HPD Annual Notice · multiple laws
The January Annual Notice (Window Guards, Lead, Stove Knobs, Radiators)
Every January, owners of multiple dwellings must send tenants one combined notice covering window guards, lead paint, stove knob covers — and starting January 2027, steam radiators. The dates are rigid and repeat every year.
Who must comply
Multiple dwellings (3+ units). The lead questions apply to pre-1960 buildings (and 1960–77 with known lead paint).
Key deadlines
| Notice delivered to every unit (English + Spanish) | January 1–16 every year |
| Tenant responses due | February 15 |
| Follow-up / inspection for non-responders | Owner must attempt to get the information; document attempts by March 1 |
What it costs to miss
Missing the notice creates violations under several laws at once (window guard, lead paint, and now radiator provisions) — and destroys your defense if a child is later injured or poisoned. This is the cheapest compliance item on the calendar and the most expensive one to skip.
One mailing, four laws
The Annual Notice asks every household: does a child under six (under eleven for window guards) live here? The answers drive your duty to install window guards, remediate lead hazards, provide stove knob covers — and, from 2027, inspect steam radiators.
The operational failure mode is always the same: notices go out, a third of tenants never respond, and nobody works the non-responder list before the follow-up deadlines. Track responses per unit, not per building.
Knowing isn’t the hard part. Doing is.
Parcel’s unit grid gives you the per-unit view the Annual Notice actually requires — which units responded, which have young children, which have open lead or window-guard violations — instead of a pile of paper in a drawer.
Official source: HPD: Annual Notice
Current as of September 9, 2026 · last reviewed 2026-08-19. This guide is a summary for owners and managers, not legal advice.