What You Take On After Buying a NYC Property: Registrations, Inspections and Notices by Building Type

When you buy a building in New York City, the City’s ongoing duties for that building pass to you on the day you take title. They include registrations, safety inspections and yearly notices to tenants. Which ones apply depends mostly on how many apartments the building has, whether you rent any of them, and the building’s size and age.

A one-family house you live in carries few of these duties. A rented two-family carries more. A building with three or more apartments, which the City calls a multiple dwelling, carries the most. This guide covers the five boroughs only. It is about duties, not old debts: for unpaid fines and charges, see ECB and HPD charges and the new owner.

Which duties apply to which buildings

“Non-owner 1-2 family” means a one- or two-family house where neither the owner nor a family member lives. The sections below add what the table can’t.

Duty	Applies to	What it involves
HPD registration	3+ units; non-owner 1-2 family	Register when you buy, then every year by September 1
DHCR rent registration	Buildings with stabilized units	Register each stabilized unit every year by July 31
Lead paint	Pre-1960 rentals (see below)	Annual notice in January; yearly inspection where a child under 6 lives
Window guards	3+ units	Annual notice; install guards where a child 10 or under lives, or on a tenant’s request
Bedbug report	3+ units	File with HPD between December 1 and 31 each year
Allergens	3+ units	Inspect units yearly for mold and pests; give a notice with each lease
Smoke alarms	3+ units	One in each apartment; keep records
CO and gas detectors	3+ units; non-owner 1-2 family	CO alarms now where there are fuel-burning appliances; gas detectors by January 1, 2027 where there is gas piping
Boiler inspection	6+ family residential; mixed-use	Yearly inspection, report filed with DOB
Gas piping inspection	Most buildings; not 1-2 family homes	Licensed plumber inspects every four years on DOB’s schedule
Parapet check	Street-facing parapets, any height	Yearly check; you keep the report; detached 1-2 family homes exempt
Elevator tests	Buildings with an elevator	Yearly inspection and test; heavier test every five years
Facade inspection	More than six stories	Every five years
Emissions report	Over 25,000 square feet	Yearly emissions report by May 1
Sidewalk and snow	Every owner	Keep the sidewalk repaired and cleared
Water account	Every owner	Put the DEP account in your name

Registering the building

HPD property registration

The Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) is the City’s housing agency. It requires a yearly registration for the buildings in the table (HPD, Register Your Property).

When you buy. HPD says to register as soon as you buy a property that needs it, and again whenever ownership changes. That includes a transfer to your own LLC (see deeding a NYC rental to your LLC). HPD’s pages set no specific number of days for a new owner. After that, the yearly deadline is September 1. A $13 fee is billed by the Department of Finance (DOF) on the property tax bill.

If you don’t register. For a building with three to five apartments, HPD lists a civil penalty of $500 to $1,500. For more than five apartments, it is $1,000 to $5,000 (HPD, Penalties and Fees). HPD does not give an amount for a one- or two-family house. An unregistered owner also can’t sue a tenant for possession over unpaid rent while unregistered. Only a registered owner can certify to HPD that violations were fixed or file the bedbug report.

Rent stabilization registration with DHCR

Rent-stabilized apartments are registered with the state housing agency, New York State Homes and Community Renewal (DHCR), not HPD. Stabilized units are usually in buildings with six or more apartments built before 1974, or in newer buildings that received certain tax benefits. Co-ops and condos are generally not stabilized (NYC Rent Guidelines Board).

The yearly filing shows each stabilized unit as of April 1. It goes through DHCR’s online system, ARRO (Annual Rent Registration Online). Each tenant gets a copy for their unit. DHCR lists a fine of $500 per unregistered unit for each month the filing is late (DHCR, Rent Registration).

Tenant safety notices and inspections

Lead paint

HPD’s lead paint rules cover buildings with three or more apartments built before 1960, and rented units in one- and two-family houses built before 1960. They also cover buildings from 1960 to 1978 if the owner knows there is lead paint (HPD, Lead-Based Paint). The duties:

Annual notice to each tenant between January 1 and January 16, asking whether a child under six lives there. Owners collect the notices by February 15 (HPD, Annual Notice and Investigations).
Work when a unit turns over, such as removing lead paint from doors and windows, before a new tenant moves in.
Records kept for at least 10 years.

A one-time lead test of painted surfaces in pre-1960 buildings was due by August 2025. If the seller never did it, the building is out of compliance when you take over.

Window guards, bedbugs and allergens

HPD sends owners one form that combines the lead paint and window guard notices for older buildings (HPD, Window Guards). The yearly bedbug report covers November 1 through October 31, and the building’s HPD registration must be current to file it (HPD, Bedbugs). The allergen rules cover mold, mice, rats and cockroaches (HPD, Indoor Allergen Hazards).

Smoke, carbon monoxide and gas detectors

Owners keep records of when each device was installed and when it expires. They replace missing or dead devices before a new tenant moves in. Tenants in some buildings repay a set amount per device, such as $25 for a CO or gas detector (HPD, Detectors).

Building inspections filed with DOB

The Department of Buildings (DOB) requires recurring inspections of certain building systems. The schedule stays with the building, so a filing the seller missed is now yours to complete. You can see the history in DOB NOW, DOB’s online filing system (see checking a NYC property before contract).

Boilers

The yearly inspection runs January 1 to December 31, and the report goes into DOB NOW within 45 days. Boilers heating a single apartment and small boilers of 100,000 BTUs or less are exempt. A follow-up report confirming repairs that is filed more than 180 days after the inspection costs $50 per boiler per month. A report filed more than 12 months after the inspection is treated as expired, with a $1,000 penalty per boiler (DOB, Low-Pressure Boiler Requirements).

Gas piping (Local Law 152)

Local Law 152 is the name owners use for the City’s gas piping inspection rule. A licensed master plumber inspects at least once every four years. The year depends on the building’s community district: districts 4, 6, 8, 9 and 16 are due in 2026, and districts 11, 12, 14, 15 and 17 in 2027. DOB has a property lookup on its gas piping page. The certification is due within 60 days of the inspection, and missing it can bring a $5,000 civil penalty (DOB, Gas Piping Inspections).

Parapets

A parapet is the low wall along the edge of a roof. Since January 1, 2024, a parapet facing a street or sidewalk needs a yearly check by a competent person, such as a mason or building superintendent. An attached rowhouse can be covered. The report isn’t filed: you keep it for at least six years and show it to DOB on request. If the check finds an unsafe condition, the owner must put up public protection right away (DOB, parapet service notice).

Elevators, facades and emissions

Elevators. Each inspection and test must be filed within a set number of days. For a residential building, missing the yearly test filing costs $1,000 per elevator (DOB, Elevator Compliance).
Facades. The exterior walls of buildings taller than six stories are inspected every five years (DOB, Facade Compliance).
Emissions (Local Law 97). Local Law 97 is the City’s building emissions law. It covers single buildings over 25,000 gross square feet, and two or more buildings on one tax lot that together exceed 50,000. DOB publishes a Covered Buildings List to check against (DOB, LL97).

Most one- to four-family houses and small walk-ups fall under neither the facade nor the emissions rule.

Open violations and permits stay with the building

Open DOB and HPD violations, open permits and certificate of occupancy problems don’t end at closing. Fixing them is now your job, and any new summons for a problem that continues is written to you. See found a DOB violation after closing, open permits on a NYC sale and NYC property violations at closing. If a unit isn’t legal under the certificate of occupancy, see legal two-family or not and buying a house with an illegal basement apartment.

Sidewalk, snow and the water account

These apply to every owner, including an owner living in a one-family house.

Sidewalk. Owners must install, repair and maintain the sidewalk next to their property (DOT, Sidewalk Repair). A DOT sidewalk violation carries no fine. But it is filed with the County Clerk until repairs are certified, which can complicate a later sale or refinance. The owner has 75 days to repair. After that, DOT can do the work and bill you, and a bill unpaid for 90 days becomes a lien. The City doesn’t charge owners of one- to three-family homes for damage caused only by City tree roots.

Snow. If snow stops between 7 AM and 5 PM, you have four hours to clear the sidewalk. If it stops between 5 PM and 9 PM, you have 14 hours. If it stops overnight, you have until 11 AM. The fine is up to $250 (NYC 311, Snow Removal).

Water and sewer. The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) treats water charges as a lien on the property and holds the owner responsible. New owners register with DEP’s Customer Registration Form, and the name on the recorded deed must be the main name on the account. Registering as a new owner cancels the seller’s autopay, payment plans, exemptions and assistance programs on that account (DEP, Customer Registration Form). The final reading at closing is covered in water and sewer charges at closing.

Details for attorneys and title professionals

Registration timing. HPD’s pages say only “as soon as” a new owner buys. Unofficial copies of the City housing code’s registration article give a new owner five days from taking title, 30 days where title passes by law (such as by inheritance), and 10 days after a one- or two-family house stops being lived in by the owner or family. We could not confirm these day counts on an official City site. The same article says a late filing does not affect the validity of the new owner’s title. HPD’s own “five days” refers to updating an existing registration, such as a new managing agent.
Penalty amounts. HPD’s registration FAQ still shows an older $250 to $500 range. HPD’s Penalties and Fees page and its June 2026 owner bulletin give the higher amounts, from a 2023 City law that took effect December 8, 2023. Those amounts are stated for multiple dwellings only.
Not title items. None of these duties is a lien or a title exception in itself. Missed filings bring DOB or HPD penalties and violations, which show up in the City searches. Unpaid DOT sidewalk repair bills and HPD repair charges can become liens. See checking a NYC property before contract.

Official sources

Korvane Title is preparing to launch in New York. It is not licensed as a title insurance agent and does not accept title orders. Content on this site is general information, not legal advice.