ECB/OATH Violations: How to Read the Record
Decode NYC ECB/OATH violations: Class 1-3 severity, hearing status, penalty imposed, balance due and certification, and what unpaid balances mean in a sale.
8 min read · Updated
An ECB violation is a summons, usually from the Department of Buildings, that is decided at a hearing by OATH, the city's administrative court, and can carry a fine. Read two things separately: whether the condition has been fixed and certified with DOB, and whether the penalty has been paid. A building can be clean on one and not the other.
ECB stands for the Environmental Control Board, whose hearings are now handled by OATH. The record still uses "ECB" everywhere, so this guide does too.
At a glance
- DOB ECB violations issued since Jan 2024
- 159,440
- As of Oct 12, 2026
- Penalties imposed on them
- $516.6M
- Paid so far: $92.3M
- Balance due on them
- $401.3M
- 82,097 violations with a balance
- Default penalty ceiling
- Up to $25,000
- If you skip the hearing
The record, field by field
| Field | What it means | How to read it |
|---|---|---|
| ECB violation number | The summons ID | Use it to look up the case with OATH or pay with DOF. |
| ECB violation status | ACTIVE or RESOLVE: status with DOB, not the hearing | ACTIVE means the condition still needs to be addressed. RESOLVE means fixed with DOB or dismissed by OATH. |
| DOB violation number | The DOB violation issued alongside the summons | Links to the DOB violation record. |
| Severity | Class 1, 2 or 3 (shown as “CLASS - 1” etc.) | Class 1 is immediately hazardous. See below. |
| Violation type | Group based on the infraction code | Construction, Elevators, Boilers, Local Law, Zoning, Quality of Life, Site Safety and others. |
| Infraction code 1–10 | 3-digit code(s) from DOB’s penalty schedule | Tells you the exact rule broken and the standard penalty. |
| Issue / served date | When written and when delivered | A long gap can explain a default. |
| Hearing date and status | Latest scheduled hearing and its result | See the hearing status table below. |
| Respondent name | Who the summons was issued to and who owes the penalty | Often the owner, but can be a contractor. |
| Penalty imposed | Penalty set by OATH after adjudication | Zero can mean dismissed, cured or still pending. |
| Amount paid / balance due | Paid toward the penalty, and what is left | The balance is the debt. |
| Certification status | Whether the respondent certified correction with DOB | Fixing the condition is separate from paying. |
| Aggravated level | Pattern of violations, or a fatality, serious injury or risk of one | Raises the stakes. |
Severity: Class 1, 2 and 3
| Class | Meaning | Since Jan 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Class 1 | Immediately hazardous. Must be corrected immediately. | 62,882 (39.4%) |
| Class 2 | Major. Affects life, health, safety, property or the public interest, but does not need immediate action. | 89,859 (56.4%) |
| Class 3 | Lesser. | 6,699 (4.2%) |
DOB says that if a Class 1 summons isn't corrected and certified in time, the respondent can face additional DOB civil penalties of at least $5,000 and reinspects every 60 days. DOB records an uncertified Class 1 as a separate DOB violation, type AEUHAZ1 ("failure to certify correction on immediately hazardous (Class 1) ECB violation"). Class 1 summonses for illegal conversions accrue $1,000 a day until certified, up to $45,000.
Hearing status
| Status | Reading | Share |
|---|---|---|
| IN VIOLATION | OATH found the respondent in violation at a hearing. | 27.1% |
| DEFAULT | No one appeared or responded. Higher default penalties apply. | 21.3% |
| PENDING | Hearing not yet held or decided. | 14.2% |
| DISMISSED | Summons dismissed. No penalty. | 8.9% |
| POP/IN-VIO | An in-violation outcome; the POP prefix is not defined in DOB’s data dictionary. | 7.3% |
| CURED/IN-VIO | Owner fixed it and DOB accepted a cure before the hearing; no penalty. | 7.0% |
| ADMIT/IN-VIO | Respondent admitted the violation. | 6.6% |
| STIPULATION/IN-VIO | Respondent admitted in exchange for time to fix and a reduced penalty. | 1.4% |
| (blank) | No hearing status recorded. | 6.3% |
Certification status: has the condition been fixed?
| Status | Reading | Share |
|---|---|---|
| CERTIFICATE ACCEPTED | DOB accepted the owner’s certificate of correction. | 34.8% |
| NO COMPLIANCE RECORDED | No accepted proof of correction on file. | 26.6% |
| (blank) | No certification status recorded. | 23.7% |
| CURE ACCEPTED | Corrected before the cure date; hearing avoided. | 7.0% |
| N/A - DISMISSED | Summons dismissed, so nothing to certify. | 6.3% |
| COMPLIANCE-INSP/DOC | Compliance shown by inspection or documents. | 1.7% |
DOB says that if you paid the OATH penalty but did not certify correction, the violation will continue to appear open in DOB records until an acceptable certificate of correction is submitted. A violation dismissed at an OATH hearing does not need to be certified. Certificates are now filed through DOB NOW: Safety; the old AEU2 form is no longer required.
Why balances matter in a sale
DOB says violation information is public and appears in a property title search, and open violations can prevent an owner from selling or refinancing. On the money side:
- OATH says that if a penalty goes unpaid, the City may file papers with the Civil Court and enter a judgment, and the Department of Finance (DOF) may start collection.
- DOF's settlement FAQ shows interest running from the original judgment date, so a balance grows the longer it sits.
- Unpaid judgments can lead agencies to deny, suspend or revoke a City license, permit or registration.
- DOF runs a settlement program for default judgments only: you pay the base penalty plus interest and half the default penalty, and the other half is waived. It is not available if you had a hearing.
How to check and clear an ECB violation
- 1
Look it up
Search the address on Roofy to see ECB violations with severity, penalty and balance due, then confirm the latest status with DOB and OATH using the ECB number. - 2
Fix the condition and certify
File a certificate of correction in DOB NOW: Safety. If the summons is cure-eligible and you certify by the cure date, there is no hearing and no penalty. - 3
Resolve the hearing
Before the hearing you can cure, accept a stipulation, pay, or attend to contest. Skipping it brings a default penalty of up to $25,000. - 4
Pay or settle the balance
Pay through DOF e-Services or CityPay, set up a payment plan, or ask whether the judgment qualifies for settlement.
Field definitions (incl. ACTIVE/RESOLVE meanings and that DOB issues a violation alongside each ECB violation) re-checked in DD_DOB_ECB_Violations_2019-07-10.xlsx. Class definitions, $25,000 default ceiling, cure/stipulation, $1,000/day illegal-conversion penalty (max $45,000), Class 1 $5,000 penalty / 60-day reinspections and DOB NOW COC (AEU2 no longer required) from DOB’s OATH summons page. Title search / sale / refinance from DOB’s Violation Issued page; paid-but-uncertified stays open from DOB’s Resolving Issues page (replaced the 2011 tool kit). Judgment and license consequences from OATH Payments/Penalties and DOF ECB Debt pages; interest-from-judgment-date and default-only settlement terms from the DOF settlement FAQ. Removed unverified claims (DOB judgments converted to tax liens, seizure of property, paying admits the charge for POP). Re-queried 6bgk-3dad (issue_date >= 20240101) on 2026-10-12: 159,440 rows, $516.58M imposed, $92.30M paid, $401.31M balance, 82,097 with a balance; severity, hearing and certification shares matched. The sale scenario is an illustration.
Sources
- DOB ECB Violations (dataset and data dictionary) · NYC Open Data / NYC Department of Buildings (accessed October 12, 2026)
- What is an OATH Summons? · NYC Department of Buildings (accessed October 12, 2026)
- Violation Issued · NYC Department of Buildings (accessed October 12, 2026)
- Resolving Issues · NYC Department of Buildings (accessed October 12, 2026)
- Payments/Penalties · NYC OATH (accessed October 12, 2026)
- Additional ECB Debt Information · NYC Department of Finance (accessed October 12, 2026)
- OATH-Adjudicated ECB Violations Settlement Program FAQs · NYC Department of Finance (accessed October 12, 2026)
General information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Rules change; confirm with the agency or a professional before you act.