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As Temperature Drops, Heat Complaints Already Rising

Paul Stremple

Paul Stremple

— 2 min read
As Temperature Drops, Heat Complaints Already Rising
park-slope-fall-leaves
Fall weather and turning leaves also means heating season for Brooklyn residents (Donny Levit / BKLYNER)

It’s officially cold in Brooklyn! The high temperature is expected to top out at barely 50°  today and many residents will be relying on their heaters to stay warm. But what is your landlord’s responsibility when it comes to providing heat?

According to the city, owners of residential buildings must provide heat and hot water to all their tenants.

Hot water must be available year-round, reaching a minimum temperature of 120° F.

Heat Season, which runs from October 1 to May 31, has a couple rules for landlords to follow:

  • During the day, from 6 am to 10 pm, if it’s below 55° F outside, the building must be at least 68° F inside
  • At night, from 10 pm to 6 am, no matter how cold it is outside, the building must be at least 62° F inside

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Just over two weeks into heating season, and some buildings have already racked up quite a few heat-related complaints. The four locations on the map have the most complaints, but across Brooklyn, more than one thousand complaints have already been made.

If you’re filing a heat complaint, the city wants you to first attempt to resolve the issue with your landlord or building management, but if that doesn’t work, you can either call 311 or file a complaint online.

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