Municipal Searches for Commercial Property in NYC and Westchester: The Standard Bundle and the Add-Ons

A commercial deal in New York City or Westchester County starts with the same municipal searches as a house: certificate of occupancy (CO), building department, fire, street and highway, plus HPD emergency repair in the five boroughs. On commercial property the title company then adds searches that depend on location and use, usually air resources, health, landmark and fuel oil. Stewart Title’s New York agent guidelines set out exactly this split (Stewart NY guidelines, Dec. 13, 2022, p. 5, § I.C.3 to I.C.5). That is one underwriter’s guidance, not a statute, but it reflects the standard package.

Only a few of these searches carry money that will follow the property. The rest are information about condition and use, which the title policy does not insure. This guide sorts the bundle into those two groups and covers the environmental and zoning checks a commercial buyer or lender usually needs on top of it.

The bundle at a glance

Search NYC Westchester What it shows
Tax Yes Yes Taxes, liens, sold liens
Water and sewer Yes Yes Charges, last reading
Certificate of occupancy Yes Yes Legal use, occupancy
Building department Yes (DOB) Yes (local) Permits, violations
Fire Yes Yes Fire code violations
Street report Yes Yes Public street status
Highway Yes Yes Curb, street openings
Emergency repair (HPD) Yes No City repair charges
Air resources Add-on Add-on Air permits, boilers
Health Add-on Add-on Health dept. orders
Landmark Add-on Add-on Designation status
Fuel oil Add-on Add-on Oil burners, tanks

Westchester has no HPD equivalent at the county level. Building, fire and street records sit with each city, town or village, which is covered in Westchester municipal searches explained.

What is insured and what is information only

Stewart’s guidelines treat tax, water and sewer, bankruptcy and Patriot searches as always required. “All other municipal searches are for information only and are not insured,” and title does not omit items found on them (§ I.C.1 and I.C.2). The report must carry a cover page saying the returns “will not be insured,” that the company “assumes no liability for the accuracy thereof,” and that they “will not be continued to the date of closing” (p. 16, § XIII.A).

A clean building or fire letter reflects the agency’s file on the date it was run, nothing more. The title company clears money items and reports condition items; reading each return against the contract, the leases and the lender’s conditions is the buyer’s side of the work.

The searches that carry money

Tax and water. Unpaid taxes and water and sewer charges are liens and are paid at closing. In NYC, check for previously sold tax liens too; how to do that is in how to check a NYC property before contract.

HPD emergency repair (NYC). When HPD makes emergency repairs, the charges are billed through the Department of Finance and can become tax liens. Stewart’s guidelines note that liens disclosed on an emergency repair search “ultimately are transferred to the Department of Finance” (§ XIV.C.12). HPD enforces the Housing Maintenance Code, so this search matters most on mixed-use buildings with apartments.

ECB judgments and DOB charges (NYC). The building department search shows DOB and ECB violations. An unpaid ECB penalty becomes a judgment, and some ECB judgments for Building Code violations become tax liens. For a building with 20 or more units, or with any space classified in an occupancy group other than residential group R, that happens once the judgments total $60,000 or more; dwellings with three or fewer legal units have no dollar floor (Local Law 153 of 2017, amending Administrative Code § 28-204.6). The rules are in NYC property violations at closing.

Sidewalk repairs (NYC). Property owners are responsible for the sidewalk adjoining their property under Administrative Code § 19-152. If an owner does not repair a cited defect within 75 days, DOT can do the work and bill through the Department of Finance; after 90 days unpaid, interest accrues and “a monetary lien will be placed against the property” (NYC DOT, Sidewalks).

Health department and other City charges (NYC). Stewart’s guidelines list a standard NYC exception for charges by the City Department of Health, “whether or not such charges are liens against which this policy protects” (§ VII.B.2(c), p. 10), and note that liens for emergency repairs, health, pest control and other City departments transfer to the Department of Finance (§ XI.D.1(a), p. 15). Confirm the DOF account shows them, and clear them at closing.

The searches that describe condition and use

Certificate of occupancy. On commercial property the CO decides whether the planned use is legal: retail on the ground floor, office above, assembly space with a set occupant load. A mismatch is not a title defect, but it can stop a tenant’s permit, a lender’s closing or a new CO for the buyer’s renovation. See no certificate of occupancy in NYC and Westchester open permits and COs.

Building department. Open permits and violations. On commercial property, look for open alteration jobs from prior tenants’ build-outs, which the new owner inherits. See open permits on a NYC sale.

Fire. Fire code violations and open fire department orders on file. The return carries more weight for restaurants, assembly space and multifamily than for a small office.

Street report and highway. The street report addresses whether the street in front of the property is a public street. In NYC, mapped streets are shown on the official City Map; the Department of City Planning’s Digital City Map reproduces them, adds record streets for context, and is provided for informational purposes only (DCP, Digital City Map data dictionary). A lot that fronts a mapped but unbuilt street, or sits inside a street widening line, is a development and access question. The highway search covers curb cuts and street openings.

Air resources and fuel oil. In NYC, air permits and boiler registrations are filed with the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) through the Clean Air Tracking System (CATS), which also offers an air permit information search by property (DEP, CATS). These searches matter because of NYC’s heating oil rules: No. 6 oil was phased out between 2011 and 2015, no new No. 4 oil boilers have been permitted since 2015, and No. 4 boilers “will be phased out by 2030” (DEP, No. 4 fuel oil phase-out). A building still burning No. 4 oil has a conversion cost the buyer needs to price.

Landmark. In NYC, a designated landmark or a building in a historic district needs a Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) permit before DOB can act on a work application (LPC, Landmark Status Letter). LPC no longer issues landmark status letters, and directs status questions to info@lpc.nyc.gov (same source). In Westchester, landmark designation is a municipal matter, so the search goes to the local landmarks or historic preservation body where one exists.

Yonkers: the violations registry

Yonkers publishes a Building Violations Registry with a “Top Violators By Parcel” dashboard. It is usually updated weekly, but the city says inspection data can take 21 business days to post and that the data is “for informational purposes.” Use it as a quick screen, not a substitute for the building department search.

Environmental items: not part of the municipal bundle

The municipal searches do not tell you whether the ground is contaminated. Commercial buyers and lenders get that from an environmental site assessment, which is a separate engagement. Two public records are worth checking alongside it.

NYS DEC databases (statewide). The Department of Environmental Conservation’s Environmental Remediation Database Search covers spill incidents dating back to 1978, sites in DEC remedial programs (State Superfund, Brownfield Cleanup and others), and bulk storage facilities registered under the petroleum and chemical bulk storage programs. DEC says the databases are updated nightly. In Westchester, the County Department of Health runs petroleum bulk storage under a delegation from DEC; its program covers facilities storing more than 1,100 gallons of petroleum and tanks over 110 gallons that are at least 10% below ground (Westchester County DOH, Petroleum Bulk Storage).

NYC E-designations. An (E) designation is placed on a tax lot through a zoning action and carries hazardous materials, air quality or noise requirements. Under Zoning Resolution § 11-15, DOB needs a notice from the Mayor’s Office of Environmental Remediation (OER) before it issues a building permit or a temporary or final CO for covered work, and the designations are listed in Appendix C of the Zoning Resolution. For hazardous materials, soil testing is required and OER must approve a remedial plan, which must be carried out before occupancy (OER, E-Designation). An E is not a lien, but it adds time and cost to any redevelopment. An environmental restrictive declaration, by contrast, is recorded against title and binds later owners. The designations are also published as an Open Data file.

Zoning reports and the zoning endorsement

A zoning report is not a municipal search. It is a third-party report, ordered from a zoning consultant, that analyzes the zoning district, permitted uses, bulk and parking against the existing building, and often attaches the CO and open violations. Lenders on commercial loans commonly require one.

The insurance product is separate. The TIRSA rate manual provides a TIRSA 3-06 Zoning Endorsement that may be issued only on commercial real property, with owner’s, loan and construction mortgage policies, and “NYSDFS requires title insurer approval prior to issuance of this endorsement.” The charge on an owner’s policy is the greater of $500 or 5% of the premium (TIRSA Rate Manual, eff. Oct. 1, 2024, § 23). What the underwriter needs before approving it varies; ask early, since approval is not automatic.

What to prioritize

  • Before contract: pull the CO, the building file and boiler status yourself. Check DEC’s databases and, in NYC, whether the lot has an E.
  • Title report: separate money items (tax, water, emergency repair, ECB judgments, sidewalk liens) from condition items, and confirm a payoff for each money item.
  • Condition items: tie each to a contract clause, holdback or price adjustment. Get updated letters if closing is weeks away.
  • Zoning: order the zoning report early if the lender wants it or you want the endorsement.

For what these searches cost on the title bill, see the title bill explained.

Official sources

Related guides

Korvane Title is preparing to launch in New York. It is not licensed as a title insurance agent and does not accept title orders. Content on this site is general information, not legal advice.