How to clear an HPD violation

Doing these out of order is the usual reason a corrected violation stays open.

1. 1

   Read the violation before touching anything

   Get the order number, the class, the apartment and the dates. The order number tells you precisely which code provision was cited, which tells you what "corrected" has to mean. Fixing the wrong thing in the right apartment is common and closes nothing.

2. 2

   Check the building registration first

   An owner cannot certify corrections for a building whose HPD registration is not current. If registration has lapsed, renew it before the certification window runs — otherwise the work will be done and the violation will remain open with no route to close it.

3. 3

   Correct the condition properly

   Some conditions have rules about how the work is done and by whom, lead-based paint most of all. Keep dated photographs, invoices and any contractor documentation. You may need to show the work was done, and when.

4. 4

   Certify within the window

   Certification is filed with HPD and states that the condition was corrected. The window is tied to the violation’s correction date and is short; HPD publishes the current period. File it late and the violation stays open even though the work is complete.

5. 5

   Verify the status actually changed

   Go back to HPD Online a few days later and confirm the violation shows as certified or closed. A submitted certification is not the same as a changed status, and the gap is where people assume they are finished and are not.

If the violation was issued in error — wrong apartment, wrong building, condition that did not exist — the route is a dismissal request rather than a certification. Certifying a correction for something you did not correct, because it was never broken, is a false certification.

If the certification window has already closed, certifying late will not close the violation. Depending on the circumstances the available routes are a dismissal request or a re-inspection, and HPD publishes what it requires for each.

If you cannot get access to the apartment to do the work, that is a recognised situation with its own process. It is not a reason the violation goes away, and it needs to be documented at the time rather than explained afterwards.