How to look up NYC building violations by address

Start with the correct building, then check each agency

To look up a NYC building's violations, begin with the address and borough, confirm the property shown by the official system, and review the relevant agency records separately. HPD Online provides housing complaints and violations; DOB's building-data tools provide building and construction records; OATH provides summons information. One search result is not a complete clearance of the property.

Before you save a finding, check the address, building identifiers and affected location against the property you actually manage. A corner building, alternate street address or similar house number can lead you to the wrong record. Keep the identifiers you verified with your property file so the next team member can repeat the check.

Choose the lookup for the record you need

Use the agency links below to reach the official instructions and tools. DOB describes both BIS and DOB NOW because different records are held in different systems. For a sanitation summons, preserve the issuing agency and check the specific summons information rather than treating an OATH case as a new DSNY complaint.

Save the status and the time you checked it

A useful lookup record answers four questions: What did the agency show? Where did you find it? When did you check? What happens next? Save the source link and available notice with the exact identifier. Add a plain-language summary for your team while retaining the agency wording.

If the site is unavailable or the result does not match your property, mark the check as unresolved and assign someone to verify it. Do not use a blank result as a zero balance or proof of no violations. A source outage, an address mismatch and a genuinely empty result need different follow-up.

Separate the official record from the work you do

A complaint, an issued violation, a summons and a repair work order are different records. Keep their identifiers and statuses separate even when they concern the same condition. This lets an owner see that the repair is complete while an agency review remains outstanding.

For each relevant finding, name the person responsible for the next action. That might be a manager checking a notice, a vendor assessing a condition, or an authorized person reviewing the official process. Use the dates and instructions on the actual notice; avoid assigning a generic deadline to every record.

• Save the official record and verified property match.
• Describe the next action in one sentence.
• Assign a responsible person and a review date.
• Link any repair, evidence or hearing preparation.
• Record the next official check separately from your team's completion status.

Use the free tracker for a repeatable portfolio review

The downloadable tracker keeps one agency record per row. Start with an empty row for a verified finding, then add the source, checked-at time, next action and owner. When you review the portfolio again, update the check time and keep enough history to understand why an item changed.

For example, a repaired condition can have a completed work order and a still-open HPD record. The next action is an official-status review, not another unexplained repair assignment. This is the kind of handoff that a single combined open/closed label can hide.

Bring ongoing monitoring and follow-up into PropertyWatch

Manual lookup gives you a point-in-time view. PropertyWatch's supported monitoring workflows bring agency records into a building workspace, where your team can connect them to tasks, work orders, supporting evidence and reviewed alerts. Source coverage and update timing are confirmed during onboarding.

Request a beta invitation if repeated agency checks and disconnected follow-up are taking over your week. Start with one building and the workflow that matters most to your team.