A DOB violation is a notice that a property is not in compliance with some provision of the NYC Buildings Code, and includes an order from the Commissioner of DOB to correct the violating condition. The violation is entered against the property in the Department's Buildings Information System (BIS), and must be corrected before a new or amended Certificate of Occupancy (CO) can be obtained. Although there is no fine or penalty attached to the violation notice itself, it can be used as the basis for a Criminal Court summons and prosecution (NYC Admin. Code section 26-248(d)) which may result in the imposition of a fine and/or imprisonment.

A DOB violation will ordinarily impair the sale or refinancing of a property since it will appear against the property on a title search. In order to remove the violation from the property's record, the condition must be corrected and proof of that correction must be provided to the issuing office before the violation is removed from the property's record. Check   "Resolving Department of Buildings Violations" (85 kb) for information pertaining to particular DOB violations.

Additional Information
Enforcement FAQ