Our Most Common NYC Building Violations and How to Fix Them

An orange sticker from the Department of Buildings can grind a sale, stop refinancing, and drain cash on daily late fees. Fines grow, tenant complaints follow, and a once-simple project becomes a legal maze. 

Why Violations Snowball in New York

New York properties answer to several agencies at once. DOB inspectors enforce construction codes, FDNY officers check fire protection, and HPD polices residential conditions. 

Each agency issues its own notice and fine schedule, and all tickets sit in public databases visible to lenders and prospective tenants within minutes. Keeping every renewal and inspection on time is difficult enough; missing one date often triggers a cascade of related penalties.

Four Violations We See Every Week

Local Law 11 Façade Reports

Buildings over six stories must file a façade inspection report every five years through DOB NOW Safety. Owners who skip a cycle face Class 1 penalties and may be ordered to install a sidewalk shed until unsafe conditions are repaired. 

We coordinate a Qualified Exterior Wall Inspector, prepare the electronic FISP report, and file any repair permits required to move the status from “Unsafe” to “Safe With Repair and Maintenance Program.”

Annual Boiler and Elevator Filings

DOB requires annual inspections for both systems, followed by Form ELV-3 or BO-9 filings. Late or missing paperwork leads to automatic fines and, in some cases, device shutdown orders until the reports are accepted. 

Our compliance calendar tracks due dates and confirms that filings show “Accepted” in the DOB portal, not just “Received.”

Sidewalk Shed Permit Expirations

DOT issues permits for shed installation tied to façade or roof work. Leaving a shed up after the permit expires results in escalating fines. 

Our team requests a removal inspection, assembles photographs from the project engineer, and files the shed-removal package so the permit closes and street frontage returns to normal use. Recent City Council amendments add higher penalties for sheds that linger past the second renewal.

HPD Residential Deficiencies

In multifamily buildings, HPD writes violations for issues such as inadequate heat, mold, or broken window guards. 

Notices specify a correction timeline and civil penalty. We verify the site condition, coordinate licensed trades for repairs, and file the Certification of Correction with HPD before the deadline to prevent the violation from escalating to Housing Court.

Our Four-Step Roadmap From Notice to Closure

1. Investigate and Due Diligence: We pull the property’s entire violation history from public databases and compare it with on-site conditions.
2. Survey and Understanding: Field staff confirm existing conditions, gather photographs, and cross-check them against agency requirements.
3. Propose and Clarify: Architects and engineers draft repair scopes or legalization drawings while expediters outline the filing path for each agency.
4. Resolve and Deliver: We submit documentation, track reviewer comments, attend any required inspections, and verify that the public database shows “Closed.”

Preventing the Next Ticket

Our monitoring service, Violerts, keeps an eye on renewal milestones for boilers, elevators, façades, energy benchmarking, and safety plans. Owners receive reminders before deadlines, shrinking the chance of surprise fees and emergency work orders.

Why Owners Rely on BVS

• Multidisciplinary team on one contract – registered architects, code consultants, and expediters work side by side.
• Clear workflow – the same four-step process applies whether the ticket came from DOB, FDNY, or HPD.
• Agency familiarity – decades of filings mean we know which documents each reviewer needs, reducing back-and-forth.

Ready to Clear Your Violations?

Open violations chip away at property value and delay every deal. Send us your address for a no-cost status report, and we will outline the fastest path from “open” to “resolved.”