DOB Inspections - do they check things unrelated to complaint

YES we got bit and it spiraled

cwbarchitects

in General Discussion 6 years and 1 month ago

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miamia2211

in General Discussion 6 years and 2 months ago

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Unfortunately, I found out I have a neighbor with nothing else better to do than to call in complaints to DOB and 311. The complaints seem to be baseless. I got my first LS4 Notice on my door from a DOB inspector to call for an inspection. Part of me wants to call and schedule an inspection because I am confident there is no violation. The other part of me thinks this is a bad idea because I heard they can ding you for stuff unrelated to the complaint. Anybody have any experience with this? Do they only check on the item being complained about or will they write you up for unrelated stuff? I don’t have anything to hide, but I also don’t know if they are going to look for stuff that I feel is grandfathered in, or they want me to fix something not up to current code.

Master Plvmber | 6 years and 2 months ago

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Chances are you’ve got nothing to worry about but the truth is an NYC DoB Inspector has an obligation to report anything they see which they feel is not in compliance with Codes.

mozeeatupu | 6 years and 2 months ago

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DOB and HPD inspectors will seek anything to write you up if they don’t see anything related to the initial complaint. I got a written up for a cracked banister when they came for a baseless heat complaint

miamia2211

in General Discussion 6 years and 2 months ago

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mozeeatupu , that’s frustrating. Did you have to go to court or just fix the banister?

mozeeatupu | 6 years and 2 months ago

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Fix, photograph and certify

daveinbedstuy | 6 years and 2 months ago

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Is there an open permit that requires inspections? If not, just don’t let them in.

miamia2211

in General Discussion 6 years and 2 months ago

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No open permit or jobs. Just not sure if they will inspect the outside of my house, even if I don’t let them in.

lkrshacmzcy | 6 years and 2 months ago

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Master Plumber is right. The answer should be no but it all depends on the inspector. I have seen them come in for a standard DOB Boiler Division inspection, get annoyed with negative comments from the homeowner (who always tell to either not be home or not say anything!) and call in a complaint on his own about the entrance way. Owner ended up getting a fine from it and a whole big can of worms; it was outrageous honestly.

stevecym | 6 years and 2 months ago

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I have watched this unfold here and since I have no first hand experience I wanted to see what others said before passing along what an architect told me. now you are talking about a violation and that will be a little different and someone else asked if there were any open jobs. open jobs and the need for a CofO always seem to be an issue because they pick at other things, even things that seem to be ridiculous and the other day I heard one that sound totally wrong but the person told me “I need the CofO so I am not going to argue with them” (what they made him do was outlandish and I thought against the law and cost him money). but that is not your case and my case here would be different to but the outcome may be the same: we wanted to do something that would have to be filed. it has nothing to do with another part of the building where there is something questionable and the architect said to me “if you do that, we may have trouble with the sign off as they inspector may say ‘open that door’ and if he does, you have a problem. before the inspection, that has to go back the way it was”. the point is, the inspectors will look at every thing they can legally look at unless of course it is Friday afternoon and you are their last visit for the day.

miamia2211

in General Discussion 6 years and 2 months ago

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Thank you for the comments, everyone. I don’t have any open jobs. Just wanted to put this behind me, but I don’t think I will schedule an inspection and instead just let them come whenever they decide, which could be weeks or months. I am usually at work anyway. Annoying to wait it out, but I think I rather that then have them come in and randomly find something. It’s an old house so who knows if the previous owners did some work that wasn’t up to code. I rather not create a new headache especially if the inspector is having a bad day and choosing to take it out on my property. I’ve found that with city workers in general, no matter how friendly I am, it really is the luck of the draw unfortunately.
On another note, I wish the system was a little different for reporting neighbors to the city. I understand there are some bad actors who have illegal jobs and work done, but it is way too easy for a disgruntled neighbor to make anonymous complaints online… especiall y when they are baseless. Also leaves a permanent record of the complaints online which is frustrating. And coming home to LS4 notices for fake complaints is not fun. Whatever happened to neighbors talking it out?

Guest User | 6 years and 1 month ago

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Yes they can absolutely ding you for things unrelated to the complaint – depends on the inspector. One of the inspectors told me he had to meet his numbers. The advice I’ve heard repeatedly – including from my expediter– is to not let them in. I’ve let them in and had no issues and also let them in and gotten written up for an unrelated issue. When they write you up it can get pretty complicated as one has to address the DOB part and the ECB part.