An open building violation does not automatically stop a New York City closing. What matters is whether the item is a lien (a money claim against the property or the owner that the title company must clear or except) or information only (a record of a condition that the title company reports but does not insure). Most Department of Buildings (DOB) and Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) violations fall in the second group. Unpaid OATH/ECB penalties and HPD emergency repair charges can fall in the first.
This article covers the five boroughs only. Westchester and the rest of New York State handle permits and violations through local building departments; see open permits and COs at a Westchester closing.
The three agencies, briefly
- DOB enforces the Building Code and Zoning Resolution. It issues DOB violations, and it also issues summonses that are heard at OATH.
- OATH (the Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings) is the City’s administrative court. It now hears the summonses that were once heard by the Environmental Control Board (ECB), which is why title reports and DOF pages still say “OATH ECB” or just “ECB.” OATH does not inspect buildings. It decides summonses written by DOB, FDNY, DSNY, DEP and other agencies, and imposes penalties.
- HPD enforces the Housing Maintenance Code in residential buildings. It issues Class A, B and C violations and, when an owner fails to fix a hazardous condition, can do the work itself through the Emergency Repair Program (ERP) and bill the property.
A single condition can produce records in more than one system. An illegal conversion, for example, can show up as a DOB violation, an OATH summons with a penalty, and an HPD violation.
Taxonomy: lien or information
| Item | Issuing agency | Lien or information | How it appears in the title report | How it is cleared |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DOB violation (non-OATH) | DOB | Information. Not a lien by itself. | Departmental (municipal) search, furnished for information only | Correct the condition, submit proof to the issuing DOB unit, pay any DOB civil penalty |
| Missing or nonconforming certificate of occupancy (CO) | DOB | Information | CO search; often a note that no CO is on file or that use differs from the CO | Obtain a CO, letter of no objection, or amended CO from DOB; otherwise a contract or lender issue, not a title clearance item |
| OATH/ECB summons, open or pending hearing | Issuing agency (often DOB), heard at OATH | Information until a penalty is imposed and unpaid | Departmental search; ECB search | Attend hearing or cure; if DOB-issued, file a Certificate of Correction |
| OATH/ECB penalty, unpaid, entered as a judgment | OATH (collected by DOF) | Money judgment against the respondent named in the summons | Separate ECB exception in Schedule B; judgment searches against the owner’s name | Pay or settle through DOF; obtain proof of payment. Payment does not close the underlying DOB violation |
| DOB-issued ECB judgment converted under Admin. Code 28-204.6 | DOB/OATH; billed on the DOF property tax bill | Tax lien on the property (only for building categories set by law) | DOF tax search / property account | Pay through DOF before or at closing |
| HPD violation (Class A, B, C) | HPD | Information. Not a lien. | HPD violation search (departmental) | Correct and certify to HPD; if late or falsely certified, Dismissal Request reinspection |
| HPD Emergency Repair (ERP) charge | HPD, billed by DOF | Tax lien once past due and unpaid | Emergency repair search; DOF tax search / statement of account | Pay through DOF; payoff from HPD for pending charges |
The sections below explain each row.
DOB violations and CO issues: reported, not insured
In NYC practice, the title report includes a set of municipal or “departmental” searches: DOB violations, certificate of occupancy, HPD, fire, street and highway, among others. These are returned for information. Stewart Title’s New York guidelines for agents (2022) describe them this way: apart from the always-required tax, water and sewer, bankruptcy and Patriot searches, municipal searches are “for information only,” are not insured, and are not part of the title commitment (Stewart NY Guidelines, 2022, sections I.C.1, I.C.2, I.C.6 and XIII.A). That is underwriter guidance, not statute, but it reflects how NYC title reports are generally prepared.
The consequence: an open DOB violation or a CO problem will not be “omitted” or insured over. The title company will close over it. Whether the buyer should accept it is a question for the contract of sale and, if there is financing, the lender. Those are contract and lender issues, not title defects.
One related item is a lien risk. DOB can charge for inspections and services, and some of those charges can become liens. Stewart’s Schedule B for the five boroughs therefore requires an affidavit on whether such DOB charges exist (Stewart NY Guidelines, 2022, VII.B.4). Expect a seller’s affidavit on this at closing.
To remove a DOB violation from the property record, DOB says the condition must be corrected, proof of correction provided to the issuing unit, and applicable DOB civil penalties paid (DOB Violations). Violation-specific procedures apply to boiler, elevator, facade and other categories.
OATH/ECB summonses: from penalty to judgment to lien
This is where most confusion sits, and where the precise terms matter.
A summons is not a lien. It is a charge to be heard at OATH. The respondent can attend the hearing, cure the condition where allowed, or pay. A respondent who does nothing faces a default penalty, which DOB says can reach $25,000 depending on the violation (What is an OATH Summons?).
An unpaid penalty becomes a judgment. Under NYC Charter § 1049-a(d)(1)(g), a final order imposing a civil penalty, whether after a hearing or on default, constitutes a judgment that may be entered in the Civil Court of the City of New York or anywhere else civil judgments are entered in the state, and enforced like a money judgment without further court proceedings. Under § 1049-a(d)(1)(i), the judgment stays in force for eight years (NYC Charter § 1049-a, OATH copy). DOF collects judgments docketed by OATH (DOF, ECB Debt Information).
The judgment runs against the person, not the building. Stewart’s guidelines describe ECB judgments as in personam: enforceable against the record owner on any property that owner holds, not only the premises in the summons, with an eight-year life from entry (Stewart NY Guidelines, 2022, XIV.C.7). So an ECB judgment against a seller is handled like other judgments against the seller: it appears as a Schedule B exception, and the title company expects it to be paid or otherwise disposed of at closing. A judgment against a former owner or a tenant is a different analysis, and the title company will look at who the named respondent is.
Some DOB-issued judgments become tax liens on the building. NYC Administrative Code § 28-204.6, as amended by Local Law 153 of 2017, makes an ECB judgment against an owner for a Building Code violation a tax lien on the property named in the violation for specific categories: private dwellings and buildings with three or fewer units; illegal conversions adding three or more units beyond the CO; residential buildings of 6 to 19 units where judgments total $30,000 or more; and buildings with 20 or more units or non-residential occupancy where judgments total $60,000 or more. Certain HPD-related exceptions apply. Once converted, the amount appears on the DOF property tax bill (DOF, Settlement Program FAQs) and is cleared like any other tax item.
Outside those statutory categories, an ECB judgment is a personal money judgment, not a tax lien, and should not be described as one. In a March 31, 2026 press release, DOF listed “converting DOB-issued ECB judgments into property liens” among its collection initiatives, without saying which judgments or when (DOF press release). Check the DOF property account even when a judgment seems to fall outside § 28-204.6.
Paying does not close the violation. For DOB-issued summonses, the violation stays open until it is dismissed at an OATH hearing or resolved through DOB’s Certificate of Correction (COC) review. Certificates of Correction are filed in DOB NOW: Safety, under Violations & Notices of Deficiency; the old AEU2 forms are no longer required (DOB, OATH Summonses). For Work Without a Permit summonses, penalties must be paid or waived before DOB will approve the COC (What is an OATH Summons?). A buyer who sees “paid” on the OATH record should still expect an open DOB violation on BIS unless a COC was approved.
HPD violations and emergency repair charges
HPD violations are not liens. They are records of Housing Maintenance Code conditions, classed A (non-hazardous, 90 days to correct), B (hazardous, 30 days) and C (immediately hazardous, 24 hours for most conditions, with longer periods for items such as lead paint, mold and pests) (HPD, Clear Violations). They are cleared by correcting the condition and certifying the correction to HPD. If certification was late or failed an audit, the owner needs a Dismissal Request reinspection, which carries a fee. Since July 1, 2026, Dismissal Requests go to HPD’s Central Violation Administration Unit at 345 Adams Street, Brooklyn (same source).
ERP charges are liens. When HPD or its contractor makes an emergency repair, the City bills the cost and fees to the property through DOF, and the charge appears on the property tax bill. An unpaid, past-due ERP charge “constitutes a tax lien against the property,” accrues interest, and may be sold or foreclosed upon (HPD, Emergency Repair Program). While charges are pending, HPD will not accept certifications of correction or Dismissal Requests (same source).
On the title report, ERP charges show up in the emergency repair search and, once transferred to DOF, on the tax search (Stewart NY Guidelines, 2022, XIV.C.12). Stewart’s Schedule B also excepts emergency repair liens that may have attached but are not yet of record, and requires an affidavit on City work done at the premises, because those charges cannot be fully searched before they post (Stewart NY Guidelines, VII.B.3).
Two other HPD items are true title matters: HPD relocation liens (a payoff from HPD is needed to close) and unsafe-building lis pendens (excepted or cancelled with HPD consent) (Stewart, XIV.C.10 and XIV.C.11).
How open items are handled at closing
Lien items get paid or bonded off. Tax liens from ERP charges or converted ECB judgments are paid from the seller’s proceeds at closing, using a current DOF balance. ECB judgments against the seller are paid through DOF, with proof of payment such as the “Notification of ECB Payment” letter available through DOF e-Services (DOF, ECB Debt Information). DOF also offers settlements on some judgments.
Information items are negotiated, not cleared by the title company. Open DOB and HPD violations stay of record after closing. The parties decide, in the contract or at the table, whether the seller cures before closing, gives a credit, or leaves funds in escrow.
Escrow holdbacks are a practice tool. When an amount is uncertain or a correction is in process, the closing attorney or title company may hold part of the seller’s proceeds until a payment or correction is confirmed. Amounts and release conditions are set by the parties and, for lien items, by the underwriter. Stewart, for example, requires a payment receipt or continuation search before escrowed funds are released (XX.A.2.b.i). There is no statutory holdback amount for violations.
Hypothetical. A buyer is purchasing a two-family house in Queens. The departmental search shows an open DOB violation for work without a permit, a related OATH summons with a $6,000 default penalty entered as a judgment against the seller, and two open Class B HPD violations. The title report excepts the ECB judgment. The judgment is paid from the seller’s proceeds at closing. Because the building has three or fewer units, a DOB-issued ECB judgment of this kind is a category that § 28-204.6 can convert to a tax lien, so the closer also checks the DOF account. The DOB violation and HPD violations remain open after closing unless the contract required the seller to cure them. If the buyer’s attorney negotiated a holdback, it is released once DOB approves a Certificate of Correction and HPD shows the violations certified.
Where to check each record
| Record | Where to look |
|---|---|
| DOB violations, CO, permits | Buildings Information System (BIS) property profile; DOB NOW for newer filings and COC status |
| OATH summonses, hearing results, amounts due | OATH Summons Finder (search by name, address or summons number) |
| ECB judgments, payment proof, settlements | DOF ECB Debt Information and DOF e-Services / CityPay |
| HPD violations and orders | HPDONLINE, by address (HPD, Clear Violations) |
| ERP charges and converted tax liens | DOF property account, “Account Balance” (HPD, ERP) |
Public lookups are useful early, before the title report arrives. They do not replace the title company’s searches, and none of them is insured. For how the parties divide this work, see who does what at a New York 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
- DOB, DOB Violations: https://www.nyc.gov/site/buildings/safety/dob-violations.page
- DOB, OATH Summonses: https://www.nyc.gov/site/buildings/safety/oath-summonses.page
- DOB, What is an OATH Summons?: https://www.nyc.gov/site/buildings/property-or-business-owner/what-is-an-oath-summons.page
- OATH, Case Status: https://www.nyc.gov/site/oath/help-center/case-status.page
- 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
- HPD, Clear Violations: https://www.nyc.gov/site/hpd/services-and-information/clear-violations.page
- HPD, Emergency Repair Program: https://www.nyc.gov/site/hpd/services-and-information/emergency-repair-program-erp.page
- 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