Effective December 6th, 2018, per Local Law 117 , the owner of a multiple dwelling must provide stove knob covers for gas-powered stoves where the owner knows or reasonably should know that a child under six years of age resides. Owners must also provide stove knob covers in a unit without a child under age six if the tenant requests them. Please note that for owner-occupied coops and condos stove knob covers are not required. However, if it’s a tenant-occupied coop or condo, stove knob covers are required if there is a child under age six or the tenant requests them.
In addition, the owner is required to provide tenants with an annual notice. The annual notice must inform tenants that:
- stove knob covers will be made available within thirty days of distributing the annual notice;
- the owner must provide stove knob covers to any household that requests them, regardless of whether a child resides in the unit; and
- tenants can forego stove knob covers through written refusal to the landlord. If a tenant does not submit written refusal to the owner, the owner is still obligated to provide stove knob covers to any household where the owner knows or reasonably should know that a child under age six resides.
View a proposed sample annual notice.
It is the owner’s obligation to keep documented proof of any notification of refusal for stove knob covers, notification from dwelling units that requested stove knob covers, and documented proof that the owner attempted to provide stove knob covers to a household where the owner knows or reasonably should know that a child under age six resides.
Failure to provide documented proof on the availability of stove knob covers upon request from HPD will result in a class B hazardous violation. Exceptions will be granted to owners that provide documented proof that they have already fulfilled two requests for replacement stove knob covers within the previous year or that there are no available stove knob covers that are compatible with the knobs on their dwelling units’ stoves.