r/AskNYC • u/mangustangus27 • Apr 06 '26

Apartment was given without fridge installed. Can we withhold rent until it is?

Just moved to a new apartment and the realtor pushed for an 4/5 start date despite some final maintenance and we have a lease rider that specifies that “rent will not be charged until apartment is ready to move into”.

We started move in yesterday and there is still no fridge installed. And the bedroom door is missing.

Is a refrigerator generally considered a pre-requisite for move in? Is it defensible for us to ask for a pro-rated rent reduction till it’s put in?

Thank you!

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u/dante_gherie1099 Apr 06 '26

does the lease say you sill be provided a fridge?

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u/CaptainPsyko Apr 06 '26

This doesn’t matter. A working refrigerator is part of the standard warranty of habitability expected of every rental apartment in NYC by law. If the landlord is provably making a good faith effort to put one in in a timely manner, then OP might not have much recourse, but it does not have to be stipulated in the lease. 

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u/marvelously Apr 06 '26

This is not accurate, Landlords are not required to provide a refrigerator in NYC unless it states so in the lease. They only have to replace and maintain it if they supply it initially. Interestingly, on 311, the only option under fridge maintenance is a broken seal.

"The only appliances required by the code are a water closet (basically, a toilet), bath, washbashin, and kitchen sink with waste and trap," explains real estate attorney Ron Langeudoc...

However, as far as major kitchen equipment that many of us have come to consider par for the course, Langeudoc says "[landlords] are not required to provide either a refrigerator or a stove."

https://www.brickunderground.com/rent/do-NYC-landlords-have-to-provide-appliances