No single lookup shows every open violation on a New York City property. The Department of Buildings, ECB/OATH, HPD, FDNY, DEP and DOT each keep their own records, and some liabilities, such as City relocation billing after a vacate order, may not appear in any public violation search until they are recorded, often months later.
Free consultation: call 718-291-8555 or send us the address. Building Expediting Systems has cleared NYC violations for 27 years from our office in Forest Hills, Queens.
Where NYC Violations Are Recorded
- Department of Buildings (DOB): DOB violations, complaints, permits, Stop Work Orders and the Certificate of Occupancy, through DOB NOW and the Buildings Information System.
- ECB/OATH: summonses and penalties heard at the OATH Hearings Division, including defaults and unpaid judgments.
- HPD: housing maintenance violations (Class A, B and C), vacate orders, registration status and litigation on residential buildings, through HPD Online.
- FDNY: Fire Department violation orders and summonses covering sprinklers, standpipes, alarms and egress.
- DEP and DOT: environmental, water and sewer, and sidewalk violations.
- Recorded liens: liens and judgments recorded against the property, searchable through the City Register.
What a Public Search Misses
Searching each system yourself is possible, but three things are easy to miss:
- Context. A violation list doesn’t tell you what it will take to clear each item, or which ones can block a closing.
- Mismatched addresses. Corner lots, multiple addresses and lot mergers can split a property’s history across records.
- Unrecorded exposure. Relocation and hotel billing tied to an HPD vacate order can exist long before it shows up as a lien. See how buyers inherit someone else’s hotel bill.
Let Us Search It for You
Building Expediting Systems searches every agency for your address, reads what we find, and explains in plain language what is open, what it means and what it will take to clear. For buyers, our pre-purchase search also looks for vacate orders and outstanding relocation billing.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I check for violations on a NYC property?
Search each agency separately: DOB for building violations and the Certificate of Occupancy, OATH for ECB summonses, HPD Online for housing violations, plus FDNY, DEP and DOT records. Building Expediting Systems searches all of them for you.
Do violations show up on a title search?
Some do. Recorded liens and judgments appear, but many open violations and unrecorded City charges do not, which is why a separate violation search matters.
Can I find violations by address only?
Usually, but corner lots and buildings with several addresses can split the history. Searching by block and lot (BBL) and building number (BIN) is more reliable.