New Yorkers in chilly apartments can request help with a tap.
The city updated its 311 app this past fall to include an option to file a heat and hot water complaint.
Last year, 311 fielded more than 200,000 heat complaints to the city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), and wanted to make sure that all New Yorkers had ability to make the complaint as the cold temperatures set in.
“The 311 mobile app allows users to quickly file complaints, store contact information, and track their service requests. Whether you’re reporting a problem via the 311 mobile app, 311 online, or by calling 311, HPD will be there to ensure that landlords comply with the law,” HPD commissioner Vicki Been said in a statement.
Between Nov. 1, 2014 and Jan. 6, 2015, the city had already received 82,146 heat-related complaints, a spokeswoman for 311 said.
Landlords are required by law to provide an indoor temperature of at least 68 degrees between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. when the outdoor temperature falls below 55 degrees between Oct. 1 and May 31. When outside temperatures fall below 40 degrees between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. during those months, the unit must have an indoor temperature of at least 55 degrees.
HPD has a team of inspectors who respond to the complaint and, if necessary, issue a violation to the landlord for not complying with the law.
