Section 8 Window Guard Requirements in NYC: Rules and Dates
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Quick answerIn New York City, as of October 2026, owners of buildings with three or more apartments must install Health Department-approved window guards in any apartment where a child 10 or younger lives or routinely spends 10 or more hours a week, in that building's public areas, and for any tenant who asks in writing. A missing guard is a class C violation with 21 days to correct. NYCHA gives Section 8 owners 21 calendar days after a failed inspection.
- 3 or more apartmentsthe buildings the law covers
- 10 or youngerthe child's age that triggers guards
- 10 hours a weektime in the apartment that counts as residing
- January 1 to 15when to send the annual notice
- February 15tenant's deadline to return it
- 21 daysto correct an HPD violation or a NYCHA inspection failure
For everything else an inspector checks, see the Section 8 inspection checklist for NYC.
Who Must Install Window Guards
The owner of any building with three or more apartments must provide, install and maintain the guards, and that includes condominium unit owners and co-op boards (Health Code 131.15).
| Situation | What the owner must do |
|---|---|
| A child 10 or younger lives in the apartment | Guard every window in that apartment |
| A child 10 or younger routinely spends 10 or more hours a week there | Same duty: the child counts as residing |
| A tenant with no children asks in writing | Install them. No reason is needed and no precondition is allowed |
| A child 10 or younger lives anywhere in the building | Guard windows in public areas: staircases, landings, lobbies, hallways, community and laundry rooms |
| One- or two-unit building, private home | Not required. The Health Department recommends guards anyway |
What it means: a grandparent who watches a grandchild after school for 10 hours a week has a child "residing" there, whether or not the child is on the lease.
Source: Chapter 12, sections 12-02, 12-05 and 12-07; Health Department owner page and tenant page.
Key pointThe Health Department's amended rules took effect January 1, 2026. They added the 10-hours-a-week meaning of "reside" and require fall prevention devices on windows that open onto balconies or terraces above the first or ground floor.
A tenant with a child cannot decline, and no occupant may obstruct installation or remove a guard. The owner may not tell a tenant that guards are optional where a child resides (Chapter 12, sections 12-05 and 12-06).
What Local Law 57 Changed
Local Law 57 of 2011 did not create the window guard duty. It wrote the duty into the Housing Maintenance Code so that HPD could issue violations for it.
- Health Code 131.15the original duty to install guards where a child 10 or younger resides, and to honor any tenant's written request.
- Chapter 12, Title 24 of the city rulesthe Health Department's detailed rules on notices, inspections, exempt windows, guard specifications and notice penalties, amended January 1, 2026.
- Administrative Code 27-2043.1 (Local Law 57)makes failure to provide, install or maintain a guard a class C immediately hazardous violation, sets 21 days to correct it, and makes HPD the only city agency that can seek a money penalty for it.
What it means: the Health Department writes the rules and HPD enforces the missing guard.
Source: Health Code Article 131 and Chapter 12, linked above; Local Law 57 of 2011, passed September 8, 2011 and approved September 27, 2011.
Which Windows Are Exempt
Guards go on every window in a covered apartment, including bathroom windows and first-floor windows, with a short list of exceptions.
| Window | Rule |
|---|---|
| Window that gives access to a fire escape | No guard. One must not be installed there |
| First-floor apartment in a building with fire escapes | One window stays unguarded as the secondary exit. The owner chooses which |
| Window opening onto a balcony or terrace | Guard required. A door to a balcony is not a window |
| Exterior sill at or below ground level, less than six inches of drop | Not required |
| Required emergency escape and rescue opening | A release device meeting ASTM F2090-21 is used in place of a standard guard |
| Window with a permanently installed air conditioner | No extra guard if the installation meets the rule (see below) |
What it means: the fire escape exemption covers only the window that leads to it, so the other windows in that room still need guards.
The Annual Notice Process
Every building with three or more apartments must send the notice to every apartment each January, whatever year the building was built. The building's age decides only which form you use.
- At lease signinginclude the Lease Notice to Tenant (Appendix A) in every new lease. With no lease, give it when the occupant moves in.
- December 15 to January 16the only period in which a notice enclosed with the January rent bill counts.
- January 1 to January 15send the Annual Notice to every apartment. The rule's text allows through January 16, but the Health Department's instructions say January 15.
- January 1 to February 15send or post a reminder that forms are due February 15 and that you must inspect any apartment that does not answer.
- February 15tenants must return the completed form.
- February 16 to March 1inspect each apartment that did not answer, to learn whether a child resides there and whether guards are in place.
- After March 1if you could not get in, notify the Health Department of each unit, with the date and method of at least three contact attempts. Its owner page has an online form for 20 or fewer units and a data file for more.
- April 1, two years laterearliest date you may discard proof of delivery and returned forms. Example: for notices due in January 2026, that is April 1, 2028.
What it means: a tenant's silence never settles the question, because the duty to find out is the owner's.
Source: Chapter 12, sections 12-03, 12-04 and 12-06; Instructions for Owners.
Which form to send
- Built before 1978the combined Protect Your Child From Lead Poisoning and Window Falls notice. It also asks about children 5 or younger for the lead paint law. The lead paint guide covers that half, including its 10-year record rule.
- Built after 1978the window guard only notice, Appendix B.
Those year labels are the Health Department's. The rule itself lets owners of buildings built before January 1, 1960 combine the notices, and no source addresses a building built in 1978.
How to deliver it
- First class mail addressed to the occupant.
- Hand delivery to the apartment.
- Email or text, only if the occupant gave the address or number and consented in writing.
- Enclosed with the January rent bill.
The notice must be in English and Spanish, plus any other language commonly spoken in the community. Use the Health Department's form or one it approved, with the wording unchanged.
Watch outKeep proof that you delivered the notice.If the Health Department asks for proof of delivery and you cannot produce it within five business days, that alone counts as evidence the notice was never given.
Approved Window Guards and Installation Requirements
Only a guard or limiting device registered with the Health Department satisfies the law. A screen, a decorative grille or an untested security bar does not.
- Registration number. die stamped where you can read it from inside the room. The approved list uses HDWG numbers for guards and HDLD numbers for limiting devices.
- Openings. no gap wider than 4½ inches above, below, beside or between the bars, and nothing a five-inch sphere can pass through.
- Strength. tested to withstand a 150-pound load.
- Height. a traditional guard in a double-hung window is at least 15 inches high.
- Stops. L-shaped stops in the tracks keep the lower sash from rising more than 4½ inches above the guard's top bar. A guard tall enough to close that gap needs none.
- Screws and frame. one-way or tamper-resistant screws, in a structurally sound frame.
- Right device. sliding, casement and pivoting windows use limiting devices that stop the window at 4½ inches.
What it means: check the stamped number against the approved list before you buy, because an unlisted guard leaves the window legally unguarded.
Source: Chapter 12, sections 12-08 to 12-10; approved window guards and limiting devices list, Rev. 07/2025.
Exterior security bars count only if they have been tested and registered, and the owner must inspect and test them every year (sections 12-04 and 12-09).
Air conditioners
A tenant with a child may not remove a guard to fit an air conditioner or use a temporary unit in its place. A window with an air conditioner needs no additional guard only when all of these are true:
- The unit is bolted into the window stool or sill with tamper-resistant one-way screws.
- No open space wider than 4½ inches remains. The owner brochure calls for rigid metal side panels that hold 150 pounds where the gap is wider.
- Two L-shaped metal stops keep the lower sash from rising more than 4½ inches above the unit.
- The owner has inspected and approved the installation.
Source: Chapter 12, sections 12-06 and 12-09; owner brochure, marked 6.20. What it means: tenants can ask you to install the air conditioner yourself, and you have to approve the installation either way.
Costs and Who Pays
The owner pays up front and installs first. Requiring payment before installation is prohibited, and Section 8 tenants are among those who do not pay out of pocket.
| Situation | Charge allowed |
|---|---|
| Guards in public areas | None |
| Rent-stabilized or rent-controlled apartment | Temporary surcharge of up to $10 per guard, never part of the base rent |
| How the tenant pays that surcharge | All at once, or in equal monthly installments over one, two or three years, starting the first of the month after installation |
| New tenant, guards already installed | None |
| Guards replaced because the owner renovated or replaced windows | None |
| Tenant moves out owing a balance | Due immediately. The owner may deduct it from the security deposit |
| Unregulated apartment | The rule allows reimbursement of actual costs after installation. No dollar figure is published |
What it means: as an example, a regulated apartment with six guards allows $60 at most (6 x $10), once.
Source: NYS HCR Fact Sheet 25, dated November 2020; Health Department owner page; Chapter 12, section 12-05.
Tenants in these groups do not have to pay, and can be reimbursed if they already did, according to the Health Department:
- Public assistance recipients
- Holders of a Section 8 certificate
- SCRIE households (HCR's fact sheet adds DRIE)
- SSI recipients
- Recipients of state payments under Section 209 of the Social Services Law
Watch outDo not collect the charge from a Section 8 tenant.HCR's 2020 fact sheet says the Human Resources Administration reimburses the owner by two-party check after the tenant submits the owner's itemized bill. Both agencies still say "Section 8 certificate", and neither NYCHA nor HPD publishes a current procedure for voucher tenants.
Section 8 Inspections and Window Guards
At NYCHA a missing or badly installed window guard is its own violation category, with a shorter deadline than ordinary repairs. It applies in buildings with three or more units where a child 10 or younger lives, to that child's apartment and the public areas.
- Day 0the inspection fails. Removing guards from an apartment with a child 10 or younger is listed as a tenant-caused violation.
- By day 21install or repair the guards and submit the NE-2 Certification of Completed Repairs. The count is in calendar days from the failed inspection.
- After day 21NYCHA abates the subsidy. Abated months are not paid back.
- Day 80if still uncorrected, the tenant gets a transfer voucher and the HAP contract with the owner is terminated.
What it means: window guards get 21 days where most other NYCHA repairs get 90, so fix them first.
Source: NYCHA HOTMA HQS FAQ, questions 5 and 11, rules effective April 1, 2025; NYCHA Administrative Plan, May 2026, chapter XII.
HPD, as a Section 8 agency, publishes no window guard deadline: its Housing Choice Voucher Administrative Plan does not mention window guards. HPD's code inspectors can still write the 21-day city violation described below.
For proof of repair, abatement and contract termination, see what happens if you fail a Section 8 inspection.
Violations and Penalties
Two city agencies can penalize an owner, for different failures: HPD for the missing guard and the Health Department for the missing notice.
| Failure | Agency | Consequence |
|---|---|---|
| Guard not provided, installed or maintained | HPD | Class C immediately hazardous violation. 21 days from service to correct |
| Class C not corrected, building with 5 or fewer units | HPD, in Housing Court | $150 to $750, plus $50 to $150 a day |
| Class C not corrected, building with more than 5 units | HPD, in Housing Court | $150 to $1,200, plus $150 to $1,200 a day |
| Required notice not given | Health Department | $500 per apartment, per year |
| Reminder not sent or posted | Health Department | $500 per violation, per year |
| Form not provided or approved by the Health Department | Health Department | $500 per apartment, per year |
What it means: HPD lists no separate window guard penalty, so the general class C amounts apply, and they run per day.
Source: Local Law 57 of 2011; HPD Penalties and Fees, for violations issued on or after December 8, 2023; Chapter 12, section 12-13.
How Tenants Report a Missing Guard
A tenant reports a missing, loose or badly installed guard to 311, and HPD investigates.
- 1Tenant asks the ownerin writing, or by checking the box on the Annual Notice.
- 2Tenant files a Window Guard Complaintonline with NYC311 or by calling 311. Contact information is required.
- 3HPD calls the managing agentto say a complaint was filed and a violation may follow, then calls the tenant back to ask whether it was fixed.
- 4HPD sends an inspectorif it was not fixed or the tenant cannot be reached. The owner is not told the date.
- 5HPD issues the violationclass C, with 21 days from service to correct.
What it means: the owner hears from HPD by phone first, and gets no warning of the inspection date.
Source: NYC311 Window Guard Complaint page; Local Law 57 of 2011.
Owners can use the same 311 page to report a tenant who refuses installation. No source sets a number of days for installing guards after a tenant's request.
Practical Compliance Steps
Keep these on file before January and before any inspection.
- A signed Lease Notice. (Appendix A) for every tenancy.
- Proof of delivery. for each January notice, and every returned form.
- Written consent. from any tenant who gets the notice by email or text.
- Inspection notes. for apartments that did not answer, with the date of each access attempt. Keep records of a refusal for at least two years.
Resources and Forms
The forms are on the Health Department's website, and 311 will send paper copies. Download the notice fresh each December, because the form carries that year's return deadline.
- Lease Notice to Tenant, Appendix A, for every new lease
- Health Department owner page (linked above), for the current Annual Notice forms and Spanish copies. Questions: windowfallprevention@health.nyc.gov
Before your next inspection, run the unit through the VoucherMatch pre-inspection checklist and count the guards window by window. If you have a vacancy, you can list your unit on VoucherMatch.
Frequently Asked Questions
When are NYC landlords required to install window guards? In a building with three or more apartments, in two cases:
- A child 10 or younger lives in the apartment or routinely spends 10 or more hours a week there
- Any tenant asks in writing
What if I have no children? You can still get window guards. Ask the owner in writing, with no reason needed, and the owner cannot refuse. Return the Annual Notice either way, or the owner must inspect your apartment.
Which windows need window guards in NYC? Every window in the apartment, including bathroom, first-floor and balcony windows. Two exceptions:
- Fire escape: the window that leads to it
- First-floor apartment, building with fire escapes: one window left as the secondary exit
When do landlords have to send the window guard annual notice? Between January 1 and January 15, to every apartment. Tenants return it by February 15.
Can a landlord charge tenants for window guards in NYC? Sometimes, and never before installing.
- Rent-stabilized or rent-controlled: a one-time $10 per guard at most
- Section 8, public assistance, SSI, SCRIE: nothing out of pocket
What counts as an approved window guard in NYC? A guard or limiting device registered with the Health Department, with its number stamped where you can see it from inside. Screens do not count.
Can missing window guards affect a Section 8 tenancy? Yes. NYCHA abates the subsidy if guards are not installed or repaired within 21 calendar days of a failed inspection:
- Day 80: the tenant gets a transfer voucher and the contract ends
How this article was checked
Last checked: October 5, 2026, against NYC Health Code 131.15, Chapter 12 of Title 24 of the city rules (amended January 1, 2026), Local Law 57 of 2011, the Health Department's window guard pages, notice forms and owner instructions, HPD's Window Guards and Penalties and Fees pages, NYS HCR Fact Sheet 25, NYC311's Window Guard Complaint page, NYCHA's HOTMA HQS FAQ and May 2026 Administrative Plan, and HPD's Housing Choice Voucher Administrative Plan (April 15, 2025).
Sources for this article (17)
- Health Code 131.15 (nyc.gov)
- Chapter 12, sections 12-02, 12-05 and 12-07 (nyc.gov)
- Health Department owner page (nyc.gov)
- tenant page (nyc.gov)
- Local Law 57 of 2011 (nyc.gov)
- Instructions for Owners (nyc.gov)
- Protect Your Child From Lead Poisoning and Window Falls notice (nyc.gov)
- window guard only notice, Appendix B (nyc.gov)
- approved window guards and limiting devices list (nyc.gov)
- owner brochure (nyc.gov)
- NYS HCR Fact Sheet 25 (hcr.ny.gov)
- NYCHA HOTMA HQS FAQ (nyc.gov)
- NYCHA Administrative Plan (nyc.gov)
- Housing Choice Voucher Administrative Plan (nyc.gov)
- HPD Penalties and Fees (nyc.gov)
- online with NYC311 (portal.311.nyc.gov)
- Lease Notice to Tenant, Appendix A (nyc.gov)
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