How Much Are NYC DOB Violation Penalties? The 1 RCNY §102-01 Penalty Schedule Explained

How Much Are NYC DOB Violation Penalties?

A NYC Department of Buildings violation can cost anywhere from $250 to $25,000 per violation — and the exact figure is set, in advance, by a published table. That table is the Buildings Penalty Schedule in 1 RCNY §102-01, the rule that governs how the Department of Buildings classifies violations and what each one costs. There are 445 distinct violations on the schedule, and every one of them has a fixed price that depends on how you respond.

After more than a decade representing building owners at OATH hearings, the single most useful thing I can tell a client who just received a DOB summons is this: the penalty is not a mystery, and it is not final. The schedule tells you the worst case — and most of the work we do is moving a client off the worst case toward the best one.

Here is how the schedule works, what the December 2025 amendment changed, and how to read your own exposure.

How does NYC classify DOB violations?

Every DOB violation is assigned a class that reflects how dangerous the condition is. The class drives both the deadline and the dollars.

Class 1 ("immediately hazardous") covers conditions that threaten life or safety — a defective standpipe, an unsafe façade, work that ignores a Stop Work Order. These carry the highest penalties and the shortest fuse. Class 2 ("major") covers most code violations — the bulk of what owners actually see. Class 3 ("lesser") covers paperwork and certificate-renewal lapses.

What are the penalty tiers in the §102-01 schedule?

Here is the part most owners do not realize: the same violation has several different prices, and which one you pay depends entirely on how you respond. For each violation, the schedule lists:

• Standard penalty — what you pay if you are found in violation at a hearing.
• Default penalty — what you pay if you miss the hearing. It is dramatically higher, often five times the standard amount.
• Aggravated I penalty — a higher amount if you committed the same violation in the previous three years.
• Aggravated II penalty — the highest tier, reserved for the most serious circumstances.

The figures above are common amounts, not universal ones — each of the 445 rows carries its own numbers. The single most expensive mistake an owner can make is not the violation itself; it is missing the hearing, which converts a standard penalty into a default penalty automatically.

What is the difference between cure, stipulation, and mitigation?

These three terms are the schedule's built-in off-ramps, and they are why a violation is rarely a fixed cost.

• Cure — $0 penalty. If a violation is eligible for cure, correcting the condition and filing an acceptable Certificate of Correction before the first hearing date results in a zero penalty. Every Class 3 violation is curable; some Class 2 violations are. The schedule marks which ones with a "Yes" in the Cure column.
• Stipulation — roughly half. A stipulation is an agreement: you admit the violation and commit to correcting it, and in exchange a pre-hearing stipulation cuts the penalty to half the hearing amount. You then have 75 days to correct and certify.
• Mitigation — roughly half. If you correct the condition before the first hearing date and prove it at the hearing, the penalty is halved.

One hard limit: a violation charged as Aggravated I or Aggravated II is never eligible for cure, stipulation, or mitigation — even if the schedule shows "Yes" for that violation. The aggravated charge removes the off-ramps. That is why a repeat violation is far more dangerous than a first one.

What are aggravated penalties?

Aggravated penalties are the schedule's answer to repeat and serious conduct.

Aggravated I applies when the Department can show the same condition or charge against the same owner or responsible party within the previous three years. Put simply, it is the repeat-offender tier.

Aggravated II is the most serious. It applies when the violation is accompanied by — or creates a substantial risk of — an accident, a fatality, or serious injury; when it affects a significant number of people; when the owner refuses to give the Department information it needs; or when there is a documented pattern of non-compliance, including a pattern of ignoring Stop Work Orders, filing false documents, or repeatedly defaulting.

Do DOB penalties keep adding up daily?

Yes — for certain conditions, the schedule adds penalties that accrue over time, on top of the flat amount.

• Daily penalties of $1,000 per day, for up to 45 days, can be imposed on certain continuing, uncorrected Class 1 violations.
• Monthly penalties of $250 per month can be imposed on certain continuing Class 2 violations.

These accrue from the date of the Commissioner's order to correct, and they stop on the date you prove the condition was corrected — which is the whole argument for correcting fast rather than waiting for the hearing.

What changed in the penalty schedule on December 21, 2025?

The penalty schedule is not static. Two recent amendments to 1 RCNY §102-01 raised a significant number of penalties:

December 21, 2025 — the Electrical Code amendment. Local Law 128 of 2024 folded the NYC Electrical Code into the Construction Codes, and the schedule was amended to bring electrical-violation penalties in line with comparable Construction Code violations. Among the changes: the penalty for electrical work without a permit rose for every class — Class 1 from $1,600 to $2,500, Class 2 from $800 to $1,250, and Class 3 from $200 to $250 — and several new electrical-violation rows were added.

February 15, 2025 — the parking-structure amendment. Local Law 70 of 2024 added parking-structure penalties and, in the same pass, raised Stop Work Order penalties: unlawfully continuing work while on notice of a Stop Work Order went from $5,000 to $10,000, and tampering with or defacing a posted Stop Work Order went from $2,500 to $5,000.

The takeaway for owners: a penalty figure you remember from an older violation may now be higher. Always check the current schedule.

How much could a specific violation cost me?

The fastest way to price a specific violation is to look it up. We maintain a searchable database of every DOB violation code, with its class, penalty figures, and legal citation: the NYC DOB Violations database. You can also read the rule itself — 1 RCNY §102-01 on the NYC Rules library.

For the wider picture on what else changed at the end of 2025, see the critical NYC DOB updates for December 2025.

What should I do if I receive a DOB violation?

The penalty schedule rewards speed and punishes silence. In order of priority:

1. 1Find the hearing date and do not miss it. A missed hearing converts the standard penalty into the default penalty automatically — usually five times higher.
2. 2Check whether the violation is curable. If it is Class 3, or a curable Class 2, correcting the condition and filing a Certificate of Correction before the first hearing can take the penalty to $0.
3. 3If it is not curable, weigh a stipulation or mitigation — both can roughly halve the penalty.
4. 4Take repeat exposure seriously. If you have had the same violation in the last three years, you are facing an aggravated charge with no off-ramps.

We defend DOB and OATH violations for building owners and managers across all five boroughs. Every client works directly with their attorney. If you have a violation in hand, the most useful first step is a short case review while there is still time to choose your path on the schedule.

• Call 347-392-6356
• Email reception@nacmiaslaw.com
• Schedule a consultation

You can also read more about how we handle DOB and OATH violations.

This article is general information about the NYC penalty schedule, not legal advice. Penalty amounts are set by 1 RCNY §102-01 and change by amendment; confirm the current schedule for your specific violation. Contact Nacmias Law Firm for advice on your situation.