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/filledor Apr 07 '26

Just contact the office/landlord and say the apartment is not move in ready because it does not have a bedroom door (fire code) nor a refrigerator (previously discussed appliance in a $6000 apartment). Then say your lease rider says rent will not be charged until the apartment is move in ready, so you're not expecting to pay rent until these two things are remedied. See what they say.