About the Data

What is the NYC 311 system?

NYC 311 is the City of New York's non-emergency service request and information portal, operating 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Residents can submit complaints about rodents, sanitation, noise, and hundreds of other issues through 311's phone line, website, or mobile app.

Every service request is logged with a complaint type, creation date, address, and borough. The City publishes all records in real time through NYC Open Data under a Creative Commons license. The rodent-complaint dataset used in this report contains 42,808 records from January 2025 through 2026-06-25.

What is a "Rodent" complaint in NYC 311?

The NYC 311 system classifies a complaint as type Rodent when a resident reports evidence of rats or mice in or around their building, on the street, or in a park. Common descriptor sub-types include "Rat Sighting", "Mouse Sighting", "Condition Attracting Rodents", and "Rodent Bite". This report includes all sub-types under the complaint_type = 'Rodent' filter.

A 311 complaint triggers an inspection by either the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) or the NYC Department of Sanitation (DSNY), depending on the location type. DOHMH inspects residential and commercial buildings; DSNY inspects streets and refuse.

What is the DOHMH Rodent Inspection program?

The NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) operates a dedicated Rodent Control program that conducts inspections citywide. Inspectors visit properties in response to 311 complaints, proactive sweeps, and programmatic visits in designated high-priority areas.

Per DOHMH's published Rat Inspections: Terms and Practices, an Initial Inspection that finds active rat signs (burrows, runways, rub marks, gnawing) or harborage conditions results in a failure, followed by a Compliance Inspection to verify the property owner has remediated the condition. Property owners are legally required to do so under the NYC Health Code.

What are NYC Rat Mitigation Zones?

In 2023, New York City designated its first Rat Mitigation Zones — neighborhoods identified by DOHMH as having persistently high rat activity, where the City concentrates abatement resources, increases inspection frequency, and coordinates across agencies. East Harlem was among the first designations in January 2023.

Properties in Rat Mitigation Zones face heightened scrutiny. Owners can check whether their address falls in a zone using DOHMH's Rat Mitigation Zones portal and can view a property's inspection history through the Rat Information Portal.

What are owners' legal obligations around rodents in NYC?

Under the NYC Health Code and DOHMH guidance for tenants and property owners, property owners in New York City are legally required to:

• Keep their property free of rats and mice.
• Remove conditions that attract rodents (garbage, clutter, standing food sources, harborage).
• Remediate failed inspections within the City's compliance window.
• Allow DOHMH inspectors access to inspect for rodent conditions.

Tenants who observe rodents can report through 311. Landlords who fail to remediate face civil penalties.

Is this report affiliated with the City of New York?

No. The NYC Rodent Report is an independent data journalism project. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or operated by the City of New York, the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, or any other city agency. All data is sourced from publicly available datasets under the CC BY 4.0 license.

How often is the data updated?

The underlying NYC Open Data datasets are updated continuously by the City. This report's figures were last pulled on 2026-06-25. Periodic refreshes are planned; the "Last updated" date displayed throughout the report reflects the most recent data pull. Check the methodology page for query details.

Who operates professional rat control in NYC?

Licensed pest control companies in New York State are registered with the NY Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). For residents in the boroughs covered by this report, two licensed operators with a track record in NYC rodent work are Rat Exterminator Corporation (Brooklyn-based, serving all five boroughs, 5.0★ on Google from 87 reviews) and Big Apple Pest Solutions (Manhattan and surrounding boroughs). These are contextual mentions based on verified GMB data; this report is not a paid endorsement.