Which NYC agency issued this violation?
Last reviewed Oct 6, 2026 · 311 complaints
Look at the document’s identifiers and vocabulary. HPD violations cite the Housing Maintenance Code and carry an order number and a class. DOB violations and ECB summonses cite the Building Code or city rules, and a summons carries a hearing date at OATH. Each agency has its own system and its own resolution route.
Telling them apart
| If it says | It is probably | Resolve it through |
|---|---|---|
| Housing Maintenance Code, a class of A, B or C, an apartment number | HPD violation | Correct, then certify to HPD |
| Building Code, a violation number, no hearing date | DOB violation | DOB’s route for that violation type |
| A hearing date, a respondent, a penalty | ECB summons returnable at OATH | Respond to OATH by the hearing date |
| Fire code, egress, fire protection systems | FDNY — usually a summons heard at OATH | Respond to OATH; correct the condition |
| Air permits, boilers, asbestos notification | DEP | DEP’s own process; often a renewal rather than a violation |
| Petroleum bulk storage, tank registration | NYSDEC — New York State, not the city | Renew or amend with NYSDEC |
Why getting this wrong is expensive
Each agency has a different clock. An HPD violation has a correction period of between twenty-four hours and ninety days. An ECB summons has a hearing date. A DEP certificate has an expiry. Spending two weeks pursuing the wrong one can consume the entire window of the right one.
Each also has a different idea of what "resolved" means. HPD wants a certification. OATH wants a response and sometimes a certificate of correction. DOB wants the condition resolved on its own terms. Filing the right thing with the wrong agency achieves nothing and does not stop the clock.
The worst case is a document that produces records in two places at once — common with DOB, where one inspection can yield both a violation and a summons. Dealing with one and assuming the other followed leaves half the problem live.
Common questions
Can one condition produce violations from two agencies?
Yes, and it is common. An illegal conversion can interest DOB and FDNY. A disrepair can interest HPD and, if it involves unpermitted work, DOB. Each is resolved separately.
The notice has no agency name I recognise. What now?
Look for the code it cites and for a hearing date. A hearing date means OATH and a deadline. The citation tells you the enforcing agency even where the letterhead is unfamiliar.
Is there one place to check all of them?
No single official system covers every agency. Checking means visiting each one, which is why owners with more than a few buildings generally end up monitoring the published data instead.
Official sources
Rules and figures change. Check anything you are about to act on against the agency itself.
Related guides
- How to check violations on a NYC property
Check HPD, DOB, ECB/OATH, 311, DEP and FDNY records for any New York City building, with the official lookup for each and what every system does not show.
- DOB violation or ECB violation? The difference that changes what you do
DOB violations and ECB summonses look alike on a property profile but resolve differently. What each one is, what it costs, and how each is actually cleared.
- HPD violations in NYC: what they are and how they work
What an HPD violation is, how Class A, B and C differ, how correction and certification work, and what happens to a NYC building that leaves them open.
- FDNY vacate orders: what they are and what the public list shows
What an FDNY vacate order means, how it differs from a DOB vacate order, and why the published FDNY vacate list is a historical record rather than a live status.
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