Often times, our customers are contacted and told that they have an HPD violation. But what does this mean? In this article, we will break it down for you: Who are HPD, what does it mean to have a violation, and what can you do about it?
Who are HPD?
HPD stands for the Department of Housing Preservation and Development. HPD strives to ensure available, affordable, high quality housing in NYC. HPD enforces multiple different rules for homeowners and landlords to follow in order to ensure these homes are kept up to standard. These HPD standards cover various topics including: bedbugs, lead paint, mold, asbestos, smoke detector requirements, broken/defective surfaces, and more.
What does it mean to have an HPD Violation?
If you have an HPD violation, it means your home is not in compliance with one or more of HPD’s standards and you have an infraction of the housing code. If you are renting a home, this may be the responsibility of your landlord. An HPD inspector will usually inspect a property prior to lease up and annually thereafter. If a violation is found, it will be recorded and posted on HPD’s online record. A notice will also be sent to the owner of the property.
The class of the violation varies depending on the severity:
- Class A: non-hazardous
- Class B: hazardous / order to correct
- Class C: immediately hazardous
The resulting fine depends on the class and description of the violation. Fines can vary from $10 to as high as $1,500 per day. In addition, violations can also result in criminal penalties. Such penalties include being charged for a misdemeanor, imprisonment for up to six months, or both. There are fines and penalties for failure to comply with or acknowledge HPD violations as well as fines for false certification.
You can search your property address on hpdonline.nyc.gov to check if you have any new or outstanding violations.
I have an HPD Violation, What Do I Do Now?
Finding out you have an HPD violation can be scary, but we are here to help! Lead and Mold Detectives can help you handle violations of different classes and types. We handle lead paint, mold, asbestos, and even bedbug violations! Contacting Lead and Mold Detectives ensures that your violation will be treated and removed from HPD’s website. In some cases, we can even get you exempt from the city’s requirements to file certain paperwork- this way you can avoid future fines for failure to file.
Dealing with HPD can be scary, but we make it easy. Call Lead and Mold Detectives today at 516-407-1111 or send us an email at sales@leadandmold.com to get started!
