Guide

How to Check NYC Building Violations by Address

Every building in New York City carries a public record of its open violations, and you can read most of it for free without a lawyer or an inspector. City agencies log problems by address: the Department of Buildings tracks structural and code issues, while the Department of Housing Preservation and Development handles residential conditions. Knowing where those records live, and what the violation classes mean, helps owners, renters, buyers, and lenders judge a property before a problem becomes expensive.

Where NYC violation records actually live

New York City spreads its property records across several agencies, so a full picture usually means checking more than one system. The Department of Buildings, or DOB, keeps construction and code data in two places: the older Buildings Information System (BIS) and the newer DOB NOW portal, which handles most current filings and permits. Both let you search by address at no cost.

Residential conditions sit with a separate agency. The Department of Housing Preservation and Development, or HPD, records apartment-related violations — heat, hot water, leaks, pests, and similar issues — in its HPD Online system, also free and searchable by address.

A third stream comes from summonses. Many agency violations are written as tickets adjudicated at the Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings (OATH), the tribunal that hears what were long called Environmental Control Board, or ECB, cases. Because the data is scattered, some free tools pull all three together; a combined DOB, HPD, and ECB lookup by address returns records from each system in one search.

How to search a building, step by step

You can start with the address itself. Find the building's borough, block, and lot — its BBL, the unique parcel identifier the city assigns to every lot — or simply enter the street address in the agency portal you need. DOB BIS and DOB NOW both accept an address and return the property's filings, permits, and violations.

For residential complaints, run the same address through HPD Online, which lists violations by apartment and class. To see summonses and unpaid fines, check the OATH hearings database, where each ticket shows its status, penalty, and whether a decision has been entered.

Read the status field carefully. A violation may be open, meaning unresolved; closed or dismissed; or resolved with the city but still carrying an unpaid penalty. Open items and unpaid balances are the ones that follow a property forward.

What DOB violation classes mean

The DOB sorts its violations into three classes by severity. Class 1 is Immediately Hazardous — the most serious, covering conditions that pose a direct danger, such as illegal construction or a structural risk. Class 2 is Major, and Class 3 is Minor, covering lesser, non-hazardous issues that are typically corrected once the owner is notified.

The class drives the potential penalty. A Class 1 violation can carry up to $25,000 per violation, and a Class 2 up to $10,000 per violation. Class 3 items are lower-stakes but still need to be cleared, because an open record can complicate a sale or a permit down the line.

What HPD violation classes mean

Residential violations from HPD use a different scale, lettered A through C. Class A is non-hazardous — minor upkeep issues that must be corrected but carry no immediate danger, generally within about 90 days. Class B is hazardous, and Class C is immediately hazardous, such as no heat or hot water in cold weather, which the city expects to be cured fastest.

Owners clear an HPD violation by fixing the condition and then certifying the correction through HPD Online, usually with photo evidence that the work was done. Until that certification is accepted, the violation stays on the building's record even if the repair is finished.

ECB summonses, OATH, and how fines become liens

An ECB violation is a summons — a ticket issued by an agency such as DOB, the Fire Department, the Sanitation Department, DEP, or HPD — and heard at OATH. Penalties commonly range from $250 to $25,000 per summons, depending on the offense and the agency.

Timing matters. If you do not request a hearing within 30 days, the tribunal can enter a default judgment against you, often at a higher penalty than the original ticket. An unpaid judgment can then be docketed as a judgment lien against the property itself — not just the owner — which means it attaches to the building and generally must be cleared before a sale closes.

Why open violations matter for deals, financing, and insurance

Open violations are not just paperwork. In a sale, a title search will surface docketed liens and unpaid fines, and buyers routinely ask that they be cleared before closing. In a refinance, a lender may treat serious open items — especially Immediately Hazardous ones — as a condition to resolve before approving the loan.

Insurers can factor a building's violation history into coverage and pricing, and a pattern of unresolved hazards can raise questions about risk. For any specific situation, this is general information rather than legal advice; verify the details with the relevant city agency or a qualified professional before acting.