The vocabulary of NYC building enforcement
Every term below links to a short definition that carries the live numbers for its term, computed from the same public record the rest of this site runs on.
A service request filed with the city, which can trigger an inspection; a complaint is an allegation, a violation is a finding.
HPD's annual program for the most distressed buildings: comprehensive inspections, city-performed repairs at the owner's expense, and fees until discharge.
The tax-lot identifier for a piece of New York City land: one digit of borough, five of block, four of lot.
An HPD violation for bedbug infestation or for failing to file the annual bedbug report every multiple dwelling owner owes the city.
The seven-digit number New York City assigns to each structure so that every city record can point at exactly one building.
The sworn filing that tells DOB a violation's condition has been fixed; a DOB violation is not resolved until one is accepted.
The DOB document stating what a building is legally allowed to be used for and how many people or units it may hold.
HPD's non-hazardous violation class: minor physical conditions and paperwork failures, with 90 days to correct.
HPD's hazardous violation class: the everyday habitability problems, with 30 days to correct.
HPD's immediately hazardous violation class: conditions that threaten health or safety now, with the shortest correction deadlines.
The judgment entered when a summons respondent fails to appear at their OATH hearing, generally at the maximum penalty for the charge.
A summons written by a city agency for a code violation, heard and decided at OATH, the administrative court that absorbed the ECB.
The HPD program that fixes immediately hazardous conditions when owners will not, and bills the owner; unpaid charges become liens.
October 1 through May 31, when NYC law requires apartments be heated to 68 degrees by day (below 55 outside) and 62 at night.
The chapter of the NYC Administrative Code that sets minimum conditions for dwellings; HPD violations are written under its sections.
A Housing Court case, usually brought by tenants or HPD, asking a judge to order an owner to correct violations.
A violation of Local Law 1 of 2004, which presumes lead paint in pre-1960 buildings and requires owners to find and fix hazards where young children live.
New York City's administrative court, where summonses written by city agencies are heard and decided.
HPD's internal code for the specific corrective order a violation carries; the city's own taxonomy of what inspectors write.
A violation on a state list of conditions serious enough that, unrepaired, tenants may deposit rent with the court instead of paying the owner.
A DOB order halting construction at a site immediately, issued when work is unsafe, unpermitted, or outside the approved scope.
An order that a building or part of one is too dangerous to occupy and must be emptied, issued by HPD, DOB or FDNY.
The metal guards owners must install in apartments where a child ten or younger lives; missing or broken ones are a Class C violation.