NYC violations, answered in plain English.

• HPD (Housing Preservation and Development): conditions inside the apartments, such as heat, leaks, mold, pests, doors and smoke or CO alarms. Also annual filings like the bedbug report.
• DOB (Buildings): construction, facades, work without permits, and use that does not match the Certificate of Occupancy.
• ECB / OATH: DOB violations go to an OATH hearing, with a penalty. Summonses from FDNY, Sanitation and the Health Department are heard at OATH too.
• DOB NOW: equipment filings such as elevator and boiler inspections. Missing a filing creates an automatic violation.

Owners often fix a problem with one agency and miss the open record at another.

The clock starts on the date the violation is served. DOB uses a different scale: Class 1 (immediately hazardous), Class 2 (major) and Class 3 (lesser).

• Complaint: someone, often a tenant or neighbor, reported a problem through 311. Nothing is decided yet. An inspection usually follows.
• Violation: an inspector confirmed the problem. It goes on your building's public record with a deadline.
• Summons (ECB / OATH): the violation carries a hearing date and a possible penalty. You must respond by that date.

Read the paper carefully. A notice that asks you to schedule an inspection is usually about a complaint, not an issued violation.

• HPD Online: HPD violations, complaints and registration status.
• DOB BIS and DOB NOW: DOB violations, ECB violations, complaints, permits and equipment filings.
• OATH summons search: hearing dates, decisions and balances for summonses from DOB, FDNY, Sanitation and Health.

Search by address, then confirm the block and lot. Check all three. A clean result in one system says nothing about the others.

When a new owner files a DOB Certificate of Correction, they attach a copy of the deed. DOB approves the certificate only after all DOB civil penalties on the violation are paid, including penalties issued before the sale.

Before you buy, ask who will clear each open item, and get it in the contract.

1. Fix the condition, and take dated photos.
2. File proof with the agency: an HPD certification of correction, or a DOB Certificate of Correction.
3. Wait for acceptance. The record changes only after the agency accepts the filing.

Try the checker at the top of this page to see which step your violation is on.

The Certificate of Correction (form AEU2) needs:

• The date the condition was corrected and who did the work, with license numbers for licensed trades.
• A notarized statement describing the work, with photos, receipts, invoices or permits.
• An original ink signature. DOB does not accept copies, scans or stamped signatures.

Skip this step and DOB can issue a new violation for failure to certify. At small buildings in Manhattan and Long Island City this year, it was the second most common ECB charge, averaging about $1,900.

• Online: enroll the building once in HPD eCertification, then certify each violation.
• On paper: use the certification form from the notice, sign it before a notary, and return it to HPD. Lead paint, mold and pest violations require paper.
• Who can sign: the owner, a corporate officer or the managing agent listed on a valid HPD registration.

HPD then mails your tenant a notice. The tenant can dispute it, which leads to a reinspection. If HPD does not reinspect, a certified violation closes after 70 days.

The inspector looks at the listed conditions and can write new violations for anything else they find. Before the visit, walk the apartment and common areas, take photos, and fix what you can.

If you need more time before the deadline passes, you can ask HPD for a postponement with your reason and supporting documents.

HPD audits certifications and reinspects when tenants dispute them. Penalties for false certification run $50–$250 for a Class A violation and up to $1,000 for a Class C violation, and HPD can put the building on its certification watchlist. Willfully filing a false statement is also a crime under the Housing Maintenance Code.

Fix first, photograph, then certify.

For a DOB violation, the main routes are:

• Cure it. Fix the condition and get your Certificate of Correction to DOB before the cure date. See the next question.
• Go to the hearing. Bring proof of the repair or evidence that the violation is wrong. OATH offers hearings online, by phone and by video for many summonses.
• Admit and pay the standard penalty before the hearing. You still must file the Certificate of Correction.

• Class 3 violations can always be cured. Most Class 2 violations can too. Class 1 cannot.
• Fix the condition and get your Certificate of Correction to DOB within 40 days of service, before the cure date on the summons.
• If DOB accepts it in time, you do not need to appear.

Class 1 conditions must be corrected right away. Not certifying a Class 1 correction in time brings an extra DOB penalty of at least $1,500.

• You can ask for a new hearing within 75 days of the missed date. OATH grants requests received in that window.
• You get one request per summons.
• If the penalty stays unpaid, the City can file in Civil Court and the Department of Finance can start collection.

• Update your HPD registration within 5 days of a change, such as a new managing agent or address.
• Check that your property tax records show the mailing address you actually use.
• Search HPD, DOB and OATH records for your building every month. Notices can arrive late, or go to the tenant's side of the building.
• If a hearing already passed, request a new hearing within 75 days.

For violations issued since December 8, 2023, in a building with 5 or fewer units:

Heat, hot water and lead paint violations carry higher amounts. HPD can also charge inspection fees for repeat inspections, and bills the property for emergency repairs it makes.

A buyer or lender may ask you to clear the violations first, hold money in escrow, or lower the price. The longer the delay, the more a rate lock or closing date is at risk.

Start early. A filing that takes weeks is easy before a contract, and stressful after one.

• Pull HPD, DOB, ECB / OATH and DOB NOW records, plus open permits.
• Read the Certificate of Occupancy. Count the legal units and compare them to the real layout. Look hard at basements and cellars.
• Look for work that a search cannot show: new bathrooms, kitchens, decks, paving and extensions without permits.

A clean active-violation search does not stop the city from writing a violation later for work done before you bought.

1. Register the building with HPD. Registration is required after a purchase. Without it, you cannot certify HPD violations.
2. List every open item across HPD, DOB, ECB / OATH and DOB NOW.
3. Sort by date. Hearings and Class C items first, then Class B, then the rest.
4. Split paperwork from repairs. Some items only need a filing. Others need a contractor or a permit.

• Request access in writing, with the date, time and reason.
• Log each failed visit: who went, when, and what happened. Ask your contractor for a no-access note.
• Before the correction date, you can ask HPD for a postponement with these documents.
• If access keeps failing, talk to a landlord-tenant attorney.

Find the complaint on DOB BIS by address. It shows the category, such as an illegal conversion, and its status.

• If the space matches your Certificate of Occupancy and the work had permits, schedule the inspection.
• If it does not, talk to an architect or attorney before the visit. An inspector who finds work without permits can write violations.

The usual paths are to legalize the space with an architect or engineer and new permits, or to remove the work and restore the legal layout. Gas lines, plumbing and bathrooms add cost and require licensed trades.

Get a scope and quote from more than one professional before you commit.

• Respond by the hearing date. Do not wait for a phone call back.
• Bring proof: photos, plans, the Certificate of Occupancy, and letters from licensed professionals.
• If someone else will speak for you, check that they are allowed to represent you at OATH before the hearing.

• The December 2026 report covers November 2025 through October 2026.
• Filing is free. The building must have a valid HPD registration first.
• LLCs and corporations file online. Individual owners can file online or on paper.
• Give tenants a copy, by posting or handing it out, with the Health Department's bedbug notice.

Private companies sometimes charge for this filing. You do not need one.

• Register every year by September 1, and again after a purchase.
• The fee is $13 a year, billed on your property tax statement. Registration counts only when the fee is paid and the form is filed.
• Without a valid registration, you cannot certify HPD violations, request a dismissal, or bring a nonpayment case in court. HPD can also issue penalties.

Buildings with an elevator or a boiler have their own yearly inspection filings in DOB NOW.

You can certify HPD corrections, file a DOB Certificate of Correction, and attend an OATH hearing yourself. The hard part is knowing which form, which proof and which deadline.

Bring in a licensed professional when the case involves permits, an illegal unit, gas or structural work, a Class 1 hazard, or a sale with a closing date.

• Agency side: HPD certification is free. An HPD Dismissal Request has a fee. DOB approves a Certificate of Correction only after the penalties are paid. Notarization adds a small fee.
• Filing help: filing services advertise simple filings at a few hundred dollars.
• Repairs and permits: owners report quotes in the thousands, and above $15,000 for removing illegal work.

Ask for a written scope with every quote, so you can see what the price includes.

Alerts help most with deadlines and hearings, where days matter. Pair them with a plan for each open item.

1. We check your building across HPD, DOB, ECB, OATH and DOB NOW, and explain each item.
2. We prepare the paperwork for each violation, with the proof it needs.
3. You sign and submit.
4. We track it until the city record shows closed.

When a case needs a contractor or a hearing rep, our team connects you.

City rules let only the owner, a corporate officer or a registered managing agent certify an HPD correction, and DOB requires an original signature. A violation expert reviews every filing before you see it.

• Building check: free, with no sign-up and no card. Any building in the five boroughs.
• Monitoring: daily record checks, a deadline calendar, and text and email alerts in your language. Cancel anytime.
• Violation cases: you see the price for your case before you start.

We explain every violation in English, 中文 and 한국어. The official agency wording is always one tap away.

When a case needs legal representation, a permit or licensed work, we connect you with a professional who does that work.