What must New York City landlords do for the annual window guard and lead paint notice?
If you own a New York City building with three or more apartments, you must send every tenant the Health Department's annual notice between January 1 and January 15, asking whether a child 10 or younger lives there and, in pre-1978 buildings, whether a child under 6 does. Tenants return it by February 15. Then you install or repair window guards where a young child lives, inspect units that did not answer, and report units you could not get into by March 1.
The calendar, step by step
| When | What you do |
|---|---|
| At every new lease | Give the Lease Notice to Tenant (Appendix A), which asks about children 10 or younger and offers window guards |
| January 1 to January 15 | Send every tenant or occupant the Annual Notice (Appendix B). Use the pre-1978 version for older buildings; it adds the lead paint question |
| By February 15 | Tenants return the form |
| After February 15 | For units with no answer, inspect to find out whether a child 10 or younger lives there, and install or repair guards if so |
| February 16 to March 1 | Make reasonable efforts to get access. If you cannot after at least three attempts, notify the Health Department by March 1 |
| All year | Install guards when any tenant asks for them, for any reason; report any window fall within 24 hours |
Sources: NYC Health, Window Guards: Information for Building Owners; NYC Health, Annual Notice instructions for owners.
How to send the notice
Use the form on the Health Department's website or one it has approved. The owner instructions allow four ways to deliver it:
- First-Class Mail addressed to the tenant of the unit.
- Hand delivery.
- Email or text to an address or number the occupant gave you, but only with the occupant's written consent to that kind of delivery.
- Enclosed with the January rent bill, if the bill is delivered after December 15 and no later than January 16.
Keep proof of delivery and every returned form for at least two years. That file is what you show an inspector.
What each answer requires
If a child 10 or younger lives in the unit, install approved window guards, properly installed, on every window, including bathroom windows, except windows that open onto a fire escape. Public hallway windows need them too. If the building has fire escapes above the first floor but none below, leave one window unguarded as a second way out.
If a child 5 or younger lives in a pre-1978 building, the lead side of the notice applies: you must use safe work practices to repair peeling paint and other lead paint hazards. If that work is paid renovation, the federal lead-safe rules also apply, covered in our guide to EPA lead-safe certification.
Rule changes took effect January 1, 2026. A child now "resides" in a unit if the child spends 10 or more hours a week there, whether or not the child lives there. Windows opening onto balconies or terraces above the ground floor in multi-unit buildings now need fall prevention devices, and window air conditioners have added installation requirements, because many falls happen around them.
Who pays for the guards
According to the Health Department, you may charge a tenant for the guards and installation in their own apartment, but not for guards in public areas. You cannot charge a new tenant for guards already in place, or charge for new guards you choose to install during a renovation or window replacement. In rent stabilized or rent controlled apartments, the charge is a temporary surcharge capped at $10 per guard, payable at once or over one to three years, and never part of the base rent.
Example a made-up 30 unit pre-1978 building in the Bronx mails 30 notices on January 6. By February 15, 22 come back, and 2 report a child 10 or younger. The owner inspects the other 8 units, reaching 7; one tenant does not respond to three attempts, so the owner reports that unit to the Health Department before March 1. Guards go into the 2 units with children: 5 windows at a made-up $60 installed, or $300. In a market-rate unit the owner may bill that tenant for its own guards; in a rent stabilized unit the most is $10 per guard.
Running the notice cycle with DoorKeeping
DoorKeeping can email tenants, so for tenants who gave written consent to electronic delivery you can send the notice that way and keep the sent copy. Store each returned form in the property's documents, open a work order for each unit that needs guards or a follow-up visit, and send installs to your vendor by link. Ask Claude or ChatGPT which units have not returned the form, and you have the list for your February 15 inspections.
Sources
- NYC Health, Window Guards: Information for Building Owners, read Oct 30, 2026
- NYC Health, Annual Notice: instructions for owners (lead poisoning and window falls), read Oct 30, 2026
Questions
- When must NYC landlords send the annual window guard notice?
- Between January 1 and January 15 each year, to every tenant or occupant in a building with three or more apartments. Tenants return it by February 15.
- What if a tenant does not return the window guard form?
- After February 15, inspect the unit to find out whether a child 10 or younger lives there. If you cannot get access after reasonable attempts by March 1, notify the Health Department.
- Can a NYC landlord charge for window guards?
- For guards in the tenant's own apartment, yes, with limits: not for existing guards at a new tenancy or guards replaced in a renovation, and at most $10 per guard as a temporary surcharge in rent regulated units.