New York City Comptroller Brad Lander released a report Monday criticizing the city for allegedly failing to enforce heat violation laws, which he says has led to persistently cold apartments—primarily in the Bronx—and has increased the risk of structural fires.
The report, titled Turn Up the Heat, found that while the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD)—the agency responsible for enforcing the housing code—was largely effective in addressing chronically cold buildings when it initiated enforcement, it fell short in escalating heat-related complaints into meaningful actions. These include issuing violations, pursuing litigation, conducting emergency repairs, and implementing heat monitoring programs.
“The City still has not turned up the heat on landlords who leave their tenants in the cold,” Lander said in a statement when he announced the report. “Far too often, buildings remain cold year, after-year, after-year.”
The report specifically identified 901 buildings—primarily in communities of color—that had a history of persistent heat complaints but received no intervention from HPD, the agency tasked with holding landlords accountable for housing code violations.
The Comptroller’s Office linked chronically cold apartment buildings to the reliance on hazardous electric space heaters, which have been linked to deadly fires in the Bronx—including the 2022 Twin Parks fire that claimed 17 lives. According to the report, space heaters caused approximately 50 structural fires citywide between 2022 and 2024.
The report found that the worst offenders were concentrated in the Bronx, which accounted for five of the 10 citywide community districts with the most severe heat issues. Bronx Community Districts 04, 05, 07, 08, and 09 each recorded at least five heat-related complaints per year during every NYC heat season from 2017 to 2024. Despite this persistent pattern, none of the affected buildings were ever targeted for enforcement by HPD, according to the Comptroller’s Office
The Comptroller called on HPD to “immediately escalate its enforcement mechanisms” for buildings with owners who have little regard for their tenants’ health or safety.
“If landlords are unwilling to turn up the heat, HPD must turn up the pressure, take away their ownership and give it to someone who will,” said Lander, who is also making a run for the NYC Mayor’s office in 2025.
HPD Deputy Press Secretary, Natasha Kersey told the Bronx Times that Comptroller Lander did not share his findings with HPD prior to publishing and that the agency was currently reviewing the report.
“There’s a major misconception in this report,” Kersey said in a statement. “We’ve worked tirelessly to increase awareness and ensure New Yorkers know to call us when they need help, especially during heat season. HPD’s enforcement team works diligently every heat season to ensure New Yorkers live in safe, warm homes — responding to complaints, inspecting buildings, issuing violations, and taking swift action to hold landlords accountable when they fail to meet their obligations.”
But Lander’s report said that HPD should be doing more.
The report urged HPD to leverage existing programs to take buildings away from negligent landlords who endanger tenant safety. It also called for the passage of the Housing Rescue and Resident Protection Act, a bill introduced in January by Bronx Council Member Pierina Sanchez (D-14). The legislation would create new pathways to foreclose on and rehabilitate the city’s most dilapidated buildings while ensuring protections for the vulnerable tenants who live in them.
Bronx residents like Lynda Kemp, who was featured in the report, hope the findings will push the city to take stronger action against predatory landlords.
Kemp, president of the Robert Fulton Terrace Tenant Association, represents tenants living in Morrisania on East 169th Street. Her building, operated by Fordham Fulton Realty Corporation, has at least 18 open violations for failing to provide adequate heat in 2024 and 2025, and approximately 875 total open violations since 2011, according to HPD data. The tenant association, represented by the Bronx Legal Aid Society, has sued the realty group over longstanding neglected repairs.
“We are resilient, will not be forced out, and continue to believe that a change is going to come – especially if the City uses the tools it has at its disposal to restore and/or take buildings away from landlords who leave us in cold, inadequate, and unhealthy living conditions,” Kemp said about the comptroller’s report.
Bronx elected officials also echoed the report’s conclusions about the dangers that chronically cold residential buildings pose to tenants, especially when they have to resort to electric space heaters. State Assembly Member Gustavo Rivera (D – 33) represents the district where the 2022 Twin Parks fire killed 17 people.
He said in a statement that many people in his district still live in the same heat deprived conditions that prompted his constituents to rely on electric heaters which ultimately started the tragic fire.
“No New Yorker should ever have to endure the suffering of living without heat since it is a fundamental necessity,” Rivera said. “I represent one of the districts with the highest concentrations of affected buildings with chronic heat issues and lack of code enforcement. I urge the City to consider Comptroller Lander’s recommendations including strengthening enforcement, and eliminating any barriers to fully implementing NYC’s Heat Laws.”
State Assembly Member Emerita Torres (D-85), who represents the southeast Bronx, is also advocating for stronger enforcement of heating laws, noting that her area includes one of the top 10 community districts with the worst heat issues.
“No family should have to choose between freezing in their home or risking their safety using a space heater to stay warm,” Torres said in a statement following the release of the report.
Her district, which includes parts of Soundview, Parkchester, and Castle Hill, contains 35 buildings where heat complaints and violations went unenforced for seven years. While Torres acknowledged that HPD has the authority to enforce heating laws, she urged the agency to use its power more effectively.
“Safe housing is not a luxury; it is a right, and we need to do more to protect it,” Torres said.
