Title issues
Open permit
An open DOB permit is work the City still shows as unfinished. It rarely kills a NYC deal outright, but it moves the date and it follows the buyer.
Can you close on a NYC property with an open permit?
Quick Answer
Compliance · Moves the closing date while it is worked
How is it found?
- The municipal search returns permits in an open or expired status against the BIN
- DOB NOW or BIS shows a job filing with no sign-off and no final inspection
- The certificate of occupancy does not reflect work that is visibly present at the property
- A prior owner pulled the permit and the contractor left the job before final inspection
How is it cured?
- Confirm the filing status and what the City is actually waiting for: an inspection, a document, or a superseding filing
- Have the original filing professional reactivate and complete the job, or file a superseding application with a new professional of record
- Schedule and pass the outstanding inspections, then obtain the sign-off or an updated certificate of occupancy
- If the work never happened, withdraw the permit through the DOB process rather than leaving it open
- Where the timeline does not fit the closing date, negotiate an escrow holdback with a defined release condition and a deadline
What does clearing it cost?
The cost is professional time rather than a filing fee: the architect or engineer who reactivates the job, the expediter who schedules inspections, and any corrective work an inspection turns up. A permit that only needs a sign-off is inexpensive. One that needs corrective construction is not, which is why the scope gets confirmed before anyone agrees to an escrow number.
Who pays for it?
Under a standard New York contract the seller delivers the property free of open permits and pays to close them, because the condition arose during the seller’s ownership. Where the date will not hold, the parties commonly agree to a seller-funded escrow rather than shifting the cost to the buyer.
What does an open permit actually mean?
It means the Department of Buildings has a job filing on the property that was started and never signed off. The permit may have expired, but expiring is not the same as closing out. Until the job is signed off, the City record shows unfinished work, and that record is what a lender and a purchaser read.
Will a lender refuse to fund over an open permit?
Some will and some will not. Lenders react to what the permit implies about the condition of the building and about whether the certificate of occupancy is accurate. An open plumbing or structural filing draws more attention than an expired sidewalk shed permit. The lender decides, so the item goes to the lender early.
What happens if the buyer closes with the permit open?
The open permit stays with the property, not with the seller. The buyer inherits the obligation to close it out, inherits any corrective work an inspection finds, and inherits the risk that a later sale or refinance stalls on the same item. That is why the escrow, if there is one, needs a real release condition.
What else should you read before closing?
In the glossary
- Open permitA DOB permit filed for work that was never signed off. Closing it usually means a licensed professional filing for inspection or formally withdrawi...
- Certificate of Occupancy (C of O)The Department of Buildings document that fixes a building's legal use and occupancy. Lenders and title companies read it to confirm the property c...
- TCO (Temporary Certificate of Occupancy)A Certificate of Occupancy issued for a limited period while construction is completed. Renewals are routine, but a lapse stops closings until the ...
- Municipal searchThe record search covering agency violations, municipal arrears and occupancy documents for a property. It runs alongside the land records search r...
- Escrow (at closing)Funds or documents held by a neutral party until stated conditions are satisfied. At a New York closing it usually means a holdback from proceeds u...
- Violation (cited against the premises)An agency record that a condition at a property does not comply with a code or rule. It attaches to the premises and follows the property through a...
Questions this raises
- What happens if the title search finds a problem before closing?Schedule B-I requirements are the punch list, not a dead deal. How New York closings clear old liens, missing satisfactions and name hits before th...
- What gets recorded after a NYC closing?Deed, mortgage, assignments and satisfactions record through ACRIS with the City Register, along with transfer tax returns. What is filed instead o...
Title issues
- Unsatisfied mortgage of recordA paid-off mortgage with no recorded satisfaction still reads as a live lien in ACRIS. Here is how it is found, how it is cleared, and who pays for...
- Judgment lien against the sellerA docketed money judgment attaches to New York real property the seller owns in that county. Here is how it surfaces, how it clears, and who pays it.
Building types
- Standard condoA New York City condominium unit: real property conveyed by deed, recorded in ACRIS, with an undivided interest in the common elements.
- New-development condoA first sale from the sponsor of a newly built condominium, governed by an offering plan, often delivered on a temporary certificate of occupancy.
- Condo in a converted buildingA condominium created by converting an existing rental building, where non-purchasing tenants, the reserve fund and building-wide conditions carry ...
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Legal Disclaimer: This page is general information about New York practice. It is not legal advice, it does not account for the terms of any particular contract, building or transaction, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. This is attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.