The expensive parts of buying — the attorney, the engineer, the title search — happen after you are committed enough to pay for them. These checks are free, take about twenty minutes, and occasionally end the conversation early.
1. Open violations, and what kind
Three agencies, three records. DOB violations concern the structure and the work done to it; HPD violations concern housing conditions and are graded A, B and C, with C meaning immediately hazardous; ECB violations carry money and go to a hearing at OATH. The count matters less than the composition and the age — a handful of open class C conditions says something different from fifty open class A items.
Remember that open means the record has not been certified as corrected. Some open violations describe things fixed years ago. That is a reason to read them, not to dismiss them.
2. The certificate of occupancy
Does the building have one, and does it describe the building you are looking at? A certificate saying two families in a building holding four is a live problem for a buyer. A pre-1938 building may lawfully have none. A long chain of temporary certificates means unfinished items. See what a missing C of O means.
3. Facade filings and the shed outside
For buildings over six storeys, the facade inspection cycle produces filings with a status. An unsafe filing is a known repair obligation with a deadline. A sidewalk shed that has stood for years usually means a facade repair nobody has funded — and in a co-op or condo, funding it means an assessment on you. Local Law 11 explains the cycle.
4. Emergency repair charges — the lien check
If the city has carried out repairs and billed the owner, unpaid charges become tax liens with priority over all other liens except taxes and assessments. They run with the property. This is a small check with a large downside if skipped, and it doubles as a character reference for how the building has been run. See what an emergency repair charge is.
5. Who owns it, and what else they own
ACRIS holds the recorded deeds and mortgages — price, date, parties. The tax roll holds the owner of record. If the seller is a company, the same name often appears on other buildings, and the condition of those buildings is public too. For a sponsor unit, or a building still partly held by the developer, that is worth an hour of your time. Tracing landlord LLCs covers the method.
6. Complaints, which are the early warning
311 and DOB complaints are what residents reported, whether or not an inspector confirmed it. They are noisier than violations and more current. A cluster about heat, water or noise in the last year describes daily life in a way a violation record does not.
What this does not do
It does not read the offering plan, the board minutes, the financials or the reserve fund; it does not inspect the roof; and it does not run title. It tells you what to ask about. Search the address free at Check a Building and take what you find to your attorney.
General information about public records, not legal, financial or investment advice, and not tenant screening. Nothing here is a substitute for an attorney, a title search or a professional inspection. Sources: NYC Open Data — DOB Violations, HPD Housing Maintenance Code Violations, ECB Violations, DOB NOW facade filings, OMO and HWO charges; NYC Department of Finance ACRIS; NYC Department of Buildings certificate of occupancy records; NYC Administrative Code section 27-2144. Checked 7 August 2026.