This document provides three options for tenants in New York City to get repairs done in their apartment if the landlord does not address issues. The options are: 1) filing an HP case in Housing Court to order repairs, 2) filing a complaint with Homes and Community Renewal (HCR) to get a rent reduction until repairs are made (for rent-controlled or rent-stabilized units), or 3) withholding rent with the goal of getting repairs or credited rent in Housing Court. Each option is described, including how to initiate the process and potential pros and cons.

1. HP
(Housing
Part)
Case
in
Housing
Court
HCR
Complaint
of
Decrease
in
Services
3 Ways to Get Repairs in your Apartment
First
notify
your
landlord
in
writing
of
the
problem(s).
Send
a
letter
with
proof
of
mailing
and
save
a
copy
of
it
for
your
records.
Give
your
landlord
a
deadline
of
at
least
7-­‐10
days
in
the
future
to
complete
the
repairs.
Tell
them
that
if
repairs
are
not
completed
after
that
date,
you
will
take
further
action.
After
that,
here
are
some
legal
options
you
can
use,
each
with
its
own
pros
and
cons.
1
This
is
a
case
where
tenants
request
that
a
housing
court
judge
order
the
landlord
to
fix
all
housing
code
violations.
Pros:
• You
are
on
the
offense
• You
can
get
other
tenants
in
your
building
involved
for
greater
effectiveness.
• Faster
than
other
two
options
below
• Available
to
all
tenants
in
NYC
• If
the
repair
is
deemed
a
housing
code
violation,
the
judge
will
order
the
landlord
to
fix
it.
Cons:
• Going
to
court
costs
time
and
energy.
• If
you
are
not
a
regulated
tenant,
the
landlord
may
retaliate
and
not
renew
your
lease.
• There
is
no
monetary
compensation
for
the
time
you
went
without
repairs.
You
only
get
your
repairs
done.
How
to:
Go
to
your
borough’s
housing
court
and
bring
with
you
$45
cash
and
a
list
of
needed
repairs.
At
the
clerk’s
office,
tell
them
you
want
to
file
an
HP
Action.
The
clerk
will
give
you
forms
to
fill
out,
including
an
Order
to
Show
Cause,
a
Verified
Petition
and
an
Inspection
Request
Form.
Once
filled
in,
the
clerk
will
review
the
forms
and
schedule
an
inspection
of
your
apartment
by
the
City
and
the
judge
will
sign
the
Order
to
Show
Cause.
You
will
also
pay
the
$45
filing
fee.
If
you
cannot
afford
this,
you
can
apply
for
a
waiver
if
you
can
show
proof
of
your
low
income.
Before
you
leave
you
court,
make
sure
you
have
the
following
information:
1)
your
inspection
date
by
the
city;
2)
your
first
court
date
and
3)
instructions
on
how
to
serve
your
landlord
a
copy
of
the
court
papers.
Please
note,
that
service
of
the
papers
on
your
landlord
is
very
important.
Your
case
will
be
dismissed
if
you
do
not
follow
the
instructions
of
the
court.
Homes
and
Community
Renewal
(HCR),
a
state
agency,
helps
enforce
repair
rights
for
rent-­‐controlled
and
rent-­‐stabilized
tenants.
If
HCR
finds
that
your
landlord
has
decreased
services
in
your
apartment,
they
will
order
you
to
pay
a
lower
rent
until
the
landlord
certifies
that
he
has
corrected
all
of
the
conditions
found
by
HCR.
Pros:
• Avoid
the
costs
of
court.
This
is
an
administrative
proceeding
where
everything
is
done
by
paperwork
through
the
mail.
• You
may
be
entitled
to
a
rent
reduction.
Cons:
• Very
slow
process
(though
a
special
process
exists
for
emergency
conditions)
• Not
available
for
market-­‐rate
or
NYCHA
tenants.
2

2. Withholding
Rent
3
How
to:
Call
311.
Have
an
HPD
inspector
come
to
your
apartment
and
record
the
violations.
Then,
Visit
http://www.nyshcr.org/Forms/Rent/#tenant
and
download
and
print
form
RA-­‐81,
“Application
For
a
Rent
Reduction
Based
Upon
Decreased
Service(s)
–
Individual
Apartment,”
or
the
similar
RA-­‐84
for
building-­‐wide
issues.
You
can
also
request
one
at
1-­‐866-­‐ASK
DHCR.
You
must
first
notify
your
landlord
of
your
issues
before
filing
this
complaint.
With
your
complaint,
attach
a
print
out
of
the
violations
at
www.nyc.gov/hpd.
After
filing,
HCR
will
give
your
landlord
time
to
respond
and
if
the
situation
is
not
fixed,
they
may
send
their
own
inspector
to
your
apartment
to
confirm
your
issues.
They
will
reduce
your
rent
which
will
stay
frozen
until
the
landlord
successfully
proves
to
HCR
that
he
has
repaired
the
conditions
in
your
apartment
or
buildings.
A
tenant
withholds
his/her
rent
based
on
the
theory
that
the
landlord
is
not
entitled
to
the
full
rent
if
the
tenant
is
not
receiving
the
full
value
of
the
apartment.
Pros:
• All
tenants
in
NYC
can
use
this
method
to
get
repairs
• Unlike
an
HP
proceeding,
you
can
fight
to
get
some
rent
credited
to
you.
Cons:
• Your
landlord
will
sue
you
for
nonpayment,
leading
to
a
case
in
Housing
Court
• You
could
end
up
on
the
Tenant
Screening
List.
This
is
a
service
that
potential
future
landlords
can
access
to
see
if
you
have
been
a
delinquent
tenant.
• A
landlord
can
choose
to
not
bring
a
case
against
you
for
several
months,
meaning
you
will
have
to
save
all
that
rent
in
the
meantime
and
may
be
suffering
with
those
conditions
while
waiting
for
the
nonpayment
case
to
start.
• If
you
do
not
save
all
your
rent,
you
will
be
at
risk
of
eviction.
For
example:
if
you
only
saved
50%
of
the
total
rent
and
the
judge
decides
that
you
are
only
entitled
to
a
10%
rent
credit,
you
will
have
to
come
up
with
the
missing
40%
of
the
rent
within
a
short
amount
of
time.
• No
law
guarantees
your
right
to
deduct
repair
costs
from
your
rent,
so
you
are
taking
a
chance
that
the
judge
will
rule
in
your
favor
in
Housing
Court.
How
to:
First,
it
is
worth
noting
that
while
withholding
rent
may
be
effective,
it
is
risky
because
there
is
no
law
in
NYC
that
guarantees
your
right
to
automatically
deduct
repair
costs
from
your
rent.
Send
your
landlord
a
letter
(certified
mail,
return
receipt
requested)
stating
that
you
are
withholding
rent
because
the
landlord
has
failed
to
respond
to
your
requests
for
repairs
and/or
services
(list
exactly
your
problems).
They
will
eventually
start
a
Nonpayment
case
against
you
in
Housing
Court.
Be
sure
to
save
the
money
that
you
would
have
paid
for
rent,
because
you
will
end
up
paying
at
least
most
of
it
eventually.
If
you
don’t
save
all
of
it,
that
could
count
against
you
in
court.