No Heat in Your Rental? Tenant Heat Rights for the 2026-27 Season

If there is no heat in your rental, tell your landlord in writing right away, keep a dated log of indoor temperatures, and call your city's code enforcement line if it is not fixed. Most landlords must supply heat during a set heat season. In New York City that means 68°F by day when it is below 55°F outside.

Heat season has started in much of the country. New York City's runs from October 1 to May 31, and Chicago's began on September 15. This guide is for renters who want to know what temperature a landlord has to keep, how to report a cold apartment so it gets fixed, and where to get help with a heating bill. It also flags what renters should not do, even when the radiator has been cold for days.

Kenponet covers renting from both sides of the lease. The rules below come from city codes and federal programs, and they vary a lot by place, so check your own city or state before acting on any one number.

What temperature does a landlord have to keep a rental?

It depends on your city or state, but most heat laws set a daytime minimum around 68°F and a lower nighttime minimum. They apply during a fixed heat season, often from fall through late spring. Where you pay your own heating bill, the landlord usually still has to keep the heating equipment working.

New York City is the best-known example. The city's Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) explains on its heat and hot water information page that heat must be provided from October 1 to May 31. Between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m., when it is below 55°F outside, the inside temperature must be at least 68°F. Between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., it must be at least 62°F no matter how warm it is outside.

Chicago sets its own rules. The city's Department of Buildings says its Chicago Heat Ordinance applies from September 15 to June 1. For most buildings with central heat, the inside temperature must be at least 68°F from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. and at least 66°F overnight. Landlords face fines of $500 to $1,000 per day, per violation.

Here is how the two cities compare on the basics:

Outside big cities, heat rules usually come from a state or county housing code, or from the general "warranty of habitability." That is the legal promise, built into most leases by state law, that a rental is fit to live in. A home with no working heat in winter almost always fails it.

Hot water counts too

Hot water is part of the same rule in many places. New York City's HPD says hot water must be provided 365 days a year at a constant minimum of 120°F. Other cities and states set their own hot water rules, so a broken water heater is worth reporting the same way as a broken furnace.

A cold apartment and a cold shower often have the same cause. A building with one boiler for heat and hot water can lose both at once. Note both problems in your report, because they may be cited as separate violations.

No heat in your rental: what to do, step by step

The fastest fixes come from clear records and the right order of steps. Here is the sequence that works in most places:

After a complaint, New York's HPD tries to reach the owner, then may inspect. An inspector takes the outdoor temperature on every visit. A violation is issued only if the indoor reading is below the legal minimum for that time of day. That is why your own log matters so much.

In our experience at Kenponet, the renters who get heat back fastest are the ones who put it in writing on day one. A written record also helps later, when you are disputing deductions at move-out. Our guide to getting your security deposit back explains why dated records win those arguments too.

Stay safe while you wait for repairs

A cold apartment tempts people into risky shortcuts. The U.S. Fire Administration, part of FEMA, says in its home heating fire safety guidance that portable heaters cause only 3 percent of home heating fires but account for 41 percent of fatal ones. Keep anything that can burn at least 3 feet away, and turn the heater off when you leave the room or go to bed.

Never use a gas oven or stovetop to heat a room. Never run a generator or grill indoors. Make sure your carbon monoxide alarm works before the heat comes back on. Our fall home safety checklist covers how to test smoke and carbon monoxide alarms in a few minutes.

If the landlord tells you to run a space heater instead of fixing the system, ask who pays the higher electric bill. In units where tenants pay for power, that cost can be real. A small credit on rent is a fair request while repairs are pending.

A note for small landlords before the first cold snap

Heat complaints are cheaper to prevent than to answer. For a small landlord, one no-heat call in January can mean an emergency service fee, a city inspection and a tenant who no longer trusts you. A little work in October avoids most of that.

These are the checks worth doing before heat season starts in earnest:

Putting off a worn part rarely saves money. Our look at why delaying home repairs costs more runs the numbers on that tradeoff. If a repair will take more than a day, tell tenants in writing what is happening and when, and offer a safe temporary heat source. A clear message keeps most tenants from calling the city at all.

Help paying your heating bill

Sometimes the heat is working, but the bill is the problem. The federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), run by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, helps with this. Its LIHEAP program page says the program can help pay heating bills, prevent shutoffs, reconnect service, and repair or replace heating equipment. Renters as well as owners can apply, and each state sets its own income limits.

LIHEAP is run through state and local agencies, so you apply where you live, not to the federal government. HHS also warns that LIHEAP does not give direct grants to individuals and never charges a fee. Anyone asking for a fee to "unlock" a grant is running a scam.

To estimate what this winter may cost before you apply, see our look at winter heating costs for 2026-27 by fuel type. It shows how much the answer depends on whether your building burns gas, oil or electricity.

The bottom line for renters this winter

Heat is not a favor from your landlord. In most cities it is a legal duty during heat season, with set minimum temperatures and daily fines when it is not met. New York City requires 68°F by day and 62°F at night, and Chicago requires 68°F and 66°F.

If your apartment is cold, act on the first day. Report it in writing, log the temperatures, call 311 or your local code office, and stay safe with any space heater. Get local legal advice before you hold back rent, and look into LIHEAP if the bill itself is the problem.