On March 3, 2025, the New York City Comptroller Brad Lander 2025 Turn Up the Heat report, an updated version to the 2023 Turn Up the Heat report, revealed that the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development has failed to adequately respond to many tenants’ heat complaints for seven winters in a row. The New York City annual heat season runs from October 1st through May 31st, where landlords must maintain adequate indoor temperatures during cold weather. Tenants who are not receiving adequate heat can file complaints with 311 to alert the Department of Housing Preservation and Development.
Since 2023, there have been 50 fires caused by space heater use, often as a result of residents trying to compensate from the lack of proper heating in their homes during the colder months. The 2023 Turn Up The Heat Report identified that, between 2017 to 2021, tenants across 1,283 buildings complained of a lack of heat several times each winter. In the 2025 Turn Up The Heat Report, 901 of those 1,283 buildings still have a lack of heating and 20 percent of these buildings had had no intervention from the City Department of Housing Preservation and Development for the entire seven-year period from 2017-2024.
Tenant complaints about insufficient heat and hot water surged by 203,920 annually in the 2025 report compared to 2023. The five community districts with the most heat-related complaints and the five with the most violations issued both have an average population of approximately 90 percent people of color.
The Comptroller’s office included the following three recommendations in the 2025 Turn Up the Heat report to combat the persistent heat issues. One recommendation was to expand the 7A Program and appoint non-profit administrators for dangerous buildings. Second, enable non-profits to acquire and fix buildings with chronic heat problems through funding the Neighborhood Pillars Program. Third, pass Intro 1063-2024 (HRRPA) which would allow the City to foreclose on unregulated properties and protect tenants.
New York City Comptroller Brad Lander said, “The City still has not turned up the heat on landlords who leave their tenants in the cold. Far too often, buildings remain cold year, after-year, after-year. 901 buildings—primarily in neighborhoods in the Bronx—have not had heat for seven years, causing tenants to turn to space heaters or running up gas bills that can pose serious risks of fires like the Twin Parks fire.”
By: Chelsea Ramjeawan (Chelsea is the CityLaw intern and a New York Law School student, Class of 2025.)