After the notice
Most repair problems start with a letter, then a 311 complaint, and only sometimes a court case. Here is that order in plain words, with the official page behind each fact.
Not legal advice. Habitable documents and cites; it can't tell you what fits your situation. A tenant lawyer or housing group can.
HPD says to start with the property owner, managing agent or building superintendent. If that doesn't work, write to the owner and the management company by certified mail, and keep a copy. That's what the notice is for.
Keep a record of every try. HPD says it can be useful in court.
Make the noticeOfficial pages
Call 311, file online, or use the 311 app. HPD says to contact the landlord first. You can file without giving your name; for heat, the inspector then picks an apartment at random.
You get a service request number. Track it on 311 or on HPD Online. HPD mails any violation to the managing agent. The notice screen has 311 text ready to copy.
A tenant can bring a case against a property owner in Housing Court to force repairs and essential services, like heat and hot water. You start at the Housing Court Clerk's Office. HPD says you don't need a lawyer to start an HP case.
JustFix's guide walks through the steps: a packet from the clerk, a judge signs an Order to Show Cause, you serve the landlord, and HPD inspects before the first court date. It says the filing fee is $45, with a fee waiver available; ask the clerk to confirm.
Official pages
Hotlines · hours change, check first
You can ask the state (NYS Homes and Community Renewal, also called DHCR) to reduce your rent when services decrease. RA-84 is for building-wide problems, RA-81 for problems inside your apartment, and HHW-1 for heat and hot water, which needs a city agency report such as an HPD violation. HCR recommends telling the owner in writing first, but doesn't require it.
Habitable never suggests holding back rent. A reduction is something the state orders; talk to a housing group before you change what you pay.
Not sure you're stabilized? Ask HCR online, or call its rent office.
New York law says your landlord promises that your apartment is fit for human habitation and free of conditions dangerous, hazardous or detrimental to life, health or safety. A lease can't take that promise away.
Official pages
A landlord may not evict you or substantially change your tenancy as payback for a good-faith complaint to the landlord or a government agency. If something like that happens within one year after you complain, the law presumes it was retaliation, and the landlord can try to rebut that. Owner-occupied buildings with fewer than four units are exempt.
Your dated notice and your 311 request number show when you complained.
Official pages
Not legal advice · Summaries of the official pages linked above · Phone hours and rules change, so check the page before you rely on it