Condo Rental Rules

[dpw-ct]

I'm planning to rent an unregulated privately owned condo in NYC must

Must the landlord paint before the every new tenant arrives,

and must the rental price include heat and/or hot water can I be required to pay the submetered rates as an additional charge

[10ants]

No, there are no rules requiring him to paint.

Yes, he can make you pay for heat and hotwater if it is submetered, but I think that you are entitled to some sort of 'Truth in Heating' estimate of the costs.

[TenantNet]

Look at the Housing Maintenance Code re painting. It should be every three years or sooner if it needs it. It need not be timed to a vacancy.

As for HHW, remember that what machinery is used to provide the heat is not the same thing as how the costs are allocated. I'm pretty sure that HHW must come from a central source, not per-unit heaters, but I'd have to look that one up. Submetering usually refers to electric and gas costs independent of HHW.

Update: OK found this:

Unless they apply for an exception through DOB or HPD, any landlord (whether rent stabilized or not) is required to provide heat through a central heat system as per the Housing Maintenance Code - New York Administrative Code Section 27-2028. In addition, a rent stabilized tenant should always get the services (such as a landlord paying for heat) that were part of the initial lease for the premises.

and:

The Housing Maintenance Code §27-2028 provides, in pertinent part:

Except as otherwise provided in this article, every multiple dwelling and every tenant-occupied one- or two-family dwelling shall be provided with heat from a central heating system constructed in accordance with the provisions of the building code and the regulations of the department.

and:

Under § 27-2028, for non-central gas or electric heating to be permissible in a rental unit in NYC, the system must either (1) have been lawfully in use on July 14, 1967 or (2) “be approved by the appropriate city agencies having jurisdiction and . . installed in a structure or building erected, converted, substantially rehabilitated, or completely vacated, after” that date.

See also the (apparently identical) DOB and HPD rules governing gas-fueled space heaters (1 RCNY ch 40 [DOB]; 28 RCNY ch 25, subch A, § 25-01 et seq. [HPD]), which prescribe specific standards which may or may not be met in your case.

above from various sources.