For NYC landlords · Window guards
Window guard notices, replies and installs, on file.
Every January the Health Department’s notice goes to every unit, every tenant answers by February 15, and every unit with a child 10 or under gets guards. The proof of each step sits on the unit’s file, for every building with three or more units, whatever the year built.
- One answer per unit per year
- Installs and inspections dated per unit
- 14 days free, no card
- 2AChild 10 or underGuards installed Jan 20 · form on fileDone
- 3BTenant asked for guardsInstall, then record the dateInstall
- 4CNo reply by Feb 15Visit, report no access to DOHMH by Mar 1Due
- 5AWindow guard notice 2026Sent Jan 8 · no child 10 or under, none askedDone
Sample data. Not real records.
Why the records matter
A notice you cannot show is a notice you never sent.
The Health Department can ask for the proof of mailing, the returned forms and the e-delivery consents. If they are not produced within 5 business days, the rule takes that as evidence the notice was never given.
Per unit per year for no annual notice, and again for a form that is not DOHMH’s; $500 per violation per year for no reminder; $500 per building per year for not giving DOHMH copies of the returned notices.
24 RCNY §12-13 (re-adopted 2025)A guard missing or not maintained where a child 10 or under lives, or where the tenant asked for one, is a Class C violation: 21 days to correct.
NYC Admin Code §27-2043.1(e)The notice goes out. Tenants answer by February 15; a unit that does not answer is inspected, and no access is reported to DOHMH by March 1.
24 RCNY §12-03, §12-04What the law asks
The window guard records the Health Department expects.
Buildings with three or more units, whatever the year built. Guards go on every window of a unit where a child 10 or under lives, on public-area windows, and wherever a tenant asks in writing; fire-escape windows stay clear.
Last verified Oct 13, 2026
- 01The January noticeJanuary 1–16 to every unit: first-class mail, hand delivery, e-delivery the tenant consented to, or with the January rent bill. DOHMH’s wording, unaltered, in English and Spanish. Keep the proof of delivery.
- 02The reminderBetween January 1 and February 15, by any practical means or a posting in a common area.
- 03Each tenant’s answerA child 10 or under, guards wanted, or neither, back by February 15. The returned form is the record; it is filed under the unit with the notice.
- 04The install, datedGuards to DOHMH’s specification on every window of the unit and on public-area windows, recorded the day they go in. Security bars used as guards are inspected and tested every year.
- 05No reply: the visit and the DOHMH reportInspect the unit before March 1 and report no access to DOHMH by March 1 through its online form. Keep the access-refusal record at least 2 years.
- 06The lease noticeDOHMH’s window guard notice (Appendix A) in every new lease, or at the start of occupancy.
- 07Two years, five business daysProof of mailing, returned forms and e-delivery consents until April 1 of the second year after the notice year, produced within 5 business days of a DOHMH request.
Your year
Six weeks every winter, then the installs.
- Jan 1–16Send the noticeTo every unit, with proof of delivery. One tap marks it sent to every rented unit.
- Jan 1 – Feb 15RemindBy any practical means, or a posting in a common area.
- Feb 15Answers are dueA child 10 or under, guards wanted, or neither: record what each returned form says.
- Mar 1Report no accessUnits that did not answer are inspected; no access goes to DOHMH by March 1.
- When a form says yesInstall the guardsEvery window of the unit, then the date on file. A missing guard is a Class C violation, 21 days.
- Every yearCheck security barsBars used in place of guards are inspected and tested yearly; record the check.
How it works
Every unit, every deadline, every report. One file.
- 01
Add your buildings
Address, year built and every unit. Type them in or import a CSV from your spreadsheet.
- 02
See what each unit owes
The app works out what every unit needs under your city’s law, and when. You get a reminder before each deadline.
- 03
Log it on your phone
Notices, tenant replies, visits, clearances and certificates, each with its date and the report or photo.
- 04
Hand over one file
When HPD asks, download every record for a building as one PDF, in the order HPD asks for them.
Pricing
14 days free. Then a plan by your units.
No card to start. Four plans by the number of units you track; pay yearly and two months are free. Common areas and buildings you have sold are not counted. Unlimited people, records and photos on every plan.
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A house with a rented unit, a two- or three-family, a small building.
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Up to 40 units
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Portfolio
Up to 120 units
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A portfolio across the city.
Manager
Up to 500 units
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A management company.
Over 500 units: from $0.40 a unit a month, at least $349 a month, billed yearly on an invoice. Email [email protected].
FAQ
Straight answers.
Something else? Email [email protected]
Pre-1960 building? The lead notice goes out with this one: see Local Law 1Does ViolationProof install the guards or send the notice for me?
No. The notice is yours to send and the guards yours to install. ViolationProof keeps the proof: the day each notice went out, what each tenant answered, when the guards went in, and the DOHMH report for a unit that never answered, filed per unit so you can produce it within the 5 business days the rule allows.
Which buildings need window guards?
Buildings with three or more units, whatever the year built. Guards go on every window of a unit where a child 10 or under lives, on public-area windows, and wherever a tenant asks in writing. Fire-escape windows, one secondary-egress window in a first-floor unit of a fire-escape building, and sills at or below grade with under 6 inches of drop are exempt. A 1–2 family home is not covered.
My building is pre-1960. Is this a second January notice?
No. DOHMH’s combined form, Protect Your Child From Lead Poisoning and Window Falls, asks the Local Law 1 question and the window guard questions on one page, and one tap marks it sent for both. The answer has two parts, each recorded: a child under 6 for the lead rules, a child 10 or under or a request for the guards.
What happens if a tenant never answers?
Inspect the unit before March 1. If you cannot get in, report the no-access to DOHMH by March 1 through its online form and keep the record at least 2 years. In a pre-1960 building the same visit settles the lead question too.
Start
Every notice and every guard, on file.
Add your buildings and units, record this January’s notices and answers, and see which units still owe an answer, a visit or an install. 14 days free, no card; then from $9 a month.
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- Your records stay yours: download the file any time, even on the free Archive plan
Units somewhere we don’t cover yet, or a question about your city’s law? Tell us where you are, and we write back.
Sources
- NYC Administrative Code §27-2043.1 (window guards)
- NYC Health Code Article 131 (§131.15, window guards)
- 24 RCNY Chapter 12, window guards, as re-adopted in 2025
- DOHMH: window guards for property owners
- HPD: window guards
- DOHMH annual notice: Protect Your Child From Lead Poisoning and Window Falls (English)
- DOHMH annual notice: Protect Your Child From Lead Poisoning and Window Falls (Spanish)
- DOHMH annual notice, window guards only (Appendix B)
- DOHMH lease notice, window guards (Appendix A)
- DOHMH no-access report (online form)
This page summarizes NYC Administrative Code §27-2043.1, Health Code §131.15 and 24 RCNY Chapter 12 (window guards) for owners. It is not legal advice. ViolationProof is not affiliated with the NYC Health Department (DOHMH) or HPD or the U.S. EPA.