NYC Expands Crackdown on Repeat-code-violation Landlords in 250 Distressed Buildings
New York, NY — New York City is tightening enforcement on the 250 apartment buildings with the most severe housing code problems, a move city officials say is aimed at speeding repairs and holding repeat-offender landlords accountable.
Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani and Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) Commissioner Dina Levy on Sunday released an updated list placing those properties into the city’s Alternative Enforcement Program, known as AEP. The program allows HPD to increase monitoring, conduct more frequent inspections, issue Orders to Correct, and step in to make repairs when owners fail to act—then bill landlords for the work.
City officials said this year’s AEP buildings contain 7,038 homes and account for 54,909 open violations. Collectively, the properties represent nearly 55,000 open violations and owners owe the city nearly $4.5 million tied to emergency repairs HPD has already performed.
The city also highlighted recent enforcement efforts, including a $2.1 million settlement with A&E Real Estate Holdings covering 14 buildings, described as the largest ever won by HPD’s Anti-Harassment Unit. During the ongoing cold emergency, HPD said it handled about 37,000 complaints in January, closing 98% of them as of Feb. 4.
For families, AEP can mean faster responses to heat and hot-water outages, leaks, mold conditions, pests, and other hazards. Parents and caregivers can document issues with photos, keep a dated log, and report urgent problems through 311—especially if conditions affect children, seniors, or medically vulnerable household members.
HPD said owners can exit AEP within months by quickly correcting violations and settling or arranging payment for repair charges. The city said it will continue monitoring discharged buildings for at least a year.
