§ 25-101 Owner's Right of Access and Requirements for Notification.
RCNY § 25-101
(a)(1) Owner to give notice. Where an owner or his or her representative seeks access to a dwelling unit, suite of rooms or to a room, under the provisions of § 27-2008 in order to make an inspection for the purpose of determining whether such places are in compliance with the provisions of the multiple dwelling law or the Administrative Code, such owner or representative shall notify the tenants not less than twenty-four hours in advance of such time of inspection.
(2)Where an owner or his or her representative seeks access to make improvements required by law or to make repairs to a dwelling unit, suite of rooms or to a room, such owner or representative shall give written notice to the tenant not less than one week in advance of the time when the improvements or repairs are to be started, except where otherwise provided in paragraph (3) of this subdivision.
(3)Where an owner or his or her representative seeks access to make repairs (i) that are urgently needed to a dwelling unit, suite of rooms or a room, as in the case where a class C violation of the Housing Maintenance Code has been issued, except where such class C violation is for the existence of a lead-based paint hazard, or (ii) in the case of an emergency where repairs are immediately necessary to prevent damage to property or to prevent injury to persons, such as repairs of leaking gas piping or appliances, leaking water piping, stopped-up or defective drains, leaking roofs, or broken and dangerous ceiling conditions, such owner or representative shall not be required to provide written advance notice, but shall be required to notify the tenant or tenants by such actions as telephone, email, or by knocking on the occupant's door at a reasonable time when he or she would be expected to be present.
(4)Where an owner or his or her representative must make a repair in a public area or other area of a dwelling that may result in an interruption of essential services such as utilities (heat, hot water, cold water, gas, electricity, or elevator) that is expected to continue for more than two hours, the owner or his or her representative shall provide written notice to the tenants by posting a notice in a prominent place within the public part of the building and on each floor of such building at least twenty-four hours prior to such interruption. However, if such interruption is not expected to continue for more than two hours or is due to emergency repairs that were not anticipated and must begin immediately, advance notice is not required, provided that notice shall be posted as soon as possible if such work continues for two or more hours. Such notice shall identify the service to be interrupted, the type of work to be performed, the expected start and end dates of the service interruption, and shall be updated as necessary. Such notice shall be provided in English, Spanish, and such other language as the owner deems necessary to adequately provide notice to the tenants. Such notice shall remain posted until the interruption of essential services interruption ends. A sample notification form is provided in subdivision (e) of this section.
(b)Notices to be in writing. Where an owner is required to give notice in advance of seeking access to a dwelling unit, suite of rooms or to a room, as required by subdivision (a) of this section, such notice shall be in writing, dated, and shall contain a statement of the nature of the improvement or repairs to be made, unless specifically stated otherwise in these rules.
(c)Authorization to be in writing. Where a representative of an owner seeks access to a dwelling unit, suite of rooms, or rooms, the authorization of the owner shall be in writing and the representative shall exhibit such authorization to the tenant when access is requested.
(d)Hours when access to be permitted. Except as provided in paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) of this section, access to a dwelling unit, suite of rooms, or rooms, shall be limited to the hours between nine antemeridian and five post-meridian, unless otherwise agreed to by the tenant. Access shall not be required on Saturdays, Sundays or legal holidays, unless otherwise agreed to by the tenant, except as provided in paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) of this section.
(e)Sample Notification Form for Interruption of Essential Services. NOTICE OF INTERRUPTION OF SERVICES Please be advised that due to repair work in the building located at _________________, there will be an interruption in the following building services: o heat o hot water o cold water o gas o electricity o elevator The interruption in service is expected to begin on ______________ and to end on ______________. The repair work is for the purpose of _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ AVISO DE INTERUPCION DE SERVICIOS Por favor tenga en cuenta que debido a reparaciones en el edificio localizado en _________________, habrá una interrupción en los siguientes servicios del edifico: o Calefacción o Agua Caliente o Agua Fria o Gas o Electricidad o Elevador La interrupción en servicio se espera comenzar en ______________ y terminar en ______________. El trabajo de reparación es para el propósito de _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ (f) For any notice provided pursuant to paragraph (4) of subdivision (a) of this section, an owner may, in lieu of posting a physical notice, instead install a digital sign that otherwise complies with such paragraph. Such digital sign must comply with the requirements of 28 RCNY § 12-01(f) and be programmed in a manner to distinguish the unique and temporary nature of the interruption of services sign from all other digital signs, provided that, if the digital sign becomes inoperable, the owner must forthwith display physical notices as described in this section until such time as the digital sign is made operable.
(g)The display of a digital sign in a prominent place within the public part of the building where other digital signs are located does not relieve an owner of the requirement set forth in paragraph (4) of subdivision (a) of this section to post a written notice of the relevant service interruption on each floor of the building. Such additional signs on each floor of the building are not required to be digital signs that comply with the requirements of subdivision (f) of this section.
(h)If an owner installs a digital sign as allowed pursuant to subdivision (f) of this section, such owner must also install a digital sign as described in 28 RCNY § 12-01(e) (notice regarding smoke detecting devices), 28 RCNY § 12-06(c) (notice regarding carbon monoxide alarm requirements), 28 RCNY § 12-09.1(f) (notice regarding natural gas detecting devices), 28 RCNY § 25-201(c) (notice regarding collection and disposal of garbage), 28 RCNY § 46-01(b) (notice regarding housing information guide), 28 RCNY § 56-03(c) (notice regarding temperature reporting device), and 28 RCNY § 59-01(c) (notice regarding bedbug infestation). (Amended City Record 7/21/2015, eff. 8/20/2015; amended City Record 1/2/2026, eff. 2/1/2026)
