A short refresher.
Local Law 55 of 2018 — the Asthma-Free Housing Act — requires NYC residential building owners to annually inspect for and correct indoor allergen hazards. The covered hazards are mold, mice, rats, cockroaches and dust mites. The law is enforced by HPD.
Owners must use safe pest control practices (Integrated Pest Management), use methods that prevent moisture conditions favorable to mold growth, and provide notice to tenants annually.
What HPD is actually citing.
From our active engagements: mold and mice are the two violation types we see most. Cockroach violations rise in late summer. Dust-mite citations are rare and usually appear bundled with other allergen findings.
Mold violations under LL55 split between Class B (hazardous) and Class C (immediately hazardous), driven by the extent of visible growth and the affected room type (bathrooms and bedrooms tend toward higher class).
What annual compliance looks like.
The HPD checklist owners should be running yearly:
- Inspect every unit, common area and stair for visible mold, pest evidence and conditions conducive to either.
- Correct conditions identified — IPM treatment for pests; moisture-source elimination and surface remediation for mold.
- Document the inspection and any corrective action in the building's allergen file.
- Provide tenants with an annual notice describing their right to request inspections and corrections.
Where owners get tripped up.
Two failure modes account for most of the LL55 violations we resolve.
First: treating LL55 like a complaint-response framework rather than a proactive annual inspection. The law requires inspection regardless of whether tenants have complained. Inspections only triggered by complaints understate the program and read as deficient on HPD review.
Second: addressing visible mold without addressing the moisture source. Painting over recurring bathroom-ceiling growth is a 90-day fix, then it returns. The HPD inspector who returns will reissue the violation and the second cycle is harder.
If your portfolio doesn't have an LL55 program.
A retrospective inspection across the building, documentation of findings, IPM treatment pass, and any required mold remediation can be assembled into a defensible "as of [date]" allergen record. We package this for owners and managing agents as a stand-alone LL55 baseline.