Mice in Your NYC Apartment? Landlord Rules and What to Do

By Ankush Das, founder and CEO of Snestico · Published

Seeing mice in your NYC apartment? Learn what Local Law 55 makes your landlord do, how to report mice to 311 and HPD, and how to keep them out.

If you see mice in your New York City apartment, tell your landlord or super in writing, then call 311 if nothing is fixed. In buildings with three or more apartments, NYC law makes the owner keep your home free of mice, rats and cockroaches, seal the holes they use and hire a licensed pro for pesticides. Mice in an apartment count as an immediately hazardous violation.

You hear scratching behind the stove, find droppings in a drawer, or see something dart along the baseboard. Fall is a common time for it. As Mississippi State University Extension puts it, "As cooler weather arrives, mice are looking for any source of heat and food they can find," and indoors they go after rice, bread, cereal and pet food.

Mice are more than a nuisance. The NYC Health Department lists mice and cockroaches among the common indoor triggers that can cause asthma attacks or make asthma worse. New York City has a specific law about who has to deal with them, and it puts most of the work on the building owner.

Local Law 55 and the 311 and HPD steps below apply in New York City. The inspection, lease notice and turnover duties apply to private buildings with three or more apartments. Across New York State, the warranty of habitability also protects tenants. If you rent outside New York, check your lease and local rules, which can be very different.

Yes, in most rentals. Local Law 55 of 2018 , which added sections 27-2017.1 to 27-2017.12 to the city's Housing Maintenance Code, treats an infestation of cockroaches, mice or rats as an "indoor allergen hazard" and a "condition dangerous to health." The owner must take reasonable steps to keep the home free of pests, prevent them, and fix the problem and the defect behind it, like a hole in the wall or a leaking pipe.

According to the Health Department and HPD fact sheet on Local Law 55 , owners of private buildings with three or more apartments must also:

Section 27-2017.8 spells out the work an owner has to do when there's an infestation:

The law also says pesticides can't replace those steps, and any pesticide applied must be applied by a pest professional licensed by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC).

Statewide, New York Real Property Law § 235-b , the warranty of habitability, says every residential lease includes a promise that the home is fit to live in and free of conditions dangerous to health or safety. A lease clause waiving that right is void. The law doesn't cover problems the tenant caused. If you rent in a two-family house or outside New York State, check your lease and local rules for what your landlord owes you.

The Health Department's guide, How to Control Pests Safely , suggests starting in the kitchen and bathroom with a flashlight. Look for:

Report it right away. Email or text works if that's how your building communicates, and a dated message gives you a record. Say what you've seen, where, and since when, and ask for an inspection and a repair of any holes. Take photos of droppings, holes and leaks. Then let building staff in to do the work: the fact sheet lists that as part of the tenant's role.

The Health Department's guide focuses on taking away what mice need to survive:

If you live with roommates, this only works if everyone does it. A shared rule on food storage and trash night is worth adding to your roommate agreement .

For gaps wider than half an inch, the city's guide says to stuff stainless steel wool or copper mesh inside before sealing, because mice can't chew through it. Narrow gaps can be sealed with 100% silicone caulk. Sealing holes is also the owner's job under Local Law 55, so you can ask the super to do it.

For an occasional mouse, the guide says snap traps or glue traps can work, placed out of reach of children and pets and checked daily. Keep setting traps until you go at least a week without catching anything. If you use poison bait, use only tamper-proof bait stations, never loose bait, and skip foggers and "bombs." For rats or a severe infestation, the guide says you need a DEC-certified pest professional, and if you rent, the owner must hire one if needed.

If the owner doesn't fix the problem, the Health Department says to call 311. You can call, use the 311 app, or file online through the NYC311 portal . Under Local Law 55, HPD is supposed to inspect within 30 days of a complaint about mice, rats or roaches, though that time can be extended from October 1 to May 31 when resources are stretched. During the visit, inspectors also ask about pests and mold.

If repeated complaints don't work, you can start an HP action in Housing Court. LawHelpNY explains that you don't need a lawyer to start one, and a judge can order the landlord to make repairs by a deadline. Our guide to no heat in NYC apartments walks through the same 311 and HP action steps for heat.

Pests can be a habitability problem, but withholding rent without advice can put you at risk of an eviction case. Keep paying, keep records of every report, and talk to a tenant lawyer or tenant organization before you take that step.

My landlord says mice are my fault because the apartment is messy. Is that true?

Tenants have a role, like storing food and taking out trash, but Local Law 55 still requires owners of covered buildings to find and fix entry points and leaks. The statewide warranty of habitability doesn't cover conditions the tenant caused, so keep your space clean and document what the owner hasn't fixed.

Someone in my home has asthma. Is there extra help?

The Health Department says that if you or your child has moderate or severe persistent asthma and there are pests or mold at home, your doctor can request a free home environmental inspection. Call 311 to learn more.

According to HPD , owners must deal with bedbugs promptly, use DEC-licensed professionals, and disclose one year of bedbug history to new tenants on a Bedbug Disclosure Form.

A few minutes of checking can save you a winter of traps:

Our lease review guide explains common lease clauses, and the first-time renter guide covers the rest of the move-in checklist.

Mice in a New York City apartment are the owner's problem to fix in buildings with three or more apartments. Local Law 55 requires yearly inspections, a pest-free apartment at move-in, sealed entry points, repaired leaks and licensed pros for pesticides. Report mice to your landlord in writing, do your part with food and trash, and call 311 if nothing changes. Outside NYC, check your lease and local rules.

Upload a lease to Snestico's Lease Checker to spot key terms and red flags before you sign, or search homes and rooms in New York.

Sources

How this was made: drafted with AI assistance, then reviewed and edited by Ankush Das, who checks every fact against the sources listed before it is published or updated.