Which Water Filter Brands Can You Install in a New York City Apartment?

Most New York City renters can install a water filter without asking their landlord for anything, as long as it does not involve drilling into the countertop, cutting into the drain line, or leaving a permanent mark when the lease ends. That rules out almost nothing worth wanting: pitchers, faucet-mount filters, countertop reverse osmosis units, and even several under-sink filters now connect without tools or a plumber.

The brands that show up in this space most often are Brita, ZeroWater, PUR, and Culligan for pitchers and faucet mounts, Waterdrop, AquaTru, and RKIN for countertop reverse osmosis, and a smaller group, including Viomi, that makes no-drill under-sink filters designed to tap into an existing cold water line. A full under-sink RO system with its own dedicated faucet is the one category where you should check with your landlord or co-op board first, because it usually adds a small hole to the sink deck.

This guide breaks down what actually fits an apartment, what your lease is likely to allow, and which specific products in each category are worth a look.

Why an Apartment Changes the Water Filter Decision

A house with a basement and a plumber on speed dial can install almost anything. A New York apartment works under different constraints.

Leases and co-op rules. Most standard leases prohibit “alterations” to plumbing or fixtures without written consent. A filter that clamps onto an existing faucet or slides under the sink without cutting anything is generally treated as a removable appliance, similar to a microwave. A system that requires a new hole for a dedicated faucet is a bigger ask, and co-op and condo boards in particular tend to require sign-off before anyone touches a supply or drain line, even reversibly.

Cabinet space. Under-sink cabinets in prewar and mid-century NYC buildings are often shared with a trash bin, cleaning supplies, and a garbage disposal, leaving only a narrow strip of usable width. A bulky tank-style RO system can simply not fit, which is why several brands now sell tankless under-sink RO units aimed at exactly this kind of cabinet.

No spare faucet hole. Full under-sink RO systems ship with their own dedicated faucet for filtered water, which needs a hole in the sink deck or countertop. Some NYC kitchen sinks have a capped knockout hole left over from a sprayer or soap dispenser that can be reused. Many do not, which means drilling.

You will probably move. The median NYC renter does not stay in one apartment for long. A filter that disconnects in minutes and comes with you to the next place has real value that a homeowner in the suburbs would not weigh nearly as heavily.

What’s Actually in NYC Tap Water

About 90% of New York City’s water comes from the unfiltered Catskill and Delaware watersheds upstate, disinfected with chlorine and, at one of the largest facilities of its kind, ultraviolet light. The remaining share reaches the tap through the Croton system, which has run through a filtration plant since 2015 rather than arriving unfiltered. The city’s water utility has not recorded an EPA drinking water violation in the last three years, and the water is generally well regarded for taste straight out of the reservoir.

The two issues that actually matter for an apartment dweller are downstream of the reservoir, not in it:

• Lead from old building plumbing. NYC’s water mains and aqueducts are lead-free, but private service lines and interior plumbing in older buildings are not always. According to an analysis by the local news outlet THE CITY of DEP data, more than a third of the free lead test kits residents voluntarily submitted over the past decade came back with some detectable lead. That’s a self-selected sample of people who asked for a test, not a random cross-section of the city’s housing stock, so it shouldn’t be read as the citywide rate. Separately, DEP adjusts water chemistry to help form a protective coating inside pipes. If your building predates the 1960s, this is the contaminant worth filtering for specifically.
• Chlorine taste and disinfection byproducts. Chlorination is standard and required, but it is also the reason tap water sometimes tastes or smells slightly off, and that can be more noticeable at certain times, including warmer weather. One tracked disinfection byproduct, HAA5, has been reported around 78% of the EPA limit in recent monitoring (TTHM, the other tracked byproduct, has run lower, around 65% of its limit), which is a data point worth knowing even though it does not mean the water is unsafe.

PFAS (“forever chemicals”) have been detected at low levels in NYC water through DEP monitoring, which is consistent with most large U.S. water systems rather than something specific to the city. If you want the most conservative approach to lead, chlorine byproducts, and PFAS together, that points toward reverse osmosis rather than a basic carbon filter, whatever brand you choose.

Four Ways to Filter Water Without Fighting Your Lease

Pitcher Filters: Zero Install, Zero Commitment

A pitcher is the lowest-friction option available and the right starting point if you are subletting, between leases, or just do not want to think about installation at all.

Brita is the brand most people already know, with wide filter availability at any drugstore in the city and pitchers typically priced $25 to $40. Its standard filter is NSF/ANSI 42 certified for chlorine taste and odor only, not for lead, so if lead from old building plumbing is what brought you to this section, you would need Brita’s pricier Elite filter, which adds NSF/ANSI 53 and 401 certification. ZeroWater differentiates itself with a five-stage ion-exchange filter (not a plain carbon cartridge), IAPMO certification to reduce lead, chromium, and PFOA/PFOS, and a bundled TDS meter, so you can watch the total dissolved solids reading drop after filtering, which is a satisfying way to see the filter working. A 10-cup ZeroWater pitcher runs about $38.

Among PUR pitchers, only the models that use the PUR PLUS filter, found in pitchers priced around $40, carry WQA/NSF certification for lead reduction. PUR’s base filter is not certified for lead, so it is worth checking which filter a specific PUR pitcher ships with if lead is your main concern.

Viomi’s Inno 13-Cup pitcher fits the same category, with a slim profile built to fit apartment-size refrigerator doors and shelves, a filter tested by the independent lab SGS to the NSF/ANSI 42 standard (chlorine, taste, and odor) that Viomi lists as good for about two months of use, and an electronic filter-life indicator so you are not guessing when to swap the cartridge. At under $15 for the pitcher, it is a reasonable way to try the brand before considering anything bigger. Replacement filters are sold in a 3-pack for about $13, which works out to roughly $26 a year if you’re swapping one every two months as Viomi recommends.

Faucet-Mount Filters: Filtered Water on Tap, No Tools

A faucet-mount filter threads onto most standard kitchen faucets and gives you a pull-lever switch between regular and filtered flow. Installation is a few minutes with your hands, no wrench required, and removal is just as fast. Pull-out sprayer faucets and some handheld-spray kitchen faucets are not always compatible, so it is worth checking your faucet’s shape against the filter’s fitting list before ordering.

Culligan’s FM-15A is a long-running example of the category, priced around $27 to $33, rated to reduce lead along with chlorine, taste, and odor, with a cartridge lifespan the company lists at around two months or 200 gallons. PUR also sells faucet-mount systems in a similar $20 to $26 range, with its PUR PLUS filter carrying the same WQA/NSF lead-reduction certification as its pitchers. The tradeoff versus a pitcher is speed (you are not waiting for water to drip through a reservoir) at the cost of a slightly more visible fixture sitting on your faucet.

Image Source: pur.com

Countertop Reverse Osmosis: RO-Level Filtration With Nothing to Install

This is the category that has grown the most for renters over the past few years, because it delivers close to the filtration depth of an under-sink RO system without touching a single pipe.

AquaTru popularized the format: a self-contained countertop unit with its own internal tank and pump, so you pour water in, and it works. Its Classic model runs about $449 and carries five NSF/ANSI certifications, including 401 and P473, the two standards that specifically test for PFOA/PFOS reduction, on top of standard reduction of lead and dozens of other regulated contaminants. RKIN’s Zero Installation Purifier follows the same fill-and-press approach at a lower price, around $370 on sale against a $490 regular price, with IAPMO certification to NSF/ANSI 58 covering TDS, lead, PFOA/PFOS, and chromium.

Image Source: aquatru.com

Waterdrop has built out a wider range in this category, including the N1 (about $299) and M6SL models, which sit on the counter and pull water from a built-in tank, and the C1H, which adds instant hot water to the same countertop RO base. Waterdrop markets this line around PFAS reduction as well, though the specific certification and reduction numbers vary by model, so it is worth checking the individual product page rather than assuming every Waterdrop countertop unit carries the same claim. None of these require a plumber, a drilled hole, or your landlord’s approval, and all of them travel with you.

The real tradeoffs against an under-sink system are counter space (these units take up a visible footprint next to your stove or on an island) and manual refilling of the tank rather than a continuous connection to your water line.

No-Drill Under-Sink Filters: The Middle Ground Most People Don’t Know Exists

Between “sits on the counter” and “needs a new faucet hole,” there is a category of under-sink filters designed to tap directly into your existing cold water line with a push-to-connect adapter, then route filtered water back out through your existing kitchen faucet instead of adding a new one.

Waterdrop’s AS13 is built around this idea, with a plug-and-twist design that Waterdrop describes as requiring no drilling, NSF/ANSI 42 and 372 certification, and independent testing Waterdrop cites for reducing PFAS, lead, and chlorine. It runs about $57 for the unit, with a 12-month filter that Waterdrop prices at about $30 to replace, so figure roughly $30 a year in filters on top of the device. Viomi sells a similar direct-connect under-sink filter (listed on water.viomi.com as its Under Sink Water Filter, model VW-IU01PCW-US, tested by the independent lab SGS to the NSF/ANSI 372, 42, and 53 standards, reducing lead, chlorine, taste, and odor) that connects with push-to-connect fittings and an adapter for standard supply lines, with Viomi listing installation at under three minutes and no tools or plumbing experience required. Because it is a carbon filtration system rather than reverse osmosis, it does not need a drain connection at all, which removes one of the main reasons full RO systems are a bigger project. Its replacement cartridge is rated for 12 months or 8,000 gallons and costs about $33, putting its annual filter cost in the same range as the AS13’s.

This is worth a closer look if you want continuous filtered water at the tap (no tank to refill, no pitcher to keep full in the fridge) but are not ready to commit to a dedicated faucet and the hole that comes with it.

Full Under-Sink RO Systems: The Best Filtration, But Ask First

A dedicated under-sink RO system is still the most thorough option on this list, and it is the one place where the installation genuinely crosses the line from “removable appliance” into “modification worth a conversation with your landlord.”

These systems connect to your cold water supply, tap into your drain line (or a saddle valve on it) to carry away reject water, and include their own dedicated faucet mounted through a hole in the sink deck or countertop. Viomi’s V6 PRO and Viomi V8 PRO are built as tankless units specifically to solve the cabinet-space problem described earlier, with a compact footprint of about 16.3 by 5 by 12.8 inches across the line and current prices of about $379.99 and $479.99 respectively, using Viomi’s regular prices as the comparison standard. Viomi’s product pages list NSF/ANSI 42, 53, and 58 performance standards plus NSF/ANSI 372 for lead-free materials across the line, covering chlorine taste and odor, lead and other health-related contaminants, and RO/TDS performance. The pages also state the systems target PFOA and PFOS specifically.

Installation time varies by model on Viomi’s own product pages: the Viomi V6 PRO is listed at about 30 minutes with basic household tools, while the Viomi V8 PRO’s page doesn’t give a specific installation time. Both Pro models add app-connected filter-life tracking. Viomi’s higher-end Viomi M1 goes further with a touchscreen smart faucet and mineral remineralization on top of the same reverse osmosis core, priced at $799.99. Viomi M1’s page lists the same core NSF/ANSI 42, 58, and 372 certifications and adds published SGS-tested reduction rates of more than 99.8% for lead, more than 99.6% for PFOS, and more than 99.4% for PFOA, the most specific answer on this list to the lead and PFAS concerns raised earlier in this guide, tied to a named device rather than a general filtration claim.

Across the Viomi V6 PRO and Viomi V8 PRO lineup, the RO membrane is rated for about 4 years and the composite pre-filter for about 2 years, and Viomi prices individual replacement filters between roughly $70 and $130 depending on the stage and model, which averages out to somewhere in the $60 to $70 a year range once you spread those costs over their lifespans. The Viomi M1 uses the same two-filter structure at a higher price point, averaging closer to $85 a year.

Other brands, including APEC, iSpring, and Culligan, sell comparable under-sink RO systems built around the same dedicated-faucet design, so the installation consideration is really about the category, not any one brand. APEC’s RO-90, for example, is a traditional tank-based system (not tankless like the Viomi V6 PRO and Viomi V8 PRO lineup) that lists for around $230, tested for a similar range of contaminants, with a full replacement filter set priced around $140 that APEC itself sells as a 12-month pack covering the sediment, carbon, and membrane stages together, so budget roughly $140 a year in filters once you own the unit. iSpring’s RCC7 line runs roughly $220 to $335 depending on the specific model, carries NSF/ANSI 58 certification, and is sold with third-party testing the company cites for reducing PFAS, lead, and a long list of other contaminants. Culligan’s under-sink RO systems, sold under its Aquasential line, cost more, typically $250 to $600 for the unit alone before professional installation, and add WiFi-based app monitoring on top of standard RO filtration.

If your kitchen sink already has a spare capped hole from a sprayer or soap dispenser, an under-sink RO faucet can often reuse it instead of requiring a new one, which is worth checking before you assume you will need to drill. If it does not, or if you are in a co-op or condo, get sign-off before you buy. It is genuinely the best filtration on this list, and it is also the one category where skipping that conversation can turn into a security deposit problem.

So Which Brand Should You Actually Pick?

• Not sure how long you’ll stay, or your lease is strict about alterations: a pitcher or faucet-mount filter from Brita, ZeroWater, PUR, Culligan, or Viomi’s Inno pitcher covers the basics with zero risk.
• You want RO-level filtration but will not touch a pipe: a countertop RO unit from AquaTru, RKIN, or one of Waterdrop’s countertop models gets you close to under-sink performance with nothing to install.
• You want continuous filtered water at the tap without a new faucet: a no-drill direct-connect under-sink filter, such as Waterdrop’s AS13 or Viomi’s Under-Sink Water Filtration System (VM-IUO1PCW-US), is the option most people don’t realize exists.
• You own your apartment, your board has approved it, or you’re staying long term and want the deepest filtration: a full under-sink RO system, whether that’s Viomi’s RO lineup, Viomi M1, or a comparable system from APEC, iSpring, or Culligan, is worth the extra step of asking first.

Before You Buy: A Renter’s Checklist

• Read the alterations clause in your lease, or ask your co-op or condo board directly if a system needs a drain connection or a new faucet hole.
• Measure your under-sink cabinet width and depth before ordering anything that sits under the sink, not just the box dimensions on the product page.
• Check whether your sink deck already has a capped extra hole from a sprayer or soap dispenser you could reuse for a dedicated faucet.
• Confirm the shutoff valve under your sink is reachable and turns freely; some older NYC buildings have valves that have not been touched in years.
• Look at the specific NSF/ANSI certification number, not just the word “certified.” NSF/ANSI 42 covers taste and odor, 53 covers health-related contaminants including lead, 58 covers reverse osmosis systems, and 372 covers lead-free material compliance. A filter can be certified under 42 and say nothing about lead at all, and a 53 certification does not automatically cover lead either, since 53 spans a range of possible contaminants and a given product may be certified under it for something other than lead. Check the specific contaminant list on the certification, not just the standard number. It’s also worth checking whether “certified” means the product is listed in NSF’s own certified product database or whether it means an independent lab such as SGS tested the product against the NSF/ANSI standard’s test method. Both can be legitimate evidence of performance, but they are not the same claim, and marketing copy rarely spells out the difference on its own.
• Ask about ongoing filter replacement cost per year, not just the price of the device itself. As a rough guide from the numbers in this article: pitcher filters run about $25 to $30 a year, no-drill under-sink filters land around $30 to $35 a year, and full under-sink RO systems range from roughly $60 a year up into the $80s or higher depending on the brand and how many filter stages it uses.

FAQ

Do I need my landlord’s permission to install an under-sink water filter in a NYC apartment? For a filter that connects to your existing cold water line without drilling and uses your existing faucet, generally no, though telling your landlord is still good practice. For a system that adds its own dedicated faucet through a new hole in the sink deck, yes, ask first, especially in a co-op or condo.

Will a water filter void my security deposit? A pitcher, faucet-mount filter, countertop RO unit, or no-drill under-sink filter should not, since none of them leave a permanent trace once removed. A full under-sink RO system with a new faucet hole is the exception, since the hole itself typically remains after the system is taken out.

Does NYC tap water actually need filtering? NYC’s water utility has not had an EPA violation in the last three years, and the source water is generally well regarded. The main reasons apartment dwellers filter anyway are lead risk from older interior building plumbing (not from the city’s mains) and the taste of chlorine used for disinfection.

What’s the real difference between a pitcher and a countertop reverse osmosis unit? A pitcher works by gravity through one filter cartridge, typically activated carbon (some, like ZeroWater, use a multi-stage ion-exchange filter instead), which is enough for chlorine taste and odor and, with a certified model, some lead reduction. A countertop RO unit pushes water through a multi-stage system including a reverse osmosis membrane, which removes a broader range of contaminants, including PFAS, at a higher price and with a larger footprint.

Can I take my water filter with me when I move? Pitchers, faucet-mount filters, and countertop RO units are fully portable by design. No-drill under-sink filters disconnect from the adapter and come with you too. A full under-sink RO system is also removable, but the hole for its dedicated faucet stays behind, and you would likely reconnect your original faucet before moving out.

The Bottom Line

If you rent in New York City, the installation question is more about which category of filter you’re comfortable with than which specific brand. Pitchers and faucet-mount filters from Brita, ZeroWater, PUR, and Culligan need nothing from your landlord. Countertop RO units from AquaTru, RKIN, and Waterdrop get you closer to whole-system filtration with the same zero-install profile. No-drill under-sink filters, including Viomi’s Under-Sink Water Filtration System (VM-IUO1PCW-US), sit in between: continuous filtered water at your existing tap, installed in minutes, without a new faucet hole. A full under-sink RO system, from Viomi’s RO lineup or any comparable brand, is still the deepest filtration available, but it’s the one upgrade worth a quick conversation with your landlord or board before you order it.