a two-family house or brownstone, check your status first.
Is your apartment rent-stabilized?
Your owner must tell you each year. DHCR says owners file an annual registration giving each stabilized unit’s April 1 rent and must give tenants a copy of their own apartment’s registration. According to DHCR’s overview, rent stabilization generally covers buildings built after 1947 and before 1974, apartments that left rent control, and buildings receiving J-51, 421-a or 421-g tax benefits, each program with its own rules. Rent control generally applies to buildings built before 1947. If no registration copy has ever reached you, ask the owner in writing or ask DHCR.
What must the owner keep providing?
Required services do not stop because a building is old or the rent is low. DHCR lists repairs, heat, hot and cold water, maintenance, painting and janitorial services, elevator service and some extras the owner has offered, such as a garage. City heat and hot water minimums (see heat season rules) apply on top.
One limit on tenants: since the owner must maintain the equipment, a rent-regulated tenant cannot replace it without the owner’s permission. Report the problem rather than replacing a radiator valve or an appliance yourself. For the general split of duties, see who fixes what.
Which DHCR form fits the problem?
The form depends on whether the problem is in your apartment or the whole building. For heat or hot water, DHCR needs a report from a city agency, in New York City an HPD inspection after a 311 complaint, so file with 311 first, as described on filing a heat complaint.
| Form | Use it for | What to attach or know |
|---|---|---|
| RA-81 | Decreased services in your own apartment, such as a leak or broken fixture | DHCR recommends, but does not require, telling the owner in writing first |
| RA-84 | Building-wide problems, including heat or hot water for the whole building | Heat and hot water claims need an HPD (or other agency) report |
| HHW-1 | No heat or no hot water in one apartment | Also needs the city agency’s report |
| RA-22.1 | The owner hasn’t complied within 30 days of a service reduction order | Filed after an order already exists |
DHCR treats some conditions as first-priority emergencies, among them no heat or hot water apartment-wide (a violation is required), no water, no electricity and cascading water leaks. DHCR’s own Rent Connect site also takes individual complaints online.
Legend: the numbers on this plate
- 30 daysowner’s window to comply with a DHCR service order before the tenant files RA-22.1DHCR FS-14 rent reductions
- 1947–1974construction years rent stabilization generally reaches, plus ex-rent-control unitsDHCR FS-01 overview
- 4conditions DHCR handles first: building-wide no heat or hot water, no water, no power, cascading leaksDHCR FS-14 priorities
When does the rent go down?
Only when DHCR orders it. If DHCR finds the owner failed to provide heat or hot water, its FS-15 says a rent reduction shall be ordered for a rent-stabilized apartment. The cut is generally the most recently charged lease guideline adjustment, runs from the first of the month after DHCR serves the complaint on the owner, and lasts until DHCR issues a restoration order. While it stands, the owner cannot collect rent increases.
The tenant pays the reduced rent only in line with that order; FS-14 says the tenant "is also authorized to reduce their rent in accordance with the order." Nothing in DHCR’s rules lets a tenant set their own reduction. You also cannot collect both a DHCR reduction and another abatement for the same conditions.
What is an HP action?
An HP action is a case a tenant brings against the owner in Housing Court to force repairs and essential services such as heat and hot water. Per HPD’s Housing Court page, you begin one with the clerk, and a lawyer is optional, and Housing Court Answers runs information tables in each borough’s Housing Court except Staten Island. Any tenant can bring one, stabilized or not.
HPD’s tenant guide calls an HP case a safer and faster way to deal with housing problems than withholding of rent, which HPD cautions may lead to eviction.
Can repeated outages count as harassment?
Yes, they can. 311 lists repeated interruptions of essential services such as heat, water or electricity as an example of tenant harassment, and DHCR says owners found guilty of harassing rent-regulated tenants can lose lawful rent increases and face fines. Keep a dated log of every outage and every report.
Look up your own building
- HPDONLINE · heat and hot water violations HPD has issued at your address, which DHCR needs
- 311 · start the heat or hot water complaint that leads to an HPD report
- DHCR Rent Connect · file and track a DHCR complaint online
- HPD Housing Court · how to begin an HP action
Questions people ask
Can a rent-stabilized tenant lower the rent when the heat is out?
Not on their own. A rent reduction for missing services comes only through a DHCR order, and then only as that order says. HPD warns that withholding rent may lead to eviction.
Does DHCR need an HPD violation for a heat complaint?
Yes. DHCR’s heat and hot water form needs a report from the city agency finding the lack of heat or hot water, which in New York City means an HPD inspection after a 311 complaint.
Which form covers a leak in only one apartment?
RA-81, for decreased services in a single apartment. Building-wide problems go on RA-84.
Can a tenant get a DHCR reduction and a court abatement for the same problem?
No. DHCR says a tenant cannot receive both a DHCR rent reduction and another abatement or credit for the same conditions.
Does a co-op conversion end the owner’s duty to stabilized tenants?
No. General Business Law §352-eeee keeps the duty alive after conversion: the corporation or condo association, through its managers, serves stabilized tenants on equal terms.
How this plate was drawn
Drawn from DHCR’s FS-01, FS-14 and FS-15 and its essential services page, HPD’s Housing Court page and tenant guide, and 311’s heat complaint page, checked 11 Nov 2026. This page is general information, not legal advice; Housing Court Answers and DHCR can speak to a specific case. We have not covered rent overcharge claims, rent-controlled apartments in detail, or NYCHA, which has its own complaint channel.
Sources
- NYS HCR — FS-01 rent regulation overview · which buildings are stabilized, registration copies, harassment · checked 11 Nov 2026
- NYS HCR — FS-15 heat and hot water · RA-81, RA-84, HHW-1 and the agency report rule · checked 11 Nov 2026
- DHCR — FS-14, reductions for decreased services · reduction size, timing, RA-22.1 · checked 11 Nov 2026
- NYS HCR — essential services · required services, equipment rule, converted buildings · checked 11 Nov 2026
- HPD — Housing Court · starting an HP action · checked 11 Nov 2026
- HPD — ABCs of Housing tenant guide · HP case versus withholding rent · checked 11 Nov 2026
- NYC311 — heat or hot water complaint · harassment examples · checked 11 Nov 2026
Plate P-4 · revised 11 Nov 2026