Hello, let’s get into today’s news at the intersection of real estate and policy: |
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DOB wants to hit contractors and property owners with a new fine for “incomplete inspections” — something the industry argues is overly broad and unfair.
- Building inspection wait times are ticking down, but they’re still up from recent years.
- With less than two weeks until heat season, the city is preparing a policy shift to investigate every tenant heat complaint.
In this edition we mention: Subcontractors Trade Association Executive Director Felice Farber, the Master Plumbers Council of the City of New York President Daniel Vessio, the Real Estate Board of New York’s Senior Director of Urban Planning Maddie DeCerbo and others.
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Real Estate Policy Moves Fast. |
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Inspection squeeze: The Department of Buildings wants to make it more costly for building professionals to waste inspectors’ time. Under a proposed rule, the agency would slap a $200 fee on permit holders when a construction, electrical or plumbing inspection has to be rescheduled because a building professional failed to show up, didn’t provide required documents or otherwise prevented the inspection from happening. Industry advocates say they understand where DOB is coming from but argue that the proposal goes too far, warning that contractors and property owners could be penalized for circumstances beyond their control. DOB defines an “incomplete inspection” as one that must be rescheduled because a permit holder failed to appear, prepare the site, provide access or demonstrate familiarity with the scope of work. The $200 fee would also apply when an inspection is canceled fewer than three business days before the appointment. And contractors wouldn’t be able to simply reschedule and move on. DOB would require payment before a new inspection could be scheduled. The proposal also gives the agency more leverage over repeat offenders. Building professionals who rack up violations or fail to pay the fees could be referred for further enforcement, including suspension, revocation or denial of renewal of a license or registration. Permit holders could appeal a fee within 30 days through DOB’s website, submitting documentation such as inspection records, site-access logs and time-stamped photos. But industry advocates say the rule is fundamentally unfair because contractors don’t control building access and shouldn’t be fined when a property owner or tenant fails to appear or denies entry. A building professional “should not be penalized for conditions it did not cause and could not reasonably prevent,” said Felice Farber, executive director of the Subcontractors Trade Association. The rule should include an exemption for circumstances outside a contractor’s control, rather than requiring contractors to pay the fee and challenge the determination after the fact, Farber added. The three-day cancellation window is another sticking point. DOB sometimes gives contractors as little as 12 hours’ notice when scheduling an inspection, said Daniel Vessio, president of the Master Plumbers Council of the City of New York. “How can we cancel three days in advance when DOB notifies us in less than three days in advance?” said Vessio. The Real Estate Board of New York also pointed to a potential double standard: Contractors and property owners can face similar disruptions when DOB inspectors fail to show up for scheduled appointments. It’s not uncommon for a property owner to have “incurred costs and lost time in anticipation of the inspection, only to have the appointment go unfulfilled,” said Maddie DeCerbo, senior director of urban planning at REBNY. The rule should establish a clear process for agency no-shows, DeCerbo added. The DOB is currently weighing industry feedback before potentially proposing revisions to the rule change.
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Slow progress: New city data shows building inspection wait times are inching down. Average wait times for construction, plumbing and electrical inspections all fell marginally last fiscal year, which ran from July 2025 through June 2026. Construction inspection wait times averaged 5.2 days, down from 5.4; plumbing fell to 4.8 days from 5.0; and electrical reduced to 12.6 days from 12.8. But the city still has a long way to go. Average wait times were just 1.2 days for construction inspections, 2.4 days for plumbing and 2.8 days for electrical inspection requests in Fiscal Year 2022. The DOB currently has 604 inspectors on payroll, with 46 vacancies and another 25 inspectors in the pipeline, according to the agency. The city’s inspector staff took a hit during the Covid-19 pandemic, but is rebounding back toward 2020 levels, said DOB Commissioner Ahmed Tigani during a recent City Council hearing. “The last six years we’ve really rebuilt and continue to rebuild by filling vacancies,” said Tigani. His agency is also betting on its proposed fee for no-show and incomplete inspections to help chip away at wait times, according to the Mayor’s Management Report. “These scheduled inspections that developers request, yet are unprepared for, lead to misuse of Department resources,” the report states. “The Department anticipates the fee will encourage greater preparation ahead of scheduled inspections, helping to reduce wasted visits and improve overall response times.”
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Heat watch: Starting Oct. 1, the Mamdani administration will investigate every individual heat complaint filed by tenants — ending a policy that allowed city officials to group complaints from the same building and close some without further inspection. The Department of Housing Preservation and Development will rely on its 369 full-time code inspectors to handle the complaints. “We are hoping for a warmer winter than last year, but feel ready to take on these new initiatives,” said HPD Commissioner Dina Levy during a recent City Council hearing. The change is likely to add to property owners’ bureaucratic headaches. It stems from a pledge in Mayor Mamdani’s Rental Ripoff Report to overhaul the city’s heat complaint response system. The new policy takes effect with the city’s legally mandated heat season, when landlords must meet minimum indoor temperature requirements through May 31. Between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m., indoor temperatures must hit at least 68 degrees when the outside temperature falls below 55 degrees. Overnight, indoor temperatures must be at least 62 degrees.
Have a tip or feedback? Reach me at [email protected].
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On Tuesday at 1 p.m., the City Council’s Committee on General Welfare will hold a hearing on multiple bills intended to improve the CityFHEPS program for both tenants and landlords. More details here.
Also on Tuesday, the City Council’s Committee on Public Housing will hold an oversight hearing on NYCHA work orders and PACT redevelopments beginning at 1 p.m. More details here.
The City Planning Commission on Wednesday at 10 a.m. will vote on proposed rules for the city’s new Expedited Land Use Review Procedure, better known as ELURP, and for the Affordable Housing Appeals Board, or AHAB. More details here.
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New York City is moving to expand SCRIE and DRIE, enabling more seniors and disabled tenants to get a rent freeze while extending the tax breaks that come with the programs to more landlords, reports TRD’s Ben Miller.
The city’s landlords are facing a tougher eviction landscape as Legal Aid deploys a 17-lawyer team to fight tenant removals amid a surge in housing court cases, reports The New York Times.
For multifamily owners, mold is becoming a multimillion-dollar liability, as lawsuits mount and habitability insurance costs soar, reports Bisnow.
NYCHA is moving to evict a handful of Fulton and Chelsea Houses holdouts who refuse to relocate ahead of a $1.2B redevelopment at a Manhattan public housing complex, reports The City Reporter.
It’s Climate Week in New York City, bringing a crush of panels, events and networking opportunities for those working in the energy and sustainability space.
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