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Correct a Violation

How to Correct a Violation

If a Warning Letter has been issued for a landmark violation at your designated landmark property, you should submit an application to LPC through Portico to address the condition.

Usually Warning Letters are issued because work was performed either without an LPC permit or in noncompliance with an LPC permit. Do not ignore this letter, even if the violation predates your ownership or control of the property. If the Warning Letter is ignored, fines may be imposed. If you have questions or are uncertain what to do, contact the Enforcement Department. Commission staff can answer questions and help with the process of addressing violations.

The main goal of enforcement of the Landmarks Law is to protect our landmarks by having violations corrected; under most circumstances there are two grace periods for owners to correct violations without any fines.

  • First, most recipients of Warning Letters have a 20-business-day grace period to file an application with the LPC to address the violation without a penalty.
  • Second, if the Commission does not receive an application to legalize or correct the unauthorized work or condition before the 20-business-day grace period expires, a Summons – previously called a Notice of Violation (NOV) – may be issued. The Summons/NOV requires an appearance before an administrative law judge at the Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings (OATH). If you do not appear at the hearing or are found guilty, the judge can impose fines up to $5,000.

It is helpful to initially contact the LPC enforcement staff to discuss how you plan to address the violation.

  • Some violations can be corrected by removing the item cited. For example, if a sign is installed without a permit, removal of the sign corrects the violation.
  • Other violations may be candidates for legalization – effectively obtaining LPC approval after the work is done.
  • However, many violations require some sort of modification or even removal after issuance of an LPC permit, so it is important to promptly submit an application through Portico and contact the LPC enforcement staff.
  • Do not do any work to address a violation until you have received an LPC permit.

Once you receive an LPC permit to address the violation, be sure to comply with the permit requirements.

  • If you addressed the violation through corrective work authorized by a permit, you will need to request a Notice of Compliance (NOC) – a letter from the LPC stating that the corrective work was correctly completed – in order to have the violation corrected.
  • To obtain a Notice of Compliance, please submit an application through Portico under the Post-Approval Action filing category.

LPC violations are issued to a specific owner/respondent and remain active against a property until corrected. Department of Buildings (DOB) permits may be held up if there is an active landmark violation on the property.

Warning Letters and Summons are available via a Records Access Request. and are also posted to DOB's Building Information System (BIS). They also appear in violation title searches; therefore, an uncorrected violation can cause problems for an owner refinancing or selling a property.

The two most important things to remember are: