A Class C HPD violation is the most serious housing code violation in New York City. Here's your emergency checklist.
A Class C HPD violation is the highest severity level in New York City's housing code enforcement system. Class C means 'immediately hazardous' — conditions that pose an immediate threat to tenant health or safety. You have exactly 24 hours to correct them. This is not a soft deadline. Miss it, and daily fines begin accumulating immediately, Housing Court becomes a real possibility, and the city can step in to make emergency repairs at your expense.
What Qualifies as a Class C Violation?
Class C violations cover conditions that are considered an immediate danger to tenants. The most common include: complete loss of heat or hot water, mold covering more than 10 square feet, missing or broken window guards in apartments with children under 11, lead paint hazards with a child under 6 in the unit, rodent or pest infestation at severe levels, broken or missing locks on entrance doors, and any condition deemed immediately life-threatening by an HPD inspector.
Your 24-Hour Checklist
- Pull up the exact violation on HPD Online or NYC Violation Search — read the description word for word
- Call a licensed contractor immediately — not tomorrow, now. Keep a list of 24-hour emergency contractors for heat, plumbing, and electrical
- Document everything before repairs begin — photos with timestamps
- Fix the condition completely — partial fixes won't pass reinspection
- Document the completed repair with photos, video, and contractor invoices
- Log into hpdonline.nyc.gov and file your Certification of Correction (CofC) before the 24-hour window closes
- Save all documentation — you may need it in Housing Court even after certifying
What Happens If You Miss the 24-Hour Deadline
After 24 hours, daily civil penalties begin accruing at $50 to $150 per day, per violation. If you have three Class C violations on the same property, you could be accumulating $450/day in penalties without even knowing it.
Beyond fines, HPD can refer your building to Housing Court for an Order to Correct. A judge can order you to fix violations under threat of contempt, appoint an administrator to manage your building, or in extreme cases, begin proceedings to take control of the property entirely.
HPD can also make emergency repairs themselves — replacing boilers, exterminating, installing window guards — and bill you for the cost, which becomes a lien on your property.
How to File a Certification of Correction
Filing a CofC is done through HPD Online at hpdonline.nyc.gov. You'll need the violation ID (found in the original notice or on HPD Online), your building's BBL (borough, block, and lot number), and documentation of the completed repair.
For Class C violations, HPD will typically schedule a reinspection to verify the condition has been corrected. Be prepared for the inspector — make sure the repair is fully complete and accessible.
After the Fix: Don't Get Cited Again
Once you've cleared a Class C violation, do a full audit of the property. If HPD was in the building once, they'll likely come back. Common patterns: a heat complaint leads to an inspection that uncovers window guard violations, which leads to a pest inspection. One call can cascade into five violations.
Run regular violation searches on your own buildings. NYC Violation Search shows you exactly what's open on any property in real time. Smart landlords check their buildings monthly — not when the notice arrives in the mail.