HPD Violations in a Small Brooklyn Building: What the Classes Mean and What the Owner Has to Do

Most owners of a small Brooklyn building first hear about an HPD violation when an envelope shows up, or when a tenant mentions that an inspector came by. By then the clock is already running. Here is how the city sorts violations, how long an owner has to fix them, and the step owners miss most often.

Where violations come from

HPD, the city’s housing agency, enforces the Housing Maintenance Code and the state Multiple Dwelling Law. When an inspector finds a condition that breaks those rules, HPD issues a Notice of Violation. Anyone can see the open violations on a building by entering the address on HPDONLINE.

The notice goes to whoever is on the registration

HPD mails each notice to the managing agent on the building’s last valid property registration, or to the owner if no agent is listed. If the registration is out of date, the notice goes to the old address and the owner may never see it. HPD’s instruction for an owner who is not receiving notices is to file a new property registration with the right address. Registration is also required every year, by September 1, for buildings of three or more apartments and for one and two family houses where the owner’s family does not live.

Class A, B and C

Every violation carries a class. HPD lists how long an owner has to correct each one from the date of service before civil penalties apply, if the city seeks them in Housing Court:

• Class A, non-hazardous: 90 days.
• Class B, hazardous: 30 days.
• Class C, immediately hazardous: 24 hours for most conditions. Lead-based paint, window guards, mold, mice and cockroaches, and rats get 21 days. Self-closing doors get 14 days. Heat and hot water get no time at all.

The exact correction date for each violation is printed on the notice, along with any special instructions for the repair.

Fixing it is half the job

The step owners miss is certification. After the repair, the owner has to tell HPD it was done, by the date on the notice, either on the paper form that comes with the notice or online through eCertification. Lead, mold and pest violations cannot be certified online. A violation that was fixed but never certified stays open on the record, and HPD says an owner who fails to correct and certify faces civil penalties, inspection fees and stronger enforcement, including the city making emergency repairs and billing the property.

Certify only after the work is actually done. HPD can audit any certification, and tenants are told when one comes in and can challenge it, which sends an inspector back out. A violation found not corrected after it was certified is marked as a false certification, stays open, and can bring penalties of its own.

Old violations do not age off

Violations that were never certified on time stay on the building. Clearing them usually takes a Dismissal Request, an application with a fee and a reinspection, and the inspector can write new violations during that visit. HPD’s page also describes a reissuance program that lets some older violations at certain buildings be certified by new dates.

What an owner should check

• Look the building up on HPDONLINE and read the list, not just the count.
• Make sure the registration shows a mailing address that someone actually reads.
• For each open violation, note the class and the correction date on the notice.
• Keep a record of who did each repair and when. The paper certification asks for it.
• Certify on time, and only for work that is finished.

Where a manager fits

For an owner who does not live near the building, the hard part is rarely the repair itself. It is catching the notice, getting the right trade in before the date, and closing the paperwork so the city’s record matches the building. That tracking is the part a manager takes off the owner’s plate.

This is a plain summary of the city’s rules as of November 2026, not legal advice. The details are on HPD’s Clear Violations page, the Register Your Property page and HPDONLINE.