When the city’s Department of Buildings (DOB) hits you with a violation, it must first deliver a violation notice to you. There are some strict rules the DOB must follow in this delivery, which is legally known as “service” of the notice. Sometimes, though, the DOB makes...
In early 2011, city council members toughened penalties on owners who violate the city's heat laws, by breaking the economic incentives for building owners who withhold heat and hot water from tenants. At the time of its passage, city records showed that more than 114,000 New Yorkers filed...
It's not too soon for owners of buildings that contain rent-controlled units to begin preparing for the upcoming 2012-2013 maximum base rent (MBR) cycle. The Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR) has recently released the 2012-2013 MBR forms. The forms that need to be filed...
According to a report by the Pratt Center for Community Development, there are more than 100,000 units of illegally converted housing in the city. And Queens has the highest concentration of any borough, with 48,000 illegal apartments. An illegal conversion is the creation of one or more...
If a New York City agency such as the Department of Buildings (DOB) believes that you have violated one of the city's laws, the agency will issue you a Notice of Violation (NOV) that summarizes the charge and tells you what to do next.
