Since June 1, every residential building in New York City with nine or fewer units has been required to put trash out in an official NYC Bin — latching lid, rodent-resistant, sized for the city's automated trucks. The warning period ended Sept. 8; fines now run $50 for a first offense, $100 for the second, $200 after that. Buildings with 10 to 30 units are next, choosing between individual bins and on-street containers, and buildings of 31 or more units get assigned on-street containers serviced by automated collection. (Sources: NY1, Habitat.)
It's working. The city reports rat sightings down roughly 22% this year, the first sustained drop since it started counting, and the reason is simple: for the first time in decades, the overnight buffet of black bags on the curb is closed.
Rest Easy runs rodent programs for apartment buildings, co-ops, condos and commercial properties across Queens, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Staten Island and Long Island. Here's what the bin rules mean for the people who actually run buildings — and the part of the rat problem the bins don't touch.
What the rules require of you
- 1–9 units: official NYC Bins only, set out after 6 p.m., trash only (recycling and organics go in their own containers). Most common size is 35 gallons; the bin costs about $50 and the first fine is the same.
- Houses of worship, nonprofits, offices in residential buildings: same rule.
- 10–30 units: a choice is coming between individual bins and stationary on-street containers. Watch for DSNY notices; the decision affects your sidewalk, your super's workflow and your lease language on trash.
- 31+ units: assigned on-street containers. Your building's trash leaves the basement and curb entirely, which changes where rats look for food.
For boards and managers, the enforcement question is simple: a fine is cheap, but repeated fines show up in DSNY's records and in the kind of inspection history that follows a building.
What bins fix
Food. Rats need to eat every day, and the black-bag curb was the easiest meal in the city. Sealed containers take it away. In neighborhoods where containerization went in early, the city measured rodent complaints falling, and the overall 22% drop tracks with trash coming off the streets.
What bins don't fix
Everything that's already inside the building line. Rats that have been feeding on your curb for years don't leave when the bags go into bins — they look closer. That means:
- Basement and compactor rooms. The compactor room is a rat's second-favorite place in the building. Gaps around the chute, the door sweep, the floor drain and the pipe penetrations are the way in.
- Burrows in the yard, the areaway and the tree pits. Norway rats live in the ground. A sealed bin on the sidewalk does nothing about a colony under the rear courtyard slab.
- Shared walls and alleys. Rowhouse and attached-building blocks share rat populations. One property that isn't managed keeps the block supplied.
- The building next door. If your neighbor's bins are overflowing or unlatched, the food source is still 20 feet from your foundation.
What a building rodent program actually covers
- Inspection of the building line — basement, compactor and boiler rooms, courtyard, areaways, rear yard, the alley side — to find burrows, rub marks, droppings and entry points.
- Tamper-resistant exterior bait stations placed along the active runways and burrows, documented and serviced on a schedule, never loose bait.
- Trapping indoors where rats or mice have gotten in.
- Rodent proofing: sealing the gaps that let them in — door sweeps, pipe penetrations, foundation cracks, the compactor chute — with materials they can't chew through.
- Ongoing monitoring with a service log, because rodent work in a multi-unit building is a program, not a visit — and because a documented program is what you want in the file when a tenant complaint or an HPD inspection comes.
For boards and property managers
The bin mandate is the city pushing the rat problem back toward property owners. That's fair — it works — but it means the next inspection, 311 complaint or lease dispute lands on your records. A building with sealed bins, a serviced bait-station map and a sanitation log is in a different position from one that bought the bins and stopped there.
If you manage a building in Queens, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Staten Island or on Long Island and want a rodent program that starts with an inspection of the whole building line, a phone quote is free. Call 888-927-9842 or request a rodent control quote online.
Frequently asked questions
- Do the NYC bin rules apply to co-ops and condos?
- Yes. Any residential building with 1–9 units must use official NYC Bins now; 10–30 unit buildings will choose between bins and on-street containers; 31+ unit buildings get assigned on-street containers.
- What are the fines for not using the official NYC Bin?
- $50 for the first violation, $100 for the second, and $200 for the third and each one after. Full enforcement started Sept. 8, 2026.
- Have the bins reduced rats in New York City?
- The city reports rat sightings down about 22% in 2026 as trash has moved off the curb. Sealed containers remove the main food source; they don't remove colonies already living on or under a property.
- Why do we still have rats after switching to the bins?
- Because the rats were already there. Bins take away curbside food; rats then look closer — basements, compactor rooms, courtyards, yard burrows and the neighbor's property. Those need inspection, bait stations, trapping and rodent proofing.
- What should a landlord or board have on file for rodent control?
- A current inspection of the building line, a map of serviced bait stations, a log of service visits, and documentation of entry points sealed. That record is what matters in a tenant complaint or an HPD inspection.
- Who is responsible for rats in a NYC apartment building?
- The owner. Under the Housing Maintenance Code, keeping a building free of rodents is the owner's obligation, and HPD issues violations for pest conditions.