The Worst Landlord Watchlist

• The Office of the Public Advocate’s Worst Landlord Watchlist (the “Watchlist”) is an information-sharing tool that enables tenants, public officials, advocates, and other concerned people to identify which residential property owners consistently flout City laws intended to protect the rights and safety of tenants. The Watchlist includes the buildings owned by New York City’s 100 worst landlords, as established by criteria described below.
• Landlords are ranked according to objective criteria based on the average number of open housing code violations issued to their buildings by the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD). The Watchlist also includes the 10 worst buildings in each borough, ranked according to the average number of open violations, regardless of ownership.
• The Watchlist also includes properties owned by the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA). Because NYCHA buildings are not issued violations by HPD, work orders are used to obtain the average number of open work orders for all NYCHA developments. The dollar amount of the “Physical Needs Assessment” per unit is also included. The Physical Needs Assessment is NYCHA’s estimate of the dollar amount needed to complete necessary repairs over the next twenty years.
• In addition, the Watchlist includes information from the City’s Department of Buildings (DOB), the Department of Finance (DOF), and the Department of Investigation (DOI). DOB data reports on the number of building code violations at a particular building. DOF data identifies buildings for which unpaid municipal debt was sold through the City’s annual tax lien sale in either 2022 or 2023 (at risk). This information is presented because inclusion in the tax lien sale is a recognized indicator of building distress. Data from DOI reports the number of evictions in New York City buildings, starting from December 2020 to the present. The DOI uses the numbers reported by New York City Marshals, who serve valid eviction notices.

Identifying the Worst Landlords

• To qualify for inclusion on the Watchlist, a landlord must own one or more buildings that meet the Watchlist selection criteria, which is a minimum threshold of the number of open HPD violations per unit (see “Methodology”). Individual buildings meeting the selection criteria are grouped according to the name of the “head officer” or “individual owner” of each building, as registered with HPD. The head officer or individual owner is deemed the property owner by HPD. Landlords are then ranked according to the total number of average open HPD violations at all of their buildings that met the Watchlist building selection criteria. The 100 landlords with the most average open HPD violations for the twelve months, inclusive, between November 2022 and October 2023 are deemed the “100 Worst Landlords in New York City.”
• Owners of multi-family residential buildings are required to register with HPD every year and provide information about the ownership of that building, including the name of the head officer or individual owner. (To fail to do so is a violation of New York State law.) It is the responsibility of building owners to ensure that the building’s registration is up to date and correct. The Office of the Public Advocate is not liable for incorrect registration information.

Buildings by Borough

• In addition to the buildings owned by the top 100 worst landlords, the top 10 buildings with the most average open HPD violations in each borough are included on the Watchlist, regardless of ownership. Buildings that meet the selection criteria are ranked according to the total average number of open HPD violations issued to that building.

About The Data

• HPD issues Housing Maintenance Code violations as part of its responsibility to enforce New York State and City laws and codes relating to housing quality and safety. HPD violations are classified according to their severity, with Class A being the least severe and Class C being the most severe.
• Only Class B and C violations are counted to calculate whether a building meets the selection criteria. Examples of Class B violations include: failing to provide self-closing public doors or adequate lighting in public areas, lack of posted Certificates of Occupancy, or failure to remove vermin. Class C violations include: immediately hazardous violations such as rodents, lead-based paint, and lack of heat, hot water, electricity, or gas.
• DOB issues violations to building owners and contractors for infractions against the City’s Construction Code, Zoning Resolution, or other applicable laws and regulations. DOB inspectors issue either ECB Notices of Violation or DOB violations.
• The DOF administers the City’s annual tax lien sale. When a property owner does not pay their property taxes, water bills, and other charges against their property, these unpaid charges become tax liens that may be sold in a tax lien sale. Each year, DOF sells tax liens for eligible properties. The list of properties for which liens have been sold is published by DOF every year.
• The DOI collects information from City Marshals including pending, scheduled, and executed evictions. Eviction data is compiled from a majority of the City Marshals but is not a complete list of all evictions.
• Information about Open Work Orders was collected from the NYCHA website on the NYCHA Metrics page.
• Information about the NYCHA Physical Needs Assessment was collected from “2017 Physical Needs Assessment (PNA) Summary by Development,” published by NYCHA on March 28, 2019. Data on the number of units per development is from NYC Open Data.

Excluded Properties

• Certain buildings may be excluded from the Watchlist if they are participating in a City-sponsored rehabilitation program. Buildings in the 7A program are excluded if they have been given a court-appointed administrator. Buildings in other HPD rehabilitation programs are excluded if they have received government financing within the past two years.
• Some buildings which may be in rehabilitation but not participating in a City-sponsored rehabilitation program may be considered for exclusion. The New York City Office of the Public Advocate ("NYCPA") will review current and previous occupancy status, property tax information (including tax arrears), information about a building’s history, including any history of tenant harassment and rent regulated status, violations issued by DOB, housing court proceedings, communications with HPD, and a visual inspection by NYCPA.

Legal Disclaimer

• Data for the Public Advocate’s Worst Landlord Watchlist is obtained from open data sources from the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), the Department of Buildings (DOB), and the Department of Finance (DOF). These agencies are solely responsible for the data’s accuracy. HPD data includes violations that were open between November 2022 and October 2023 (an average was created using each 12 months during the period) and DOB data reflects violations issued between October 1, 2020 and December 13, 2023.

Building Selection Criteria

• In order to be included on the Watchlist, a building must first meet the selection criteria. Only multi-family rental buildings are eligible. Most co-ops and condominiums are excluded, as well as rental buildings with fewer than 3 units.
• Each multi-family residential building that is registered with HPD is assigned a score based on 1) the average number of open HPD violations issued to that building and 2) the number of units in the building.
• Each building’s score is based on twelve different data points, collected over a period of twelve months (November 2022 – October 2023), in order to better reflect the conditions at a particular building throughout the year. The total number of open violations is taken for each month of the Watchlist period and then an average is calculated using those 12 data points.
• Only the more severe Class B and Class C HPD violations are factored into a building’s score. All “open” B and C violations, no matter when they were issued, are used to calculate a building’s score.
• Violations are weighted according to severity. Violations are weighted as follows: Class B = 1, Class C = 1.5.
• The number of violations that were open during each month in the data range for each building are added up, divided by twelve (to create an average number of violations across the twelve months of data collection), and then divided by the number of units in the building. This represents a building’s score. A building’s score must be higher than the following threshold to meet the building selection criteria:

  — For buildings with fewer than 35 units, the score must be three or greater.

  — For larger buildings with 35 units or more, the score must be two or greater.

Minimum Violation Criteria

• In order to be included on the 2023 Watchlist all buildings must meet the minimum violation criteria. For the final month of HPD data used to determine which buildings are included on the Watchlist, a building must have at least one open HPD violation per unit to be included.

Landlord Rankings

• Individual buildings that meet the selection criteria are grouped according to the name of the “head officer” or “individual owner” of that building, as registered with HPD, and the name of the head officer or individual owner is considered that building’s landlord. Landlords are then ranked according to the total average number of open violations at all of their buildings that met the Watchlist building selection criteria.

• In some cases, property owners may be carrying out major renovations in one or more of their buildings. The Office of the Public Advocate communicates with HPD to identify buildings that are participating in City-sponsored rehabilitation programs. If a building has received City financing for an affordable housing rehabilitation project within the past two years, it is excluded from the Watchlist. Buildings that received financing more than five years ago are included.
• Some buildings that are in rehabilitation but not participating in a city-sponsored rehabilitation program may be considered for exclusion. NYCPA will review current and previous occupancy status, property tax information (including tax arrears), information about a building’s history, including any history of tenant harassment and rent regulated status, violations issued by DOB, housing court proceedings, communications with HPD, and a visual inspection by the NYCPA.
• Landlords with properties in City-sponsored rehabilitation who wish to have those properties removed from consideration must contact the Office of the Public Advocate via email at watchlist@advocate.nyc.gov and provide all pertinent information before publication of the Watchlist. NYCPA will review such documentation, and, together with data received from the above-mentioned information sources, act in accordance with the exclusion parameters.
• NYCPA will review a landlord’s entire portfolio, not just buildings included on the 2023 Watchlist during the review process.

• A building is placed on the Watchlist if it has a sufficient average number of open HPD violations associated with it. Using data from HPD, the Office of the Public Advocate assigns each multi-family residential property registered with HPD a score based on the average number of open violations and the number of units in a building. Buildings with a score above a certain threshold are considered to have met our selection criteria. For a building to make the Watchlist, it must either be owned by one of the top 100 “worst” landlords, as determined by the total number of open violations associated with that landlord, or be among the top 10 “worst” buildings in one of the five boroughs, according to that building’s total number of open violations. For more information, please see Methodology.

I am a landlord. The Watchlist says that I am the owner of a building, but I don’t own it.

• The Watchlist uses data from HPD to determine ownership of individual buildings. An individual is listed as the owner because they are registered with HPD as the head officer or as the owner of the building. It is the responsibility of building owners to ensure that the building’s registration is up to date and correct. The Office of the Public Advocate is not liable for incorrect registration information.
• Contact HPD’s Registration Assistance Unit at:
  100 Gold Street, 6th floor, Section: E, New York, NY 10038 (212) 863-7000 register@hpd.nyc.gov

My building is vacant but is still on the list. Are vacant buildings excluded from the Watchlist?

• The Watchlist makes no distinction between buildings that are occupied or vacant. It is the responsibility of the property owner to fix and clear violations with HPD regardless of the occupancy status of a building or unit.

I have made improvements to my building and the violation counts are now lower. Will my rank on the 2023 Watchlist change?

• The 2023 Watchlist ranking is based on a building’s average number of open violations over a twelve-month period, November 2022 to October 2023. Buildings that have met the Watchlist selection criteria using that date range of violation data will not change in rank on the Watchlist.

My building is in bad shape but it isn’t on the Watchlist. Why not?

Tenants must report bad building conditions to the City. Otherwise, violations may not be issued and the property will not make the Watchlist.

• To report bad building conditions, call 311, or visit the HPD website.
• Tenants may also report problems about construction in the building by dialing 311.
• Tenants can also file a Housing Preservation action in housing court against a landlord.
• Finally, if calls to 311 fail to improve conditions, tenants may report problems to the Office of the Public Advocate: Intake

Where do I make a complaint about a housing violation?

• Call 311 to make a complaint about a housing violation. Make sure to keep the reference number of your case for follow-up. Encourage other tenants to call 311 if they are experiencing the same problem.

How do I form a tenants' association?

• Housing law protects your right as a tenant to meet with other tenants in a public space in the building. You should speak with other tenants who are facing similar problems and organize a meeting time in the building. The meeting can be advertised through fliers or posters placed in the building. At the first meeting, a representative of the association should be appointed by the group and a set of action items should be decided.

What are the laws concerning heat?

• According to The New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR), the heating season is from October 1 to May 31. During these months, if the temperature is below 55 degrees outside, the temperature in the building has to be at least 68 degrees between 6 AM and 10 PM. During the night, between 10 PM and 6 AM, the temperature must be at least 55 degrees if the temperature outside is below 40 degrees.

What are the laws concerning hot water?

• Hot water must be available 24 hours a day and 365 days a year. The hot water must be at or above 120 degrees at the tap.

Can a landlord increase my rent without renewing my lease?

• No. If you have a lease, a landlord cannot increase your rent without offering you a renewal lease. For rent stabilized tenants, the only circumstance in which a landlord can increase your rent during a lease renewal is if the DHCR grants the owner a Major Capital Improvement rent increase or the landlord carries out an Individual Apartment Improvement for your unit.

How do I find out if my apartment is rent stabilized?

• DHCR has a Rent Regulated Building Search that will allow you to enter your street address and find out whether your apartment is rent stabilized. Another resource is the Rent Stabilized Building Listing on the New York Rent Guidelines Board website.
• DHCR New York City Office Phone Number: 212-480-6700

What do I do if my landlord locks me out of my apartment?

• A landlord cannot lock you out of your apartment without first filing a court action and having a warrant for eviction issued. If your landlord threatens to lock you out or turns off essential services such as heat or electricity to intimidate you into leaving, you should initiate an Illegal Lockout Proceeding in Housing Court. You can also call your local police. Officers should demand the landlord let you back into the apartment and inform them that an Illegal Lockout Proceeding will be filed.

How do I know if I am being evicted illegally?

• A legal eviction can only be carried out by a City marshal or a sheriff with a valid court order. A landlord cannot lock you out of your apartment, turn off essential services, or remove your belongings from an apartment in an attempt to evict you. A warrant from the court has to be given to you for a landlord to begin the physical eviction process. These laws apply even if your lease has expired.

How many days do I have to prepare to leave if I receive an eviction notice?

• You have four business days before you must vacate the apartment if the notice was given to you in person. If the notice was not handed to you in person, you have six business days before you must vacate the apartment. A notice posted on the door is not a notice that has been given personally.

How do I delay an eviction?

• Contact the Landlord-Tenant Clerk’s Office at your local Housing Court as soon as possible and request an Order to Show Cause. The court order can stop an eviction, demand the landlord meet a set agreement, or bring your case back to court. Before filing for an Order to Show Cause, you complete an affidavit at the Clerk’s office that should explain why you are challenging the eviction. A Judge must sign the order to stop the eviction. The signed Order to Show Cause will contain a new court date. A copy of the order and affidavit must be delivered to the City Marshal.
• For more information on how to obtain an Order to Show Cause, see the Association of the Bar of the City of New York’s “A Tenant’s Guide to the New York City Housing Court”.