The State of NYC Violations 2023, our latest SiteCompli Insights report, was launched at RealFocus 2023. RealFocus guests got a printed copy to take home, along with a deep dive on findings from citywide OATH and HPD violation totals over the past few years.
Click here to download your full copy of the report, featuring even more details, charts, and graphs than ever before!
While you dive in, here are some of the biggest findings from this year’s data:
Violations On The Rise, But By How Much?
After falling by nearly 50% in 2020, violation totals for key OATH agencies have been steadily climbing each year – and are possibly reaching new heights.
The actual amount of violations issued in 2022 has surpassed the prorated total we noted in October 2022. Based on monthly totals, we believed that 466,288 violations would be issued in all of 2022, slightly outpacing the previous year. In actuality, 515,345 violations were issued across several major agencies – within striking distance of 588,447, the total amount issued in 2019.
This year, violation totals are set to surpass pre-pandemic totals for the first time. Our prorated number based on monthly totals is 620,177 OATH violations for the year. That said, we won’t know what the final count is until 2024.
Only One Agency Trended Downwards
Of all the core agencies that issued violations through OATH in 2023, only one trended downwards compared to the previous year.
The Department of Buildings issued 20.1% fewer violations in the first half of 2023 compared to the first half of 2022. All other agencies saw an increase (especially the Department of Sanitation, at 47.1%). Of course, that’s only for OATH-related violations. Just this summer, a number of automated violations were issued from the DOB related to elevator and boiler inspection filings – with even more issued this past month.
Brooklyn still held the top spot in 2022 for most DOB-OATH violations issued out of the five boroughs. And of all the boroughs, none saw a decrease in overall violations from 2022 to 2023 (so far). You can see which 10 neighborhoods saw the most infractions for each agency in the report.
HPD Violations And Building Size
In addition to in-depth reviews for key OATH-related agencies, we also took a look at HPD violations. A new question we wanted to answer this year was: do larger buildings see more violations?
The answer is no – the majority of violations in 2022 were issued to smaller buildings (1 – 9 units). This is true across every borough, without exception. In fact, the largest properties saw the smallest share of violations overall. It’s an important reminder that large or small, staying in compliance is critical for every city property.
And if you’re curious about the types of violations that are issued, we’ve got the scoop in the full report. One tidbit? Violations for failure to submit annual bedbug reports are gaining more and more traction on the top violation list each year. Don’t forget that bedbug reports are due for residential properties on December 31st (and folks who have Compliance Manager can track submissions there!)
Where Do We Go Next?
Our team is already thinking about what we should cover for the next iteration of the report, so stay tuned. And if you have ideas or suggestions, we’d love to hear them! You can submit any questions for future SiteCompli Insights reports here.
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