Violations & Enforcement
NYC owner & manager guide • Reviewed October 8, 2026
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Use this guide to organize coverage, deadlines, and follow-up for your buildings. Requirements depend on the property and equipment; confirm applicability and current filing instructions with the responsible agency and qualified professional.
OATH/ECB summonses and hearings
Managing a summons means tracking the case and the underlying condition. A hearing result, a payment, and accepted correction are separate outcomes.
Who should check coverage?
Respondents named on summonses returnable to OATH’s Hearings Division.
Timing
Use the summons’s hearing and compliance dates, plus applicable response and appeal deadlines.
Your action checklist
1. Verify the respondent, agency, cited law, location, and service/hearing information.
2. Preserve authorization and supporting evidence and select the appropriate response.
3. Attend or respond through the permitted process unless officially excused; retain the decision and track any remaining correction or payment.
Records to keep
Complete summons, authorization, evidence, hearing submissions, decision, payment, and correction status.
Official sources: OATH hearing help · DOB steps to correct a summons
Missed hearings and defaults
A missed hearing can lead to a default decision. Review the available reopening route promptly instead of assuming the matter is permanently closed.
Who should check coverage?
OATH respondents who missed a hearing and received a default decision.
Timing
Reopening has strict timing and eligibility rules. Review the current form, decision mailing/delivery date, and prior request history.
Your action checklist
1. Collect the summons, default decision, and proof of when it was received.
2. Prepare the current OATH request with the required explanation and evidence.
3. Track the determination and any new hearing date; filing a request is not proof it has been granted.
Records to keep
Default decision, service/receipt evidence, request, determination, and new hearing notice.
Official sources: OATH default reopening · OATH current reopening form
DOB certificates of correction and cure
DOB correction requires acceptable evidence through the agency process. Paying an OATH penalty does not by itself establish that the condition was corrected.
Who should check coverage?
DOB-issued summonses requiring certification of correction.
Timing
Follow the cited correction and cure provisions. Class 1 conditions require immediate correction; a cure option applies only where available.
Your action checklist
1. Complete lawful corrective work and gather supporting documents.
2. Submit the current Certificate of Correction request in DOB NOW: Safety.
3. Monitor for acceptance or rejection and resolve deficiencies. Do not skip a hearing solely because a correction was submitted.
Records to keep
Current forms, sworn statements where required, photos, permits, inspection results, and accepted certification.
Official sources: DOB Certificate of Correction · DOB correction FAQ
Immediately hazardous conditions and additional penalties
Immediately hazardous conditions demand immediate action. A later certification or enforcement checkpoint is not permission to leave a hazard in place.
Who should check coverage?
DOB Class 1 summonses and applicable failure-to-correct enforcement.
Timing
Immediate correction; track certification and any additional enforcement deadlines for the actual violation.
Your action checklist
1. Protect occupants and the public and arrange qualified corrective work.
2. Determine the applicable certification requirements.
3. Check additional civil penalties and reinspection obligations from current DOB guidance and the case record.
Records to keep
Hazard response, work evidence, certification, reinspection results, and penalty records.
Official sources: DOB Class 1 enforcement guidance
HPD violations and certification
HPD correction deadlines depend on the violation and its hazard class. Some conditions require specialized work and documentation.
Who should check coverage?
Housing Maintenance Code violations and related HPD orders.
Timing
Use the actual notice’s correction and certification dates. A/B/C are non-hazardous, hazardous, and immediately hazardous classifications.
Your action checklist
1. Review the complete violation and determine the proper corrective scope.
2. Document repairs with required licensed or certified professionals where applicable.
3. Certify through the correct process when eligible, or pursue the appropriate dismissal route; confirm the resulting status.
Records to keep
Notice, access records, repair evidence, specialized affidavits/testing where required, certification, and agency result.
Official sources: HPD clear violations · HPD penalties and fees
Alternative Enforcement Program
AEP is an intensive HPD enforcement program. Exiting it requires satisfying the program’s actual conditions, not simply reducing a violation count.
Who should check coverage?
Buildings selected for HPD’s Alternative Enforcement Program.
Timing
Follow the selection notice, Orders to Correct, inspection requirements, and program discharge conditions.
Your action checklist
1. Assemble the entire HPD/AEP record and identify responsible personnel.
2. Prioritize dangerous conditions and required building-system repairs.
3. Track inspections, notices, charges, and evidence needed for discharge.
Records to keep
Selection/order documents, repair program, contractor records, inspections, charges, and discharge confirmation.
Official sources: HPD Alternative Enforcement Program
Administrative DOB violations
Administrative violations can arise from missing inspections, reports, or corrections. Each issuing unit has its own resolution process.
Who should check coverage?
DOB violations outside the OATH hearing track, including applicable boiler, elevator, façade, and other filing violations.
Timing
Case-specific. Track the original missed requirement and the current dismissal or waiver process.
Your action checklist
1. Identify the issuing unit and exact violation type.
2. Resolve the underlying filing or condition and determine any required payment or eligible waiver.
3. Submit the applicable request and verify dismissal in the agency record.
Records to keep
Violation record, current compliance filing, penalty/waiver documents, and dismissal evidence.
Official sources: DOB elevator resolution guidance · DOB boiler resolution guidance
Stop Work Orders
A Stop Work Order remains a restriction until DOB authorizes it to be lifted. A complaint status change alone is not proof of rescission.
Who should check coverage?
Work or areas identified in a full or partial DOB Stop Work Order.
Timing
Immediate compliance with the order; corrective and rescission steps depend on its stated conditions.
Your action checklist
1. Read the full order and stop the prohibited work.
2. Coordinate required safety work, permits, inspections, and applicable payments with the project professional.
3. Obtain and retain DOB’s rescission before restarting prohibited work.
Records to keep
Order, permitted corrective scope, permits, inspection results, correspondence, and rescission.
Official sources: DOB Stop Work Orders · DOB SWO guidance
Vacate orders
Vacate orders protect people from dangerous conditions and may apply to an entire building or a limited area.
Who should check coverage?
Premises subject to a DOB, HPD, or FDNY vacate order.
Timing
Comply immediately with the order’s restrictions. Reoccupancy requires the necessary agency rescission, not just completed repairs.
Your action checklist
1. Identify every issuing agency and affected space.
2. Coordinate authorized corrective work and the required inspections.
3. Confirm that each applicable agency has lifted its order before reoccupancy.
Records to keep
Orders, correction plan, permits, inspections, and rescission documents from each issuing agency.
Official sources: DOB vacate orders · DOB reoccupancy FAQ
FDNY summonses, violation orders, and criminal summonses
Start by identifying the document. An FDNY summons, violation order, vacate order, and Criminal Court summons do not follow one interchangeable process.
Who should check coverage?
Recipients of the particular FDNY enforcement document.
Timing
Use the stated correction, compliance, and appearance dates. Cure is not available in every matter.
Your action checklist
1. Read all pages and identify mandatory appearances and correction requirements.
2. Complete the corrective work and submit acceptable proof through the current FDNY process.
3. Verify agency acceptance and hearing status; obtain legal guidance for a Criminal Court summons.
Records to keep
Complete notice, corrective evidence, certification, acceptance, and hearing/court outcome.
Official sources: FDNY violation types and correction · FDNY correction instructions
Complaints, inspections, and status tracking
A complaint is an allegation reported to an agency. An inspection, summons, violation, or order may follow and must be tracked separately.
Who should check coverage?
Properties receiving HPD, DOB, FDNY, or other agency complaints.
Timing
Respond to the condition promptly. Inspection and enforcement timing varies; the complaint itself does not create a universal hearing deadline.
Your action checklist
1. Record the complaint number, condition, location, and assigned agency.
2. Document access and corrective work, and check for related violations or orders.
3. Confirm the status of each related record before closing the internal case.
Records to keep
Complaint record, work orders, photos, inspection findings, and linked enforcement records.
Official sources: HPD building and complaint records · FDNY complaints and enforcement
ECB judgment relief: readiness checklist
Prepare the records needed to evaluate a judgment-relief program, but do not assume an open violation is automatically an eligible judgment.
Who should check coverage?
Potentially eligible ECB/OATH judgment debt, subject to the final program’s requirements.
Timing
Program-specific. A confirmed public enrollment start and closing date were not established by the sources reviewed for this package.
Your action checklist
1. Identify the respondent, summons, judgment, collection status, and balance.
2. Check correction/certification status with the issuing agency.
3. Review the official program terms when available before quoting savings or advising payment.
Records to keep
Judgment records, balances, agency correction status, eligibility review, and any later settlement receipt.
Official sources: DOF FY2027 initiative statement
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