It depends on what the debt has become. In New York City, an unpaid OATH/ECB penalty is usually a personal money judgment against whoever was named in the summons, and it stays with that person after a sale. Two kinds of charges do run with the building: HPD emergency repair and Alternative Enforcement Program charges billed by the Department of Finance (DOF), and certain DOB-issued ECB judgments that the law converts into tax liens. Separately, the violation itself, meaning the physical condition, is the building’s problem whoever owes the fine.
This guide covers the five boroughs and works through four situations: an ordinary sale, an REO purchase from a lender, a referee’s deed at a foreclosure auction, and properties touched by the tax lien sale. For what each agency’s violations are and how they are cleared at closing, see NYC property violations at closing.
Three separate questions
Every OATH/ECB or HPD item on a search raises three questions, and the answers can differ.
Who owes the money? An ECB penalty becomes a judgment against the respondent named in the summons. Under NYC Charter § 1049-a(d)(1)(g), a final penalty order “shall constitute a judgment” that may be entered in Civil Court or elsewhere and enforced like a money judgment, and it lasts eight years ((d)(1)(i)). OATH dockets these judgments in the NYC Civil Court (Matter of 295 Madison Prop. Owner LLC v NYC OATH, 2025 NY Slip Op 34062(U)). Respondent liability is fixed when the violation is issued: in DOB v. 699 Rutland LLC (OATH Appeals, Nov. 20, 2025), a seller was held liable for violations written on the closing day because it had not shown the deed was delivered before the violation time, and the Board said an owner cannot shift that responsibility by private contract.
Is it a lien on the building? A judgment against a person binds that person’s real property only once it is docketed with the clerk of the county where the property sits (CPLR 5203(a)). A Civil Court judgment reaches the county clerk’s docket by transcript under CPLR 5018(a). No City source states how OATH judgments reach the county clerks’ dockets, but title practice treats them as judgment liens. Stewart Title tells its agents that the City keeps a citywide ECB judgment index viewable at every NYC County Clerk’s office, and that an ECB judgment docketed against the owner’s name in any NYC county is treated as a lien on the property being insured (Stewart Bulletin NY000623, 2019). Stewart’s guidelines also describe ECB judgments as in personam, enforceable “on ANY property owned by that individual,” not tied to one building (Stewart NY Guidelines, 2022, XIV.C.7). That is one underwriter’s guidance, not statute. The consequence: an ECB judgment docketed against a seller while the seller owned the building is handled like any other judgment against the seller, and one against a prior owner is examined like any prior-owner judgment.
Two categories are liens on the building by law. Under Admin. Code § 28-204.6, an ECB judgment against an owner for a Building Code violation “shall constitute a tax lien on the property named in the violation” for small buildings (three or fewer units, private dwellings), illegal conversions adding three or more units, and larger buildings once aggregate judgments reach $30,000 (6 to 19 units) or $60,000 (20 or more units, or non-residential space). Converted judgments appear on the property tax bill (DOF Settlement FAQs). And any HPD repair charge “billed by DOF and is past due and unpaid for, constitutes a tax lien against the property” (HPD, Emergency Repair Program). HPD lists Alternative Enforcement Program (AEP) charges among those billed the same way.
Who has to fix the condition? The current owner. DOB says “property owners must correct the issues listed in the DOB violation,” and ECB violations stay open in BIS until DOB approves a Certificate of Correction (DOB, Resolving Violations tool kit). For multiple dwellings, the owner’s duty to keep the building in good repair is statutory (Multiple Dwelling Law § 78). A buyer takes the building with its open violations, and any new summons for a condition that continues after closing is written against the owner at that time.
Scenario table
| Scenario | Prior owner’s ECB judgment | 28-204.6 tax lien | HPD ERP/AEP charge | Open violation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ordinary sale | Seller’s debt; paid at closing | Paid at closing | Paid at closing | Buyer’s to cure |
| REO from lender | Usually cut off or old owner’s | Lender pays or credits | Lender pays or credits | Buyer’s to cure |
| Referee’s deed | Cut off if City named | Paid from proceeds | Paid from proceeds | Bidder’s to cure |
| Lien sold | Not listed in sale | Check DOF | Owed to lien holder | Buyer’s to cure |
Ordinary sale
The title company searches judgments against the seller, so an ECB judgment against the seller shows up in Schedule B and is paid from the seller’s proceeds at closing, with proof of payment from DOF (DOF, ECB Debt Information). After the deed is delivered, a judgment against the seller does not become the buyer’s personal debt.
Tax liens are different. A 28-204.6 conversion or a past-due ERP charge sits on the DOF property account and is paid at closing like taxes. Stewart’s Schedule B also excepts emergency repair liens that “may have attached” but are not yet of record, and requires an affidavit about City work at the premises, because charges for recent HPD work can post after the search (Stewart, XIV.C.12 and VII.B). HPD will give a payoff for charges that have not yet moved to DOF.
The practical trap is the violation, not the fine. For DOB work-without-permit summonses, penalties must be paid or waived before DOB will approve a Certificate of Correction (DOB, What is an OATH Summons?). A buyer who later needs that violation cleared, for a permit sign-off or a refinance, may end up paying a penalty the seller owed. Negotiate payment or an escrow in the contract. DOF’s settlement program lets a “payor” other than the respondent participate (DOF Settlement FAQs), and the temporary Debt Demolisher amnesty, which opened October 13, 2026, reduces eligible judgments docketed by July 15, 2026 (not those already converted to tax liens), with full payment due by January 10, 2027 (NYC 311, Debt Demolisher).
REO purchase from a lender
When a lender sells a property it took back, the borrower’s ECB judgments are judgments against the borrower, not the bank. If any of them was a docketed lien when the borrower held title, it was junior to the mortgage unless docketed before the mortgage was recorded. A junior lienholder must be named in the foreclosure (RPAPL 1311(3)), and a properly joined junior lien is cut off by the sale. A lien not cut off because the holder was never joined, or because the lender took a deed in lieu instead of foreclosing, remains a title question for the examiner. Stewart requires a full review of the foreclosure file for any transfer out of foreclosure, including lapses in the notice of pendency and judgments that attached during them (XIV.D).
Tax liens survive and take priority. Converted ECB judgments and ERP or AEP charges on the DOF account must be paid at or before the REO closing. Many REO contracts sell “as is” and shift violation cures to the buyer, so check whether the contract also shifts unpaid municipal charges.
Referee’s deed at a foreclosure auction
The referee pays from the sale proceeds “all taxes, assessments, and water rates which are liens upon the property sold” and, in New York City, “any liens or incumbrances placed by a city agency” that have priority over the foreclosed mortgage (RPAPL 1354(2)). That covers ERP and AEP tax liens and converted ECB tax liens. The court forms carry this through: the property is sold “as is,” subject to building and zoning ordinances and possible violations, and to prior liens of record “except those liens addressed in” RPAPL 1354 (Kings County form judgment; Queens form). The posted Terms of Sale can add to this, so read them before bidding.
The bidder therefore buys every open DOB and HPD violation. The defaulted owner’s ECB judgments are personal debts, and a judgment lien docketed after the mortgage is cut off if the City was named as a defendant or the judgment was docketed after the notice of pendency. A senior lien, or a junior one whose holder was left out of the case, is the auction buyer’s risk; see liens that survive a foreclosure sale and the pre-auction lien check.
Tax lien sale context
The City’s lien sale has covered property taxes, water and sewer charges, and “Emergency Repair and Alternate Enforcement charges,” with interest and fees (NYC 311, Tax Lien Sale). Once sold, the charge is owed to the lien holder with a 5% surcharge plus interest and fees, and the holder can foreclose. A buyer pays it off from the lien holder, not DOF. ECB judgments are not listed among the charges sold, and DOF did not state whether converted 28-204.6 liens are included. For the current status of the sale (none expected in 2026), see checking NYC violations before contract.
Statutory carve-outs matter to investors buying from the City’s in rem pipeline: 28-204.6 does not convert a judgment into a tax lien where the City took the property by in rem foreclosure and transferred it under Admin. Code § 11-412.1 within five years, where a court has appointed an administrator in an HPD proceeding under RPAPL Article 7-A, or where HPD or HDC closed a rehabilitation loan within five years before the judgment.
What to do
- Run the OATH Summons Finder against the address and the seller’s exact name, and the DOF property account for converted liens and HPD charges.
- In the contract, decide who pays penalties tied to open DOB-issued violations, even where the judgment is the seller’s.
- Ask for the affidavit on City work and an HPD payoff for recent repairs.
- After closing, register the building with HPD if required. Only owners listed on a current registration can certify HPD violations (HPD, Register Your Property).
If a violation turns up after closing, see DOB violation found after closing.
Official sources
- NYC Charter § 1049-a (OATH copy): https://www.nyc.gov/assets/oath/downloads/pdf/charter_1049a.pdf
- NYC Local Law 153 of 2017 (Admin. Code § 28-204.6): https://www.nyc.gov/assets/buildings/local_laws/ll153of2017.pdf
- CPLR 5203: https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/CVP/5203
- CPLR 5018: https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/CVP/5018
- RPAPL 1311: https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/RPA/1311
- RPAPL 1354: https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/RPA/1354
- Multiple Dwelling Law § 78: https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/MDW/78
- Matter of 295 Madison Prop. Owner LLC v NYC OATH, 2025 NY Slip Op 34062(U): https://www.nycourts.gov/reporter/pdfs/2025/2025_34062.pdf
- OATH Appeals, DOB v. 699 Rutland LLC, No. 2501155 (Nov. 20, 2025): https://nyc-acc.mindbreeze.com/search/apps/cityadmin/documents/oath_hearings/2501155.pdf
- DOF, ECB Debt Information: https://www.nyc.gov/site/finance/property/ecb-debt-information.page
- DOF, OATH-Adjudicated ECB Judgments Settlement Program FAQs: https://www.nyc.gov/site/finance/property/settlements-faqs.page
- NYC 311, Debt Demolisher: https://portal.311.nyc.gov/article/?kanumber=KA-03751
- NYC 311, Tax Lien Sale: https://portal.311.nyc.gov/article/?kanumber=KA-01512
- DOB, Resolving Violations tool kit: https://www.nyc.gov/assets/buildings/pdf/tool_kit_resolving_violations.pdf
- DOB, What is an OATH Summons?: https://www.nyc.gov/site/buildings/property-or-business-owner/what-is-an-oath-summons.page
- HPD, Emergency Repair Program: https://www.nyc.gov/site/hpd/services-and-information/emergency-repair-program-erp.page
- HPD, Register Your Property: https://www.nyc.gov/site/hpd/services-and-information/register-your-property.page
- NYS Unified Court System, Kings County form Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale: https://www.nycourts.gov/LegacyPDFS/courts/2jd/kings/civil/ForeclosureForm-Judgment_Foreclosure_Sale.pdf
- Stewart Title, New York Guidelines for Out-of-State and New Agents (underwriter guidance, December 2022): https://www.stewart.com/content/dam/stewart/Microsites/new-york/pdfs/ny-guidelines-for-out-of-state-and-new-agents-12-13-2022.pdf