N.Y.C. Admin. Code tit. 27, ch. 2 § 27-2065
Light and ventilation of water closet compartments (New York City Housing Maintenance Code)
Operative Text
a. In every water closet compartment, bathroom and general toilet room one of the following requirements for light and ventilation shall be met: (1) There shall be a window opening upon a street, yard, court, partially enclosed balcony or space above a setback, on an offset or recess which may be less than six feet in width. Every such window shall be at least three square feet in area and one-half of its area shall open. (2) If the water closet compartment, bathroom or general toilet room is either located on the top story or is underneath the bottom of a lawful shaft or court, it may be lighted and ventilated by a skylight in the roof. Such skylight shall contain three square feet of glazed area and shall open. (3) There shall be a system of mechanical ventilation, approved for construction and arrangement by the department. In a multiple dwelling such system of ventilation shall be maintained and operated continuously to provide at least four changes per hour of the air volume of each water closet, bathroom or general toilet room daily from six o'clock in the morning until midnight in all residential parts of a dwelling and from seven o'clock in the morning until seven o'clock at night in any nonresidental parts of a dwelling. In a private dwelling the approved system of mechanical ventilation may be switch-operated. b. Nothing in this section shall require any change to be made in the lighting or ventilation of water closets, bathrooms, or general toilet rooms in any portion of any old law tenement or any converted dwelling if such lighting or ventilation was lawful on July first, nineteen hundred sixty-one and in one or two family dwellings if such lighting or ventilation was lawful on August second, nineteen hundred sixty-seven.
Section 27-2065 of the N.Y.C. Administrative Code establishes minimum light and ventilation standards for every water closet compartment, bathroom, and general toilet room in New York City dwellings. Each such space must meet at least one of three requirements: a window of at least three square feet (half of which must open) facing a street, yard, court, or similar outdoor space; a skylight of at least three square feet that opens, when the room is on the top story or beneath a shaft; or a mechanical ventilation system approved by the Department of Buildings that provides a minimum of four air changes per hour during specified daily hours. Existing conditions in old-law tenements and certain converted or one-to-two-family dwellings that were lawfully in place before the relevant 1961 or 1967 cutoff dates are grandfathered and not required to be upgraded.
Plain English — not legal advice.
Operators of multiple dwellings subject to N.Y.C. Admin. Code § 27-2065 are generally expected to ensure that every bathroom, water closet compartment, and general toilet room meets one of the three enumerated light and ventilation standards at all times. For properties relying on mechanical ventilation, compliant operators typically maintain and operate the approved system continuously during the prescribed hours — 6 a.m. to midnight in residential areas and 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. in nonresidential areas — delivering at least four air changes per hour. Operators of older buildings should document whether their existing conditions qualify for the grandfathering provisions under subsection (b), which protect lawful configurations predating the 1961 or 1967 cutoff dates.
General guidance for property managers — not legal advice for your specific situation. Consult an attorney for advice on your case.
Under N.Y.C. Admin. Code § 27-2065, tenants in multiple dwellings have a right to bathrooms and water closet compartments that meet minimum standards for natural or mechanical light and ventilation. If a bathroom lacks an operable window, qualifying skylight, or functioning mechanical ventilation system, that condition may constitute a housing code violation that tenants can report to the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), which enforces housing maintenance standards. Tenants may also consult a tenant-rights organization to understand how a violation under this section could be raised in housing court proceedings or used in other available enforcement pathways.
General guidance for tenants — not legal advice for your specific situation. Consult a tenant-rights organization or attorney for advice on your case.
Generated October 14, 2026 — auto-generated, not yet human-reviewed. See /transparency for methodology.
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