Owners are often surprised to learn that a facade violation doesn't close when the repair is finished. The mason can repoint the wall, replace the lintel and haul away the debris, and the violation will still sit open on the building's DOB record for years. It closes only when the right paperwork reaches the right office, with proof DOB accepts, and any penalty has been paid.
This guide covers how facade violations work in New York City, the order to do things in, and the mistakes that keep violations open long after the work is done.
First, figure out what you have
Look the building up on the DOB website (BIS or DOB NOW) by address, and look at the violations list. Facade problems usually show up as one or more of three things, and each one is closed differently.
| Type | What it is | How it closes |
|---|---|---|
| ECB / OATH violation | A summons written by a DOB inspector, heard at the Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings. Carries a penalty. | Hearing outcome (or payment), plus a Certificate of Correction accepted by DOB. |
| DOB violation | An administrative notice that a condition must be corrected. No hearing. | Proof of correction accepted by DOB, often with permit sign-off. |
| FISP violation or penalty | Issued for a facade report that was never filed, filed late, or for Unsafe or SWARMP conditions left uncorrected. | Filing the overdue report or the amended report, and paying the civil penalties. |
Read the full violation text. The summary line leaves out most of what you need. It describes the condition the inspector saw (for example, loose or cracked brick at a parapet, or a failure to maintain the exterior wall), where on the building it is, and for ECB violations, the hearing date and the class.
The class matters. ECB violations are Class 1 (immediately hazardous), Class 2 (major) or Class 3 (lesser). A Class 1 facade condition has to be corrected right away and the correction certified quickly, and it usually means public protection should already be up. Lower classes give you more room, and in some cases fixing and certifying the condition before the hearing can reduce or avoid the penalty. Check the back of the summons and the OATH and DOB websites for the current rules on your class.
Step 1: Make it safe
If the violation describes anything that could fall, protect the sidewalk before you do anything else. That usually means a sidewalk shed, and sometimes netting or removal of loose material. A dangerous condition without protection can escalate quickly: more violations, an emergency declaration, or the city hiring its own contractor and billing the building. Our post on what to do when brick falls covers the first day in detail.
Step 2: Get the hearing date on the calendar
For an ECB violation, the hearing date is printed on the summons. Put it in front of whoever is handling the violation, whether that's the managing agent, an expediter or an attorney. OATH hearings can often be held by phone or video, and many owners send a representative.
Don't miss it. A missed hearing usually becomes a default decision at the maximum penalty for the charge. OATH does accept requests to vacate a default, but those are easier to win when made right away, and they cost time you'd rather spend on the repair.
What helps at the hearing: proof that the sidewalk was protected promptly, a signed contract or engineer's proposal for the repair, permits filed, and ideally photos of the work underway or finished. A hearing officer sees a lot of owners who did nothing. An owner who can show a plan in motion is in a much better position.
Step 3: Fix the right thing, with the right permits
Fix the cause of the condition along with the part you can see from the street. If the violation is for cracked brick at window heads, the cause is often a rusting steel lintel, and resetting the brick won't hold. An engineer should look at the condition and specify the repair. Most facade repairs on larger buildings need a DOB work permit, and the sidewalk shed and scaffold need permits of their own.
The permit matters for clearing the violation too. When the repair required a permit, DOB generally wants to see that permit signed off before it accepts that the condition was corrected. Work done without one can leave you with a fixed wall and a violation that still won't close, plus a new violation for work without a permit.
Keep a photo record as the work goes: the condition before, the wall opened up, the new steel or brick going in, and the finished repair. Take the photos from positions that clearly show which part of the building you're looking at. That record is the evidence for the next step.
Step 4: Certify the correction
For ECB violations, the correction is certified to DOB's Administrative Enforcement Unit (AEU) with a Certificate of Correction. Your expediter or design professional usually prepares it. A typical submission includes:
- The violation number, exactly as it appears on DOB's record.
- A signed statement of what was done to correct the condition.
- Dated before and after photos that clearly match the location in the violation.
- Permit numbers and sign-off, where the work required a permit.
- A letter or report from the engineer or architect, where the condition was structural or the violation calls for one.
- Contractor invoices or other proof the work was done.
DOB reviews the submission and either accepts it or rejects it with a reason. The most common reasons we see for rejection are photos that don't clearly show the same location, a permit that hasn't been signed off yet, a missing professional's statement, and a violation number typed wrong. Each rejection adds weeks, so it's worth getting the package complete the first time.
For DOB (non-ECB) violations, the process is similar in spirit: proof of correction submitted to DOB, often tied to the permit sign-off for the work.
Step 5: Pay the penalty and confirm the record
An ECB violation isn't resolved until the penalty imposed at the hearing has been paid as well as the correction certified. Unpaid OATH penalties can be docketed as judgments against the property, and they don't go away on their own.
When everything is filed and paid, look the building up again. The violation should show as resolved or dismissed. If it still shows open a month or two after you think you're done, follow up. A violation that stays open on paper causes the same problems as one that was never fixed.
FISP violations work differently
If your building is over six stories, some facade violations are tied to the Facade Inspection & Safety Program rather than to an inspector's site visit. They close through the FISP filing system:
- No report filed or filed late. Penalties of $1,000 per month late, plus $5,000 per year for failure to file. Filing the report stops the late penalties, and accrued penalties have to be paid.
- Unsafe conditions not corrected. Unsafe conditions must be corrected within 90 days of the filing unless DOB grants an extension, with an amended report filed within two weeks of the correction. Penalties for failing to correct start at $1,000 per month.
- SWARMP conditions not corrected. A SWARMP condition still present at the next cycle's inspection has to be filed as Unsafe, with a $2,000 penalty.
If the building also has a sidewalk shed, the Local Law 51 milestones (construction documents in 5 months, a work permit application in 8 months, repairs finished in 2 years) carry their own penalties of $5,000 to $20,000 each. Our posts on FISP Cycle 10, SWARMP reports and sidewalk shed rules cover each of those in detail.
Why it's worth clearing quickly
Open violations and unpaid penalties are public. They show up in title searches, lender reviews and buyer due diligence, and they can hold up a sale or a refinance until they're cleared or money is held in escrow against them. Condo and co-op lending questionnaires ask about facade conditions and pending assessments, so facade problems can make it harder for individual owners to sell or refinance their units too. And an open hazardous condition is exactly the kind of record a lawyer looks for after someone is injured.
Mistakes that keep violations open
- Fixing the condition and never filing the Certificate of Correction.
- Doing permit-required work without a permit, so the correction can't be accepted.
- Taking no photos before the work started.
- Missing the OATH hearing and taking a default.
- Paying the penalty and assuming that closes the violation. It doesn't, without the correction.
- Patching the visible symptom while the cause keeps working, which brings the same violation back next year.
Let us handle the repair side
NYC Superior Construction repairs the facade conditions behind DOB violations across New York City, Nassau, Westchester and Rockland counties, and Central and North New Jersey: loose and spalled brick, lintels, parapets, cornices and the rest. We work with your engineer and expediter, pull the permits the work needs, and document the job with the before, during and after photos a Certificate of Correction needs. Send us the violation and a few photos of the wall, and we'll tell you what the repair involves.
Frequently asked questions
Does fixing the facade clear a DOB violation?
No. The violation stays open until the correction is certified to DOB with proof and any penalty is paid.
What is the difference between a DOB violation and an ECB violation?
DOB violations are administrative notices to fix a condition. ECB violations, now heard at OATH, carry penalties. Each has to be resolved on its own.
What happens if we miss the OATH hearing?
You'll usually be found in default at the maximum penalty. Ask OATH to vacate the default right away.
How long does it take to clear a facade violation?
The repair time depends on the scope. DOB's review of the correction paperwork can add several weeks, more if it gets rejected.
Can an open facade violation stop a sale or refinance?
It can. Title searches and lenders flag open violations and unpaid penalties, and many deals require them cleared or escrowed first.
This article is general information about New York City building enforcement, not legal advice. Hearing procedures, penalty amounts and filing methods change. Confirm the current process with DOB, OATH, or an attorney or expediter before relying on it. Last reviewed: October 4, 2026.