Work Without a Permit in NYC: Two Penalties, One Open Violation

What counts as work without a permit

New York City requires a written Department of Buildings permit before most construction, alteration, demolition, plumbing and electrical work (NYC Administrative Code 28-105.1). Work performed on an expired permit counts as work without a permit, and so does after-hours work performed without a variance.

Some minor work is exempt from the permit requirement (Administrative Code 28-105.4 and 1 RCNY 101-14 list the categories). The exemptions are narrower than most owners expect: when a contractor says a job 'does not need a permit,' the safe assumption is that it does, unless the work matches a listed exemption.

Penalty one: the DOB civil penalty

Separately from any summons, the Department itself imposes a civil penalty under Administrative Code 28-213.1.1 and 28-213.1.2, assessed under 1 RCNY 102-04(b). Which row applies depends on where the work was done - and for condos and co-ops the rule draws the line between work inside a unit and work in the building's common areas:

• Only part of the work done without a permit: the penalty is reduced in proportion to the work still to be performed when the permit issues - but the minimum above still applies.
• Work on an expired permit, or after-hours work without a variance: a flat $600 (unit / 1-2 family) or $6,000 (other buildings).
• Coming forward first is cheaper: if you seek a permit to legalize finished work before a violation is issued, the penalty is the flat $600 or $6,000.
• Removing the illegal work does not erase the penalty: the flat $600 or $6,000 still applies.
• A second work-without-a-permit penalty at the same building within one year is doubled, up to the maximum (Administrative Code 28-213.6).
• Waivers exist for narrow cases - a subsequent bona fide purchaser who did not do the work, a violation that was dismissed, emergency work filed within two business days - and a paid penalty is refunded if the violation is later dismissed.

Penalty two: the ECB/OATH summons

The inspector's summons goes to OATH (heard by the Environmental Control Board) and carries its own penalty under the Buildings Penalty Schedule, 1 RCNY 102-01. In the Department's own public guidance, the ECB penalty for work without a permit is $2,500 for a one- or two-family home and ranges from $2,500 to $25,000 in penalties for other buildings, depending on the infraction charged and whether the respondent defaults.

The two tracks are independent. Paying the OATH penalty does not pay the DOB civil penalty, and paying the civil penalty does not answer the summons. Both have to be resolved.

Why paying is not closing

Under 1 RCNY 102-04(a), the civil penalty must be paid before the Department will (1) issue a permit for work in the space, (2) renew a permit, (3) accept a Certificate of Correction for the work-without-a-permit violation, or (4) rescind a Stop Work Order. An unpaid civil penalty therefore freezes the very steps needed to fix the problem.

And even with both penalties paid, the violation stays open in DOB NOW until the correction itself is approved. A violation closes when the Department's Administrative Enforcement Unit accepts a Certificate of Correction (form AEU-2) with documentation that the condition is corrected - not when money changes hands.

How the violation actually closes

The working sequence for a board or owner is:

• Engage a registered design professional or licensed contractor to legalize the work (a DOB filing and permit for the work as built) or to remove it, as the situation requires.
• Pay the DOB civil penalty - it gates everything below.
• Resolve the OATH summons (answer it, attend the hearing, pay any imposed penalty).
• File the Certificate of Correction (AEU-2) with the required documentation and obtain the Administrative Enforcement Unit's approval.
• Confirm the record shows closed in DOB NOW - the same place a buyer's attorney, a lender and the next board will look.

DOB Scan checks DOB NOW and the ECB/OATH records for monitored buildings every day, so an open work-without-a-permit violation - and the day it closes - never goes unnoticed. Run a free building check.