HPD Dismissal Requests for Old Violations

To close HPD violations whose certification date has passed, file a Dismissal Request: you pay HPD a fee of $250 to $500, an inspector comes back to the building, and every violation the inspector sees corrected is dismissed. It is the main route for owners clearing years of open violations before a sale, refinance or new management takeover, but the inspector can also write new violations, so prepare the building first.

If a violation is still inside its certification period, you don't need any of this; just certify the correction, which is free.

Which process do you need?

HPD has three ways to remove violations once the certification date has passed. Pick the one that fits the violation:

• Dismissal Request — the general route. Any open violations, any age, reinspected for a fee.
• Documentation submission (“Defect” status) — free. For violations HPD already reinspected and saw corrected but is still waiting on paperwork, such as lead-based paint and mold violations.
• Violation Reissuance — for buildings with a clean recent record. HPD reissues old violations with new correction and certification dates, and you certify them like new ones. If HPD doesn't inspect, they are deemed complied 70 business days after the certification arrives.

Reissuance is only open to buildings that, in the 12 months before the request, have no newly issued open violations and no false certifications, plus a current registration, no unpaid Emergency Repair Program charges, no pending HPD litigation, no AEP status, and occupants. Many violation types are excluded, including lead, mold and vermin.

Dismissal Request fees

Write the building's property registration number on the check or money order. AEP buildings send their application to the Alternative Enforcement Program at 100 Gold Street, 5th Floor, New York, NY 10038 (212-863-8262). See the AEP guide.

Step by step

1. 1

   Pull the open violation list

   Look up the building on HPD Online or on Roofy’s building lookup. Note each open violation, its class, apartment and order number.
2. 2

   Confirm the registration is current

   HPD can reject the request if the building has no valid property registration. Owner-occupied 1–2 family homes and individual condo or co-op owners file an Affidavit of Ownership instead.
3. 3

   Check for HPD litigation

   If the owner, agent or building has pending HPD litigation or an unpaid HPD judgment, you need pre-approval from HPD’s Housing Litigation Division first.
4. 4

   Fix everything, then walk the building

   Correct each condition, and also check the common health and safety items HPD inspects for (list below), because new violations can be written.
5. 5

   File Form DR-1 with the fee

   Choose “ALL” violations or list specific ones. Only the registered owner or managing agent can sign. Name an access contact for scheduling.
6. 6

   Give the inspector access

   Arrange entry to every apartment with a violation. Arrival windows are 9 a.m.–1 p.m. or 1–5 p.m.; call 212-863-8060, option 2, for the morning-of estimate.
7. 7

   Send documents only when asked

   Don’t include lead, mold or pest paperwork with the application. If the inspector sees the condition fixed, HPD sends a Defect Letter listing what to submit.

What the inspector will cite on the visit

The Dismissal Request form warns that inspectors also check basic health and safety conditions. HPD's list includes:

• Any immediately hazardous condition, inadequate heat or hot water
• Missing or defective smoke and carbon monoxide detectors
• Missing or defective window guards where a child under 11 lives (in the unit or, for public areas, anywhere in the building)
• Peeling paint in any apartment where a child under 6 lives
• Illegal window gates, double-cylinder locks, and improper or defective egress
• Missing required signs in public areas
• Rodents or other pests, mold, and doors that don't self-close

Violations that need paperwork, not an inspection

Some violations have no physical condition to look at. They are not added to the inspection and close only when you file the right documents:

Two more categories are inspected but also need documents. Alteration violations (orders 491, 494, 495, 741) need DOB-approved plans and permits if you legalized the work; if you removed it and restored the legal layout, no documents are needed. Class B and C mold violations issued after March 1, 2018 need an Affidavit of Mold Assessment and Remediation.

When some apartments are inaccessible: the CV-1 process

Violations the inspector can't see are not dismissed. There is one exception. If, after two attempted visits, inspectors got into at least 50% of the violations and saw at least 75% of those corrected, you can self-certify the remaining no-access violations with a CV-1 form, completed within 45 days of the final inspection date:

1. Fill out a separate CV-1 for each apartment and sign Certification A.
2. Mail a copy to the tenant by certified mail, return receipt requested. The tenant can object and ask for a reinspection.
3. Sign Certification B and send the original to the Central Violations Administration Unit within 10 days of mailing to the tenant, with proof of mailing.
4. If there is no objection or audit, the violations are dismissed.

Many orders can't use CV-1, including lead, mold, some alteration orders, overcrowding, public-area violations, “I” orders and violations that need documents. A false CV-1 carries the same penalties as any false certification.

Before a sale or refinance

Buyers, lenders and their attorneys can see open violations on public records, including your building page on Roofy. Start early: at HPD's target of up to 90 business days during heat season, a Dismissal Request filed in October may not be inspected until well into the new year. Gather these before you file:

• The current open violation list with order numbers and apartments
• Proof of a current HPD property registration (or the Affidavit of Ownership)
• Contractor invoices and photos for each corrected condition
• Mold affidavits, pest records and lead documents, ready to send when HPD asks
• DOB sign-offs for any legalized alterations
• A plan for tenant access on the inspection dates

DOB and ECB/OATH violations are a separate system with their own process; see How to clear DOB violations.

This is general information, not legal advice. Fees and procedures come from HPD's June 2026 Dismissal Request form; check the current form on HPD's Clear Violations page before you file.