NYC Local Law 55 & Article 32 Mold Rules for Landlords
· NYC Mold Removal Services
** NYC property owners face \$10,000 HPD fines for mold. Learn the Local Law 55 timeline, Article 32 contractor limits, and how to clear a Class C violation.
What Local Law 55 and Article 32 Legally Require
NYC Administrative Code Section 27-2017 talks about homes with three or more units. This rule says the owner has to check for indoor problems like mold and pests every year. If a person renting the place tells the owner about a leak, the owner has to fix where the water is coming from in the time given by law. This helps stop mold from growing.
New York State Article 32 covers all homes and businesses in the state. The law says one company can't do both the first check and the cleanup for the same job. A licensed pro must make a work plan. A different licensed worker must follow the plan and handle the teardown.
Legal costs go up when people who own property do not keep these duties apart. Read our NYC landlord mold liability guide for the full fine schedule. The NYS Department of Labor says that when people work and get paid for both jobs at the same time, it is not allowed and the city inspectors may cancel the work. If you follow both the state's rules for who can do the work and the city's rules for how soon the job is done, you can keep yourself safe from legal trouble.
Local Law 55 Requires Proactive Annual Checks
NYC landlords cannot wait for a tenant to tell them about a wet ceiling before they do something. The NYC Housing report shows that there were over 10,500 mold violations in 2024. Many of these were because owners did not check their buildings before there was a problem. Owners have to look at all apartments and common spaces every year to spot any water damage or hidden moisture.
Owners have to look under sinks, at the roof above top floor homes, and near the window frames for any weatherseal problems. They need to repair leaks and fix any broken plaster or drywall as soon as possible. Owners must keep records of these checks every year for at least three years, since HPD will want to see them if they come back to review.
Property owners must also give each new tenant an Indoor Allergen notice when they sign the lease. This paper explains that the owner has to keep the apartment free of mold. It tells tenants how they can report water problems to management.
Timeframes To Fix A Mold Violation
The clock starts as soon as someone reports a problem or when HPD sends a notice. According to HPD Indoor Allergen Guidelines, owners could get extra charges each day. These can be $50 to $150 for not fixing unsafe problems. Most mold cases are called Class B (Hazardous) or Class C (Immediately Hazardous). This depends on how much mold you can see.
Owners have 30 days to fix a Class B condition. Class C violations need quick action. Owners must respond in 24 hours for these, and finish all repairs in 21 days. If you miss the deadline, it can start the HPD Emergency Repair Program. In this case, the city gets its own contractors to do the job. The city then sends the owner a bill, and it often costs a lot more.
Cleanup will need you to hire another person to look at the unit and write a plan for the work. This paper goes to the cleanup company. They will set up air controls and take out anything that is dirty.
How To Select Article 32 Compliant Contractors
Hiring one person or team to take care of the whole mold problem is against state law. You need to make sure the people or companies you hire each have the right, different licenses from the Labor Department.
A licensed mold expert does the checkup and air tests. They are not allowed to do any actual cleanup. What they give is a written Cleanup Work Plan that says what the project is about. This rule keeps these experts from making the issue sound bigger to increase repair costs.
A licensed Mold Cleanup Contractor follows everything in the inspector's plan. If the plan says to take out two feet of drywall past the part you can see is damaged, the contractor should do it just like that. Owners of the property can check licenses in the state's public database. This helps people stay away from fake operators.
Safety Testing Proves The Job Was Done Right
The state wants one last review before saying a cleanup job is done. The people who did the cleanup cannot say their own work is finished. A different person from outside must come back and do a Post Cleanup Assessment.
The person checking the area looks for dust, dirt, or wet spots that may be left behind. They also take air samples and see how the spore count inside matches the spore count outside. This helps make sure the barriers work. It shows that no mold spores got out into other parts of the building.
If the spore count is still too high, then the cleanup did not work. The first crew must clean again without getting paid more until it passes. A passing safety report is the only paper that lets a property owner close an open city problem and end daily fines.
Closing HPD Violations And Avoiding Fines
Taking away the mold will not by itself clear the violation from the building’s public record. Owners need to fill out and send in a formal Certificate of Correction to HPD. This is needed to stop the daily penalties.
You need to send in a signed paper from the licensed person who did the last safety look. You also need a signed note from the cleanup worker saying they followed the plan. If the safety look and cleanup jobs happened at the same time, and that breaks Article 32, HPD will not accept the fix.
Section 27-2017.9 of the NYC Administrative Code says that you must keep these records for three years. Tenants can ask for copies of these reports. If you do not give them the reports, you can get more fines.
Does Local Law 55 apply to a two-family home?
No. The rules in Local Law 55 that ask for a checkup every year are only for buildings that have three or more units. Owners who have two family homes do not have to do these checks each year. But they still need to follow NYS Article 32 when they hire people for any job that is over 10 square feet.
Can a building superintendent legally clean a small mold patch?
Yes. Building staff can clean patches of mold if they are smaller than 10 square feet. A formal mold license is not needed for small areas. But if the area is bigger than 10 square feet, there is a state law about it. A licensed Mold Cleanup Contractor must do the work to keep the people who live or work there safe.
What happens if a tenant refuses access for the annual mold inspection?
Write down every time you try to go inside. Use certified mail and written notes for this. HPD wants proof that you made these honest efforts. This is important if someone who lives there files a complaint about water or mold problems that were not fixed.
Final Words
If you combine the inspection and cleanup steps in one project, your insurance claim can be rejected right away. You may also have to pay city fines that you cannot get back. To keep your building in line with the rules, hire NYC Mold Removal.