Are Window Guards Required in New York State?

Window guards are required in New York City on every apartment in a building with three or more units where a child age 10 or younger lives, and on common-area windows in those buildings. A landlord must also install guards in any apartment whose tenant requests them in writing, child or no child. Outside New York City, state law does not impose its own window guard mandate on multiple dwellings, so whether guards are required depends on the local municipal code where the building sits.

Which Buildings the Rule Covers

The NYC Administrative Code puts the duty on owners of every “multiple dwelling,” meaning a residential building occupied by three or more families living independently of each other.¹² That takes in apartment buildings, residential hotels, and dormitories that meet the definition, whether privately or publicly owned. One- and two-family homes are not covered unless a separate local ordinance applies.

Responsibility inside the building depends on ownership structure. In co-ops, building management installs and maintains every guard in the property. In condominiums, the individual unit owner is generally responsible for guards inside their own apartment, while management handles hallway windows.³

When Guards Must Be Installed

The trigger is the presence of a child age 10 or younger. Once a landlord knows a child of that age lives in the unit, guards are mandatory and the landlord does not need to wait for a formal request.² Guards are also required on hallway and common-area windows throughout any building where a child that age lives.⁴

Any tenant can also request guards in writing for any reason, and the landlord must comply. This is the route for households with visiting grandchildren, nieces, nephews, or anyone else who wants the extra protection. Refusing a written request is itself a housing code violation.²

Which Windows Are Exempt

Two kinds of windows are left unguarded on purpose. Windows that open onto a fire escape are exempt, as are first-floor windows that serve as a required emergency exit from the unit. In buildings with fire escapes, one window in each ground-floor apartment must remain unguarded so it can function as an escape route.²⁴ If you have small children and a fire escape window, ask the landlord about childproofing options that don’t block egress.

What an Approved Guard Looks Like

You can check your own guards against the specifications. An approved guard is made of rigid metal, stands at least 15 inches tall, and has three or more horizontal bars spaced so that no opening will pass a five-inch ball, which works out to gaps no wider than 4½ inches. The guard must be tested to withstand a 150-pound load without any opening in the grid widening past that 4½-inch limit.⁵⁶

Mounting hardware must use tamper-proof or one-way screws that a standard screwdriver can’t remove. Stops in the window tracks must prevent the lower sash from being raised more than 4½ inches above the top bar of the guard.⁵ The DOHMH also accepts “limiting devices” in place of traditional bar guards: a built-in or add-on mechanism that keeps the sash from opening more than 4½ inches and blocks a five-inch sphere from passing through.⁷

Windows With Air Conditioners

An air conditioner in the window does not get the landlord off the hook. Where a guard would otherwise be required, the AC unit has to be permanently installed with one-way metal screws, and any gap wider than 4½ inches on either side of the unit must be sealed with rigid metal panels able to hold 150 pounds of pressure.⁸

Tenants are not allowed to pull a guard off to put an AC in. If you need an air conditioner in a window that has a guard, ask the building owner to handle the installation so both pieces end up properly secured.⁸

Who Pays

The building owner buys and installs the guards. In rent-stabilized or rent-controlled apartments, the owner can pass along a one-time surcharge of up to $10 per guard, paid in full or spread over equal monthly installments across one, two, or three years. The surcharge is temporary and does not fold into the base rent. If you move out before paying the full amount, the owner can take the balance from your security deposit.⁹

Moving into an apartment where the previous tenant already had guards installed? You can’t be charged. And if the owner swaps out windows and reinstalls the same guards during a renovation, no second surcharge is allowed for that apartment.⁹ In non-stabilized apartments the owner generally absorbs the cost; any charge for guards cannot be built into the rent.³

The Annual Notice You Should Receive

Between January 1 and January 15 each year, your landlord has to deliver an Annual Notice form asking whether a child age 10 or younger lives in the apartment and whether you want window guards for any other reason. The notice can arrive by mail, hand delivery, or with the January rent bill when that bill goes out between December 15 and January 16. New tenants also receive a separate Lease Notice form at lease signing.¹⁰ Return the form, keep a copy, and keep a copy of any written guard request too. Those documents are your proof if a dispute lands in Housing Court.

Removing or Blocking a Guard

Once a required guard is in, nobody is allowed to remove, obstruct, or interfere with it, and the owner has to keep it in safe working condition, replacing hardware that rusts, bends, or loosens.² If a tenant takes a guard off, the landlord still has to put it back; the owner can try to recover the reinstallation cost from the tenant, but the window cannot be left unprotected while they argue it out.

If Your Landlord Refuses

If you’ve asked for guards or returned your annual notice and nothing has happened, file a complaint through 311, online or by phone. The Department of Housing Preservation and Development investigates and can issue a violation to the owner.¹¹

Failing to provide, install, or maintain a required guard is a Class C “immediately hazardous” violation, and the owner has 21 days from service to fix it.² Civil penalties scale with building size:

Buildings with 5 or fewer units: $150 to $750, plus $50 to $150 per day until corrected.
Buildings with more than 5 units: $150 to $1,200, plus $150 to $1,200 per day until corrected.¹²

The daily piece is what makes these fines bite. Ignoring a violation for even a couple of weeks in a mid-sized building can run into thousands of dollars on top of the base penalty.

1
New York State Senate. New York Multiple Dwelling Law 4 – Definitions
2
American Legal Publishing. NYC Administrative Code 27-2043.1 – Window Guards
3
NYC Health Department. Window Guards: What Building Owners Need to Know
4
NYC Health. Window Guards – Information for Tenants
5
New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Window Guard General Information
6
New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. NYC DOHMH Notice – Chapter 12 Window Guards
7
New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. NYC Health Code Chapter 12 – Window Falls Prevention
8
NYC Administration for Children’s Services. Window Guard Safety
9
New York State Homes and Community Renewal. Fact Sheet – Window Guards
10
NYC Health. Window Guards: Information for Building Owners
11
NYC311. Window Guard Complaint
12
NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development. Penalties and Fees