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Air conditioning is now a basic human necessity in New York City... at least on paper.
A newly enacted city law will require landlords to install and maintain air conditioning units for tenants who ask for them, with enforcement kicking in by June 1, 2030. The mandate applies to both market-rate and rent-stabilized apartments and is designed to close a life-threatening gap in housing conditions as summers grow hotter and heat waves become more frequent.
The timing may feel odd given it's January, but the stakes are high. City health data shows that hundreds of New Yorkers die each summer from heat-related causes, most often in un-air-conditioned homes. Extreme heat is already the city’s deadliest climate-driven hazard and officials say that guaranteeing access to cooling is no longer optional infrastructure.
“Many people don't realize, but almost 600 New Yorkers die every single year from extreme heat,” Councilmember Lincoln Restler told Gothamist. “And the most common factor among those folks is that they lack access to cooling in the home.”
Under the law, tenants can opt in starting March 1, 2028, by formally requesting air conditioning from their landlord. Once that request is approved, building owners will have 60 days to comply. During the cooling season, which runs from June 15 through September 15, bedrooms must be kept at or below 78 degrees when outdoor temperatures exceed 82 degrees.
While landlords must cover the cost of the unit and its installation, tenants are responsible for paying the electricity bill. In rent-stabilized apartments, owners can also apply for a permanent rent increase tied to the installation, details that housing advocates say renters should understand before opting in.
Not everyone is covered equally. Public housing through the New York City Housing Authority is exempt from the installation mandate and instead must submit a “comprehensive cooling plan” by January 2028. That plan only requires cooling upgrades for 25 percent of NYCHA units by 2030, an exception that has already drawn criticism.
Landlord groups argue the law is short on specifics and long on complications. Older buildings with limited electrical capacity, landmark restrictions and rising energy costs could make compliance difficult, especially for small property owners. The legislation allows hardship waivers and deadline extensions, but those are granted in two-year increments and require formal approval.
Still, supporters frame the law as a long-overdue counterpart to the city’s century-old heating requirement. Heat became mandatory in New York City buildings in 1918. Cooling, officials argue, is simply the 21st-century update.