I · Due diligence
NYC property lookup
Enter an NYC address, BBL or BIN to see how many violations are open, any ECB balance due and whether a certificate of occupancy is on file.
Preliminary information from public records, not an official record.
What the report shows
The report reads 28 public city data sources for the lot and groups them by agency: Department of Buildings (DOB) violations, ECB penalties, complaints, jobs, permits and certificates of occupancy; Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) violations; OATH cases; and zoning, landmark, tax and other agency records.
For each source it shows how many records are on file and how many are open, any balance due, and short notes such as whether a certificate of occupancy is on file and the date of the latest one. The free report does not list the individual records.
It is a first check from public data, not an official record or legal advice.
If it shows open items, Violation Research goes through the full record with you, and Violation Removal works through what is open.
Questions
How do I find out if my house has violations in NYC?
Search the address in DOB's Buildings Information System (BIS) for DOB and ECB violations, and in HPD Online for housing maintenance violations in residential buildings. The property report on this page checks those records and others in one search and shows how many are open. If something is open, our Violation Research service goes through the full record with you.
How can I search DOB violations by address?
In BIS, choose the borough, enter the house number and street and open the property profile, which shows the number of open DOB violations and links to the list. A violation number with an asterisk has been dismissed. The report above runs the same address search and shows how many DOB violations are open.
How do I find ECB violations?
ECB violations, now called OATH summonses, are listed on the property's BIS record. OATH's Summons Finder also searches them by address, name or summons number and shows the hearing details and any amount owed. The property report shows how many ECB violations are open at an address and any ECB balance due.
How do I look up DOB complaints?
Complaints to DOB are made through 311, and each one is listed with its status on the property's record in BIS, which you can search by address. The property report shows how many DOB complaints are on record for an address and how many are open, next to its violation and permit counts.
Is DOB information public?
Yes. DOB publishes permits, job filings, violations, complaints and certificates of occupancy in BIS, in DOB NOW and as NYC Open Data, and anyone can search them. The property report reads those public datasets. It is a first check, not an official record.
How do I look up a Certificate of Occupancy?
For a certificate issued before March 1, 2021, search the address in BIS, open the property profile and choose View Certificates of Occupancy. Later certificates are in DOB NOW, under Certificate of Occupancy on the property profile. Many buildings built before 1938 have none, and the DOB borough office can issue a Letter of No Objection to confirm their legal use.
Tell us about your project.
Send the address and what you plan to do. We tell you which permits and filings the work needs and what we would prepare. The review is free.