Which borough has the most open violations? It is one of the most common questions investors, property managers, and tenants ask — and the answer changes as violations are issued and resolved every day. Rather than quote a snapshot that goes stale, this guide explains how to read borough-level violation data yourself, and where to find the live numbers.
The Data
RegWatch tracks violations from three major NYC agencies: the Department of Buildings (DOB), the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), and the Environmental Control Board (ECB). Combined, these agencies issue tens of thousands of violations annually, and each maintains its own database with its own severity classes.
See the Live Numbers
For current open-violation counts and breakdowns, use the live data surfaces — they are computed from the same database that powers every property report: browse NYC violations by type for agency-level detail, or the data insights dashboard for borough and neighborhood rollups.
What Drives Borough Differences
- Housing stock age — boroughs with older, pre-war residential buildings tend to accumulate more HPD habitability violations (heat, lead paint, pests)
- Density and building type — high-density multifamily buildings generate more inspection triggers per lot than one- and two-family homes
- Enforcement mix — commercial-heavy areas see proportionally more DOB and ECB activity (permits, facade, occupancy), while residential areas skew toward HPD
- Construction activity — active development creates more inspections, and more inspections surface more violations
What This Means for Investors
Open violations are a leading indicator of property risk. A building with multiple unresolved DOB violations signals deferred maintenance, potential fines, and possible legal exposure. For buyers, this data should be part of every due diligence check.
HPD violations specifically indicate habitability issues — important for residential investors evaluating tenant risk and potential liability.
Risk Scoring
RegWatch's compliance scoring system combines open DOB and HPD violations, unpaid ECB penalties, Local Law 97 exposure, tax delinquency, and recorded liens into a single 0-100 score, so you can compare buildings on one scale instead of juggling three agency databases.
Check Any Property
Search any NYC address on RegWatch to see its violation history, risk score, and compliance status. Free with signup — or dive deeper with our live data insights dashboard.