NYC mold laws: a plain-English guide for tenants, landlords and owners

The short version

In New York City, owners of buildings with three or more apartments have to keep apartments free of mold and fix the leaks and moisture that cause it, under Local Law 55. If HPD, the city's housing agency, finds mold, it issues a violation with a deadline that depends on how much mold there is: 90 days for a small patch, 30 for more, and 21 for the most. In buildings with 10 or more apartments, any mold job over 10 square feet has to be done by New York State licensed professionals, under Local Law 61. Tenants should tell the landlord in writing first, then call 311 if nothing happens.

The rest of this guide explains each rule, who it covers and what it asks for. If you're short on time, start with the chart below and the section that matches your situation.

Which rules apply to your building

NYC's mold rules depend mostly on the size of the building. Local Law 55 sets the everyday duties for apartment buildings. Local Law 61 decides who is allowed to do larger mold jobs. New York State's licensing law applies everywhere in the state, to mold contractors hired for jobs over 10 square feet.

Find your situation

• My landlord won't fix the moldHow to report it, what HPD does, and your rights as a tenant.
• I got an HPD mold violationClasses, deadlines, paperwork and what happens if you miss the date.
• I own or manage a buildingYearly inspections, getting apartments ready between tenants, lease notices and safe work practices.
• It's a big job in a big buildingWhen licensed professionals and DEP filings are required.
• I'm buying, selling or rentingWhat sellers and landlords have to disclose, and what they don't.
• I live in NYCHAWho to call, repair targets, and where to go if nothing happens.

Local Law 55: the Asthma-Free Housing Act

Covers:

Buildings with three or more apartments

In force since:

January 2019

Enforced by:

HPD, and the Health Department for tenants with asthma

Local Law 55 of 2018 is the city's main mold law for apartment buildings. It treats mold and pests in an apartment as a condition dangerous to health, and it makes the owner responsible for preventing them and fixing them, along with the leak or moisture problem underneath. A year later, the City Council made some of the owner's duties firmer with Local Law 51 of 2019. HPD enforces it in buildings with three or more apartments.

The NYC Health Department says the duty to keep a home free of mold also applies to buildings of any size, including one- and two-family houses, when a tenant has been diagnosed with moderate or severe persistent asthma. In that case a doctor can ask the Health Department for a free home inspection, and if the inspection finds a problem, the Health Department can order the owner to fix it within 21 days.

Two kinds of homes are left out of HPD's part of the law: co-op and condo apartments lived in by their owner or the owner's family, and NYCHA apartments.

What owners have to do

• Inspect every year. Check each occupied apartment and all common areas for mold and pests at least once a year, and sooner when a tenant complains or asks for an inspection, when HPD issues a violation, or when the owner knows or should know there is a problem.
• Fix the cause, not just the stain. The law calls the leak, water infiltration or other moisture condition behind the mold the "underlying defect," and the owner has to fix it.
• Prepare vacant apartments. Before a new tenant moves in, the owner has to fix any visible mold, pests and underlying defects, clean and vacuum any carpet and furniture the owner provides, and certify in writing to the new tenant that this was done.
• Give tenants the notice. Every lease has to include an HPD-approved notice of the owner's and tenant's duties, and the owner has to give the tenant the Health Department's Local Law 55 fact sheet on mold and pests.
• Use safe work practices whenever mold is cleaned up, as described below.

The owner's duty covers mold hidden inside wall cavities as well as mold you can see, and an HPD violation can be based on visible mold behind furniture. Mold on bathroom tile or grout, though, is never an HPD mold violation: both the Housing Maintenance Code and HPD's rules exclude it. A tenant also can't sign away these protections: any agreement to waive them is void.

Safe work practices

Owners and their staff may fix mold without licensed professionals on any job under 10 square feet. They may also take on bigger jobs in buildings with fewer than 10 apartments, unless the building is on a lot with 25,000 square feet or more of non-residential space. In buildings with 5 to 9 apartments, state law limits those bigger jobs to the owner, the managing agent and full-time staff, and anyone else needs a state mold license. When they do the work themselves, the law still sets out how it has to be done. In plain terms, the owner or their staff must:

1. Fix the leak or other moisture source.
2. Remove or cover furniture and belongings in the work area.
3. Keep dust from spreading, for example by sealing the area off with plastic sheeting, misting surfaces before disturbing them, and using HEPA-filtered tools.
4. Clean mold off surfaces with soap or detergent and water.
5. Throw away materials that can't be cleaned properly.
6. Bag the plastic sheeting, cleaning tools and contaminated materials in sealed, heavy plastic bags and throw them away.
7. Clean up leftover dust with wet methods or a HEPA vacuum.
8. Leave the area dry and visibly free of mold, dust and debris.

If an owner skips these steps when correcting a mold violation, the civil penalty is $500 a day for each violation, counted from the original correction date, up to $10,000.

HPD mold violations: classes and deadlines

Order number:

550

Deadlines:

90, 30 or 21 days

Certify:

On paper, not online

When an HPD inspector finds mold in an apartment, the violation's class depends on how much mold is in a single room. The class sets how long the owner has to correct it, counted from the date the owner is officially given ("served") the violation. If HPD mails the notice, it counts as served five days after the mailing date. Common areas like hallways and laundry rooms are measured differently and never go above Class B.

From complaint to violation

After a tenant files a mold complaint, the law gives HPD 30 days to inspect and 10 more days to serve any violation. From October through May, HPD can take longer to inspect when it is busy. If HPD misses its own deadlines, the violation still stands. The owner isn't told the date of the inspection in advance.

Certifying the correction

Once the work is done, the owner certifies the correction to HPD, no later than five days after the correction date. Only the registered owner, a registered officer or director of a corporate owner, or the registered managing agent can sign it, under oath. HPD's Clear Violations page says mold violations can't go through its online eCertification system, so the certification goes in on paper. It has to include an affidavit saying the safe work practices were followed, and the other documents depend on the building:

• Fewer than 10 apartments, or a Class A violation in a larger building: the certification is enough if the owner or their staff did the work. If a contractor did it, add copies of the contractor's licenses.
• 10 or more apartments, Class B or C: the certification plus an affidavit of mold assessment, an affidavit of mold remediation, copies of both licensed contractors' New York State licenses, and both contractors' DEP filing receipts.

When an owner certifies, the tenant gets a notice in the mail and can challenge it. For Class B and C mold violations in an apartment, the law requires HPD to do a final inspection to confirm the fix, so expect the violation to stay open until HPD reinspects.

When the deadline passes

An uncorrected violation gets worse rather than going away. If a Class A violation isn't certified in time and the mold is still there, it is upgraded to Class B. A Class B violation is upgraded to Class C if it isn't certified in time and an HPD reinspection within 70 days of the certification date still finds the mold. A false certification also leads to an upgrade.

For a Class C violation, the owner can ask for up to 14 more days. The request has to be made in the five days before the correction date, and it isn't allowed when the Class C started out as a Class B that was upgraded. Once the deadline has passed, the violation comes off only after an HPD inspection finds it corrected. Owners usually ask for that inspection by filing a Dismissal Request with a fee and the right mold affidavit. Since July 1, 2026, HPD says all Dismissal Requests should go directly to its Central Violations Administration Unit at 345 Adams Street in Brooklyn.

If an owner doesn't fix a Class C condition, HPD can send its Emergency Repair Program to do the work and bill the owner through the Department of Finance. Unpaid charges become a tax lien on the property. In fiscal year 2025, HPD completed 650 mold emergency repair jobs, at an average cost of $2,089 per apartment.

Certifying a violation as fixed when it isn't carries a civil penalty of $2,000 to $10,000 for each false certification. It is also a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of up to $1,000, up to a year in jail, or both.

Local Law 61: licensed work in larger buildings

Covers:

10+ apartments, or 25,000+ sq ft of non-residential space

Applies to:

Mold jobs over 10 square feet

Enforced by:

NYC DEP

Local Law 61 of 2018, which took effect on January 1, 2019, decides who may do bigger mold jobs. It covers buildings with 10 or more apartments, and buildings on a zoning lot with 25,000 square feet or more of commercial, office, retail, storage or factory space. NYCHA buildings are not covered.

In those buildings, mold assessment and remediation on more than 10 square feet has to be done by people licensed under New York State's mold law. The owner, the managing agent and their employees are not allowed to do it themselves, whether or not HPD has issued a violation. The DEP also points out that hiring a contractor from the state's list doesn't protect the owner or the contractor from a violation if the work isn't done properly.

The law's line is "more than 10 square feet," but the city's own guidance starts at 10. The Health Department's Local Law 55 fact sheet says owners of buildings with 10 or more apartments must use licensed professionals to clean 10 or more square feet of mold, and HPD's certification guide says the same for jobs of 10 square feet or more, with or without a violation. In practice, plan on licensed professionals from 10 square feet up.

The two DEP filings, and the work in between

1. At least 2 business days before work:The licensed remediator files a notice with the DEP, with a copy of the mold remediation work plan.
2. During the work:No filing. Remediation follows the plan, including containment where the plan calls for it, with the state license posted at the site.
3. Within 7 days of the post-remediation assessment:After checking the finished work, the licensed assessor files the post-remediation assessment with the DEP.

Two timing details catch people out. The first notice is due "no later than two business days" before remediation starts, which over a weekend is more than two calendar days. The second is due within seven days of completing the post-remediation assessment, not seven days from the end of remediation. When a court orders the work done within 30 days, or a condition poses an immediate risk to people or property, both notices can instead be filed within 24 hours after the work starts. The DEP publishes filings online.

Penalties under the law go up to $1,000 for a first violation, $5,000 for a second and $10,000 for each one after that. For building owners the cap can be higher, set by the building's floor area.

New York State's mold law

Law:

Labor Law Article 32

In force since:

January 1, 2016

Enforced by:

NYS Department of Labor

Separately from the city's rules, New York State licenses the people who do mold work, everywhere in the state. A mold "project" under state law is assessment, remediation or abatement of an area greater than 10 square feet, not counting routine cleaning. Anyone doing that work, or advertising it, needs the state mold license for their role. The Department of Labor issues five: for mold assessors, mold assessment contractors, mold remediation contractors, abatement worker supervisors and abatement workers. A copy of the license has to be posted at the work site.

For a licensed project, the assessor gives the client a written remediation plan before work starts, covering the areas, the methods, the protective equipment, how occupants will be told and what counts as clean, and where possible the moisture source behind the mold. When the work is done, a licensed assessor checks it and issues a written clearance report if it passes.

The state law has exemptions, including a residential property owner working on their own property and, in some cases, an owner's own employees. In NYC buildings covered by Local Law 61, the city's rule still bars owners and their staff from jobs over 10 square feet. The Department of Labor also notes that finding mold doesn't, by itself, create a legal duty under state law to get an assessment. If you hire someone for a job over 10 square feet, they have to be licensed. Fines run up to $2,000 for a first violation and up to $10,000 for each one after that. You can look up a contractor's license, or file a mold complaint, on the Department of Labor's mold program site.

If you rent: reporting mold and your rights

Mold in a rental apartment is the owner's job to fix. Here is the order HPD recommends, and what each step does.

1. Tell the landlord in writing. HPD tells tenants to contact the owner or managing agent first. If they don't respond, write a letter that describes the problem and asks for repairs by a set date, and send it by certified mail to both the owner and the management company. Keep a copy of the letter and a record of every time you asked, because it helps if the matter goes to court.
2. Call 311. If the mold isn't fixed, file a complaint by calling 311, through 311 Online or in the 311 app. You get a service request number you can use to track the complaint. HPD will try to reach the managing agent and call you back. If the problem is still there, HPD will send an inspector.
3. Go to Housing Court if you need to. An HP action is a case that tenants bring in Housing Court to make a landlord do repairs, and you don't need a lawyer to start one. Court staff help you fill out the papers, you can ask for an inspection before the court date, and a judge can order the owner to make the repairs by a set date. HPD says this is a safer and faster route than withholding rent, which may lead to an eviction case.

New York State law also protects you. Every residential lease in New York, written or spoken, includes a promise that the apartment is fit to live in and free of conditions dangerous to health. This is called the warranty of habitability, and no lease clause can take it away, though it doesn't cover damage the tenant caused. Another state law protects tenants who complain in good faith to the landlord or to an agency. If, within a year of the complaint, the landlord tries to evict, refuses to renew the lease or raises the rent unreasonably, the law presumes it's retaliation. That protection doesn't apply in owner-occupied buildings with fewer than four apartments.

Rent-stabilized and rent-controlled tenants have one more option. They can file a complaint with the state's Division of Housing and Community Renewal, on form RA-81 for a problem in the apartment or RA-84 for a building-wide problem, and the agency can reduce the rent until the repairs are made. For free advice, call Housing Court Answers at 212-962-4795, or call 311 and ask for the Tenant Helpline.

If you live in NYCHA

NYCHA residents report mold to NYCHA, not to HPD. Call the Customer Contact Center at 718-707-7771 or use the MyNYCHA app, and NYCHA will schedule an inspection. Inspections and repairs are free. NYCHA says it makes its best efforts to finish simple mold repairs within 7 days and complex ones within 15 days, though bigger work like a roof replacement can take longer.

If you've already reported mold or a leak and it still isn't fixed, you can submit a concern at on.nyc.gov/submit-concern or call the court-appointed Ombudsperson Call Center at 1-888-341-7152.

Buying, selling and renting: what has to be disclosed

Selling a house. Most sellers of one- to four-family homes in New York have to fill out a property condition disclosure statement and give it to the buyer before the buyer signs a contract. Co-op and condo apartments aren't covered. The form asks whether the property has been tested for indoor mold, with the report attached if so, and separately asks about rot or water damage. It doesn't ask the seller to say whether there is mold, so if mold matters to you, an inspection before you sign is the way to find out.

Renting an apartment. Since June 2023, every New York lease has to say whether the home is in a flood zone and disclose any past flood damage the landlord knows or reasonably should know about. Mold isn't part of that disclosure. In NYC buildings with three or more apartments, though, Local Law 55 has the owner certify in writing to each new tenant that the apartment was made free of visible mold before they moved in.

What the law doesn't say

There is no legal limit for mold in New York. The EPA says no federal limits have been set for mold or mold spores, and the state's mold law sets licensing and work standards, not a number. That's why a lab report can't tell you whether an apartment is "legal." NYC's rules work by the area of visible mold and the moisture behind it, not by spore counts.

The law also doesn't require a mold test before mold is fixed. Testing has real uses, like confirming that a cleanup worked, but if you can see the mold, the next step is fixing it. Our guide to types of mold in NYC homes explains when a test is worth it.