About Code Enforcement

Housing Maintenance Code

The New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) protects the quality and affordability of our city by rigorously enforcing the New York City Housing Maintenance Code, which covers heat and hot water, mold, pests, gas leaks, fire safety, and more. Our Housing Inspectors work tirelessly to keep tenants safe and hold building owners of private property accountable by conducting inspections, primarily in response to complaints received through 311 and Housing Court, and issuing violations. Related to New York City Housing Authority properties, HPD conducts inspections as a result of inspection requests received from the Housing Court.  

We proactively use a variety of other Enhanced Enforcement tools to address building conditions, from performing owner outreach to bringing cases in Housing Court to performing emergency repairs.

Inspection Process

Tenants and property owners should be aware that, on every inspection, a Housing Inspector will issue violations for the following nine conditions if they exist:

1. Lead-based paint hazards(if a child under six lives or routinely spends more than 10 hours in the unit)
2. Carbon monoxide detectors missing
3. Smoke detectors missing
4. Window guards missing(if a child under 11 lives in the unit)
5. Apartment of public area doors do not self-close
6. Illegal window gates
7. Double-cylinder locks
8. Mold
9. Pests

Resources For Information and Assistance Related To Housing Code Processes And Enforcement

• Complaints, Inspections and Violations processes 
• ABCs of Housing.
• HPDONLINE
• Bulletins to Property Owners for information on owner and tenant duties and responsibilities.
• Enforcement 
• Housing Safety 
• Property Management 
• Contact Us
• For data on enforcement activities, see the Mayor’s Management Report.