Cool Homes for All: What NYC Landlords Must Do by 2030

In 2025, the New York City Council passed Cool Homes for All — a law that turns cooling from a tenant amenity into a landlord obligation. By 2030, NYC landlords will have to install and maintain air conditioning for any tenant who requests it. Penalties hit $1,250 per day per violation.

Here's everything NYC landlords need to know — what the law actually requires, when it takes effect, what it costs, and what to do this year, next year, and the year after.

What the law actually says

Cool Homes for All amends the NYC Administrative Code to require building owners to install and maintain AC units for any tenant who requests them in writing. It applies to both market-rate and rent-stabilized apartments. NYCHA has a separate timeline.

The temperature requirement

Between June 15 and September 15, sleeping rooms must stay at or below 78°F whenever outdoor temperatures exceed 82°F. Living rooms aren't explicitly covered, but in practice you'll need to cool the unit's primary common space too.

Who installs and maintains

Landlords install, maintain, and inspect annually (at least 30 days before June 15). Tenants pay electricity. Replacement of broken units is the landlord's responsibility within a "reasonable timeframe."

Exemptions and waivers

Owners can apply for hardship waivers extendable in two-year increments. The bar is high — financial hardship must be demonstrable, and the waiver doesn't relieve future obligations once the hardship ends.

The timeline

The penalties

First violation: up to $1,250 per day until cured. Repeat violations on the same unit escalate. HPD issues violations the same way it issues heating violations — meaning a single tenant complaint can put a building on the radar, and the burden of proof is on the landlord.

For a 50-unit building where 8 tenants request AC and the landlord misses the 60-day deadline by two weeks: $140,000 in fines. Less than the cost of just installing the units.

What to do this summer (2026)

1. Audit your stock

Count units already cooled, by AC type. Walk-throughs work, but tenant surveys are faster. Most NYC portfolios discover 30–60% of units already have a window AC the tenant bought. That cuts your future install burden roughly in half.

2. Pilot a building

Pick one mid-size building (50–150 units) and run a "voluntary AC" program this summer — covered installs at no cost to tenants who want one. You'll learn the choke points: window types you didn't expect, COI procedures, walk-up logistics, condenser placement issues, electrical load.

3. Set up the procurement

Sign with a vendor (us, or a competitor) who can guarantee availability through 2030. Demand is going to spike — units that cost $209/mo today could be back-ordered by spring 2028. Lock pricing and capacity now.

What to do in 2027

• Run a full portfolio audit. Map every unit by AC status, window type, electrical capacity.
• Pre-procure inventory. Sign a master agreement that covers your 2028 demand.
• Train your front desk and super staff on the new process — tenants will start asking before the law requires.
• Update lease addenda to clarify electricity is tenant-paid.
• If you own pre-war: address electrical capacity upgrades that 15K+ BTU units need.

What to do in 2028

The opt-in begins March 1. Be ready to receive requests in writing and route them to your install partner. Track every request with a date stamp — the 60-day clock starts the moment the request is received. Document everything, because audit defense in 2030 will look back at 2028 records.

The economic case

Average install cost in NYC right now: $250–$450 per unit including hardware, labor, bracket, COI, and a window safety bar where required. For a 200-unit building where 60% of tenants opt in, that's about $42,000 in install costs. Spread over 8 years (typical AC lifespan) it's $5,250/year — small relative to a building's operating budget, large relative to the cost of getting it wrong.

The alternative — $1,250/day per non-compliant unit — gets expensive fast. One missed install for one season can wipe out the cost savings of having delayed.

How RentACNYC helps

Our building portal is purpose-built for Cool Homes for All readiness:

• Bulk install scheduling via CSV upload — drop in your tenant list, we generate per-tenant booking links.
• Auto-COI issuance once your building's template is on file — no per-install fee.
• Compliance tracker — fulfillment % per building, time-to-install, downloadable proof-of-compliance reports for HPD audits.
• Multi-year capacity agreements for portfolios that want price + slot certainty through 2030.
• One consolidated invoice per building, NET-30, ACH or wire, exports to QBO and Xero.

See how the building portal works or email our portfolio team for a 30-minute building audit.

Disclosure: This article is a plain-language summary, not legal advice. Always consult HPD's official rule text and your counsel for compliance specifics.