HP Actions in NYC Housing Court and on Building Records

An HP action is a case you bring in the Housing Part of New York City Civil Court, better known as Housing Court, to make your landlord fix conditions, restore services, or stop harassing you. You can file alone or with neighbors, you do not need a lawyer, and the court fee is $45. The city's housing agency, HPD, joins the case as a party. Every HP action also lands on the building's public record, so the same cases that help tenants get repairs also tell future renters how a landlord runs a building.

What an HP Action Covers

Tenants use HP actions for two kinds of problems. The first is repairs and services. The court describes the landlord's duty to provide heat, hot water and extermination, and to fix problems such as leaky faucets, faulty electrical outlets and peeling paint and plaster. You can list conditions inside your apartment and in the building's public areas, such as hallways, stairs and the lobby.

Harassment Cases

The second kind is a harassment proceeding. According to the court's tenant guide, you can start one if your landlord is trying to force you to move out, you live in a building with three or more apartments, and the building is not government housing. The guide's examples of landlord harassment include threats, shutting off heat or hot water after you complain, leaving the apartment unlivable, taking you to court over and over for nothing, and changing the lock without giving you a key. If the judge finds harassment, the judge will order the landlord to stop and can order the landlord to pay a fine. The Legal Aid Society notes that in harassment cases a judge can also order the landlord to pay damages directly to the tenant.

How It Differs From an Eviction Case

An HP action runs in the opposite direction from an eviction. The landlord starts a nonpayment or holdover case to remove a tenant. You start an HP action to make the landlord act. The shared courthouse and the shared "HP" and "holdover" shorthand confuse people, but the two cases have nothing else in common.

Steps Before You File

The court's tenant guide asks you to give the landlord a chance first. Tell the landlord and the superintendent about each problem, and put it in a letter sent by certified mail with a return receipt so you can prove the date. If the landlord still does not fix it, you can call 311 to request an HPD inspection, start an HP action, or do both.

An HPD inspection helps because the inspector can place violations on the building, and open HPD violations on the record become evidence in your case. Keep dated photos of each condition and a log of every call and letter. For a winter heat or hot water outage, the 311 complaint and the HP action can run side by side.

Evidence to Gather

• Dated photos and video of each condition, retaken if it gets worse.
• Copies of your letters to the landlord and the certified mail receipts.
• The service request number from each 311 complaint.
• A printout of the building's violations from HPD Online showing the conditions HPD has already recorded.
• A short log of dates when you had no heat, hot water or other service, and any repair visits that did not fix the problem.

Bring all of it to court, with an extra set of copies you can hand to the HPD attorney.

Starting an HP Action

1. Go to the Housing Court clerk's office in your borough and say you want to start an HP case.
2. Fill out the HP petition. List every condition that needs repair, in your apartment and in the public areas.
3. Pay the $45 fee in cash or by certified check, money order or bank check made out to "The Clerk of the Court." The court does not accept personal checks.
4. Ask for a housing inspection on the petition.
5. Take the court date the clerk gives you, and follow the clerk's instructions for serving the papers on the landlord and on HPD.

If you cannot afford the fee, ask the clerk for the fee waiver papers, which the court calls poor person's relief. A judge reviews them and decides whether you can start the case without paying. Neighbors with the same problems can file one HP action as a group of tenants, which works well for building-wide failures such as a broken boiler or a pest problem that spreads between apartments.

The Court Date and the Order to Correct

You can request an inspection when you file or in the courtroom. The court notes that an inspection report is not required, and that photographs and your own testimony can prove the conditions. On the court date, check the calendar outside the courtroom, check in, and find the HPD attorney. That attorney appears for the City of New York, because you sued the city along with your landlord, and generally shares your interest in getting the repairs done. The HPD attorney does not act as your lawyer.

Most cases settle in a conference. The court's page on appearing on an HP case says most conferences end in a settlement or an Order to Correct. A settlement, called a stipulation, sets a date for the landlord's repairs. An Order to Correct gives the landlord the legal time frame for each class of violation, which HPD lists as follows:

Before you sign, make sure the stipulation names the specific repairs and the days and times the workers will come, since the court advises spelling those out. If the landlord misses the deadline, you go back to court. Where there is already an Order to Correct, you can ask the judge to hold the landlord in contempt, which can mean a fine, jail, or both. The court calls contempt a last resort, and the HPD attorney helps you with the motion.

HP Actions on a Building's Record

HPD tracks the cases it joins in its Housing Litigations records, listed building by building. In 2025, those records show 5,080 repair cases started by tenants and 2,476 tenant harassment cases opened across the city. Search an address in the Building Health X building lookup and the report lists the building's HPD legal actions with their case types and dates.

Queens stands out in HPD's 2025 figures, with 702 harassment cases against 820 repair cases, a far higher ratio than Manhattan's 306 against 1,061.

When you read that list as a prospective tenant, look at the pattern more than the total. One HP action over a leak six years ago says little about a building today. Repeated repair cases from different apartments, or any harassment case, tell you tenants had to go to court to get the landlord to act. Check whether the violations tied to those cases closed afterward. A landlord who fixes problems after an HP action runs a different building from one whose violations stay open through several cases.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Much Does an HP Action Cost?

The court fee to start an HP action is $45, and a jury trial request costs $70. If you cannot afford the fee, ask the clerk for fee waiver papers, and a judge will decide whether you can proceed without paying.

Where Do I File an HP Action?

File at the Housing Court clerk's office in the borough where your building is. Tell the clerk you want to start an HP case, and the clerk will give you the petition and a court date.

Do I Need a Lawyer for an HP Action?

No. You can file the petition and appear in court on your own. An HPD attorney also appears in the case for the city and generally supports getting the repairs made, although that attorney does not represent you.

Can Several Tenants File One HP Action?

Yes. A group of tenants in the same building can file a single HP action, which suits problems that affect many apartments, such as a boiler failure or a building-wide infestation.

What Happens If the Landlord Ignores the Court Order?

You return to court. If the landlord broke a stipulation, you can ask for an Order to Correct. If the landlord ignored an Order to Correct, you can ask the judge to hold the landlord in contempt, which can bring a fine, jail, or both.

Should I Withhold Rent Instead of Filing?

Withholding rent can prompt the landlord to file a nonpayment case, where you would raise the conditions as a defense. An HP action puts the repairs in front of a judge without putting your rent in dispute. Read the risks of withholding rent over repairs before you choose that route.