The Ultimate NYC Real Estate Compliance Glossary

New York City real estate operates on an alphabet soup of agencies, identifiers, and violation codes. When a property owner gets a piece of mail featuring a terrifying acronym, it usually means something expensive has happened (or is about to).

This glossary is the definitive cheat sheet for making sense of DOB, ECB, HPD, and all the other initialisms you will encounter while owning, operating, or managing property in the five boroughs.

The Agencies

• DOB (Department of Buildings): The primary agency that enforces the Building Code, issues permits, and manages the safety of all construction in the city.
• ECB (Environmental Control Board): Historically the tribunal that heard DOB violations. "ECB violations" are now officially handled by OATH, but the legacy term is still used by nearly everyone in the industry.
• OATH (Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings): The city's independent administrative law court. This is where you go to dispute summonses issued by the DOB, FDNY, DSNY, and other agencies.
• HPD (Department of Housing Preservation and Development): The agency responsible for enforcing the Housing Maintenance Code. If a residential tenant calls 311 about no heat, mice, or lead paint, HPD responds and issues violations (Class A, B, or C).
• FDNY (Fire Department of New York): Beyond putting out fires, they enforce the Fire Code. They issue violations for faulty sprinklers, blocked egress, and missing fire alarms.
• LPC (Landmarks Preservation Commission): The agency that protects NYC's architecturally, historically, and culturally significant buildings. They issue Certificates of Appropriateness (CofA) for exterior work.
• DEP (Department of Environmental Protection): They manage the city's water supply and enforce noise, air quality, and asbestos regulations.
• DOF (Department of Finance): The agency that collects property taxes and manages the assessment rolls. They also publish the LL84 benchmarking data.

Core Identifiers & Documents

• BIN (Building Identification Number): A 7-digit number unique to every building in NYC. Think of it as a social security number for a building. Most DOB records are tracked by BIN.
• BBL (Borough, Block, and Lot): The 10-digit tax parcel identifier used by the Department of Finance. One BBL (a single piece of land) can have multiple BINs (multiple buildings on that land).
• CofO (Certificate of Occupancy): The most important document a building has. It defines the legal use and allowable occupancy for every floor of a building. Banks won't lend, and commercial tenants can't open without a valid CofO.
• TCO (Temporary Certificate of Occupancy): A CofO issued for a limited time (typically 90 days) when a building is safe to occupy but minor work remains before a Final CofO can be issued.
• LNO (Letter of No Objection): Issued by the DOB for buildings built before 1938 (when CofOs were first required) to confirm that a proposed use is legal for a specific floor.

Common Compliance Acronyms

• FISP (Facade Inspection Safety Program): Previously known as Local Law 11. The requirement that buildings over 6 stories have their facades inspected every 5 years.
• QEWI (Qualified Exterior Wall Inspector): The licensed professional (PE/RA) required to perform a FISP facade inspection.
• SWARMP (Safe With a Repair and Maintenance Program): A FISP facade classification meaning the building is currently safe, but requires specific repairs before the next 5-year cycle, or it will automatically be downgraded to Unsafe.
• PIPS (Periodic Inspection of Parking Structures): Mandated by LL126, requiring the structural inspection of parking garages every 6 years.
• QPSI (Qualified Parking Structure Inspector): The licensed engineer authorized to perform PIPS garage inspections.
• Primary Occupancy (Building Code): A classification system defining how a building is used (e.g., Residential, Commercial, Assembly). It dictates which fire and safety codes apply to the structure.

Common Violation & Form Codes

• VIO (DOB Violation): An administrative violation issued directly by the DOB. It stays on the building's record until physically resolved, but generally does not carry a financial penalty requiring an OATH hearing.
• SUMMONS (OATH/ECB Summons): A more severe violation that carries a financial penalty. It requires the owner to either pay the fine and admit guilt, or attend a hearing at OATH to contest it.
• LBLVIO (Low Pressure Boiler Violation): An administrative violation issued to property owners for failure to file an annual low-pressure boiler inspection report.
• VUS (Violations issued for Unsafe conditions): A code denoting a severe safety hazard requiring immediate attention.
• LL62/91: Codes referring to the annual boiler inspection requirements.
• AEUHAZ (Administrative Enforcement Unit Hazardous Violation): A failure to certify correction of a Class 1 (Immediately Hazardous) ECB violation, which results in compounding penalties.
• ELV3: The electronic form filed via DOB NOW to certify the completion of Category 1 (annual) or Category 5 (5-year) elevator inspections.
• GPS1: The form used to file the quadrennial gas piping inspection required under Local Law 152.
• TR6: The technical report filed for a FISP (facade) inspection.

HPD Violation Classes

HPD categorizes housing violations by severity:

• Class A (Non-Hazardous): Minor issues (e.g., peeling paint in a common area). 90 days to correct.
• Class B (Hazardous): More serious issues (e.g., inadequate lighting, vermin). 30 days to correct.
• Class C (Immediately Hazardous): Severe threats to life/safety (e.g., lack of heat, lead paint hazards, lack of hot water). Usually requires correction within 24 hours to 21 days depending on the specific hazard.