Open Permits and Certificates of Occupancy at a Westchester Closing

In most of Westchester County, no law stops a sale because a building permit is still open or a certificate of occupancy (CO) is missing. A CO is the building department’s sign-off that a building or finished work can be used. Whether the closing goes ahead usually depends on the contract, the buyer’s lender and what the title company’s municipal search turns up.

A few places are different. Their codes require an updated CO or a building department inspection when a property is sold. Peekskill, Tarrytown, Sleepy Hollow and Dobbs Ferry are examples. The details differ. Sleepy Hollow’s rule, for instance, excludes one- and two-family homes. There, the seller has a legal duty on top of the contract.

This guide covers Westchester County only. New York City has its own system (see violations at a NYC closing).

Who keeps the permit and CO records

Westchester has six cities, 19 towns and 20 villages (Westchester County). Each city and village, and each town for its area outside any village, runs its own building department and keeps its own files. There is no countywide permit database.

The ground rules come from state law. The building department must do a final inspection when permitted work is done. Only then can it issue a CO or a certificate of compliance, which allows the work to be used (state building code rules). An “open permit” is a permit that never got that final inspection and sign-off.

What the municipal search shows

A municipal search (also called a departmental search) is a set of letters from the local building, fire and highway departments saying what their records show for the property. It is separate from the title search, which looks at documents recorded with the County Clerk. In Westchester, the title company usually orders these letters for the buyer and the lender.

The usual residential package includes:

  • Certificate of occupancy: the COs and certificates of completion or compliance on file, or a note that none is on file
  • Building department: open permits, expired permits, open violations, and sometimes work without a permit noted by an inspector
  • Fire: fire code violations or inspections, which matter more for apartment buildings and commercial property
  • Street: whether the street is public and accepted by the municipality
  • Highway: highway department records, such as curb cut or street opening permits and violations

Commercial property may get extra searches, depending on location.

The letters are for information only. The title company does not insure them. They are not part of the title report and are not updated to the closing date. The standard owner’s title policy also excludes building and zoning problems. Its only, limited coverage applies where a government agency has recorded an enforcement notice in the public records. An open permit sitting in a building department file is not recorded. In practice, the title policy does not protect the buyer against it.

The letters show only what is in the file. Work done without a permit will not appear unless an inspector has already cited it. A finished basement, a deck or a converted garage with no permit history shows up as nothing at all. Buyers’ attorneys and inspectors often catch this by comparing the CO description (for example, “one-family dwelling, two-car garage”) with the actual house.

Places that require a CO or inspection on sale

These Westchester codes have a sale-related rule. Each was checked against the code text on eCode360.

Municipality Timing What the code requires
City of Peekskill 60 days Updated CO before anyone uses or occupies the property after a sale, including condo and co-op units. Issued no earlier than 60 days before closing. The seller gets it unless the contract says otherwise.
Village of Tarrytown 30 days Updated CO before anyone uses or occupies the property after a sale, including condos. Issued no earlier than 30 days before closing. The seller gets it unless the contract says otherwise.
Village of Sleepy Hollow 60 days Updated CO before occupancy after a sale of improved property. Single- and two-family homes are excluded. Issued no earlier than 60 days before closing. The seller gets it.
Village of Dobbs Ferry Before transfer Building department inspection of residential property before ownership changes. The fee includes a new CO. The code does not say who must arrange it.

Peekskill backs its rule with fines of $5,000 to $10,000 for the first day and $1,000 to $5,000 for each added day. The owner is strictly liable, meaning fault does not matter, and no warning is required first (Peekskill penalties).

In these places, an open permit or unpermitted work found on inspection must be fixed before the updated CO can issue. That turns a contract issue into a legal requirement with a deadline tied to the closing date.

This is not a complete list. Other municipalities may have similar rules or practices, and codes change. To check a property, search the municipality’s code on eCode360 for “certificate of occupancy” with “sale” or “transfer,” and call the building department to confirm. For the full municipality-by-municipality review, see which Westchester municipalities require an updated CO on sale.

Everywhere else: the contract, the lender and the buyer decide

Outside those places, an open permit does not by itself stop a deed from being signed or recorded. It becomes a closing issue in three ways.

The contract. Westchester contracts and riders often deal with COs and violations. A common term has the seller deliver a CO (or certificate of completion) for existing structures and close out open permits or violations before closing, sometimes with a cap on what the seller must spend. The exact wording varies, and it controls. If the seller agreed to deliver a CO for a deck that was never permitted, the seller has to solve it, and the buyer may have rights if it is not solved.

The lender. Many lenders want proof that the property’s legal use matches the loan. Some will not fund with open permits or a missing CO. These are lender rules, not law, and they vary by lender and loan program.

The buyer’s leverage. Even when nobody requires it, a buyer who inherits an open permit inherits the job of closing it. That may happen later, under a newer code, with the original contractor gone. Bronxville’s mayor said in 2025 that leaving a permit open “only affects you, the homeowner, when you try to sell your home,” and that work done without a permit is legalized at double the permit and CO fees (Bronxville building department FAQ, March 2025). Fee rules like that are local and differ elsewhere.

How an open permit gets closed

Each building department sets its own process, but it usually follows these steps:

  1. Get the file. Review the property’s permit and CO history. Some places let owners look at the folder directly. Others require a Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) request. Greenburgh, for example, handles building records, violations and property history through a FOIL request to the Town Clerk (Town of Greenburgh).
  2. Find what is missing. Usually a final inspection, contractor paperwork (an electrical sign-off, plumbing test results, a final survey for an addition), or an expired permit that needs renewing.
  3. Book the final inspection. If the work passes, the department issues a CO or a certificate of compliance or completion and closes the permit.
  4. Legalize work done without a permit. This usually means a new “as-built” permit application, maybe drawings, opening walls for inspection, and higher fees. It can take weeks or months.

Sellers who order their own building department records before listing find open permits while there is still time to fix them, not after the buyer’s search comes back.

Closing with money held back

If the paperwork can’t be finished in time, the parties sometimes close with part of the seller’s money held in escrow (held back) until the permit is closed or the CO issues. The escrow agreement should say how much, who holds it, what document releases it (for example, a copy of the new CO), the deadline and what happens if the deadline passes.

Who holds the money is up to the parties. It may be the seller’s attorney, the buyer’s attorney or the title company, which will use its own escrow terms. A lender may refuse to close with an escrow. And in places that require an updated CO before anyone moves in, a holdback does not change that rule.

Quick checklist

  • Sellers: get your building department file before listing; close out old permits; check whether your municipality requires an updated CO or inspection on sale, and fit its timing (30 or 60 days in the codes above) into the closing schedule.
  • Buyers’ attorneys: compare the CO description with the house and the listing; read the search letters line by line; tie any open item to a specific contract term or escrow.
  • Real estate agents: ask the seller about renovations and permits at listing, especially finished basements, decks, additions and kitchen or bathroom work.

For who handles what at a closing, see who does what at a New York closing. For what the title premium covers, see what title insurance costs in NYC and Westchester.

Details for attorneys and title professionals

  • Which searches are standard. Stewart Title’s New York agent guidelines list CO, Department of Buildings, Fire, Street and Highway as the standard residential set outside New York City. That is one underwriter’s guidance, but it matches the usual package.
  • Why the letters are not insured. The same guidelines say these searches are “for information only and are not insured,” are not part of the title report or commitment, and are not continued to closing. The report must carry a cover page saying so.
  • The policy wording. The 2021 ALTA owner’s policy excludes losses from building and zoning laws. Its limited coverage applies only where a government agency has recorded an enforcement notice.

Official sources

Related guides

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