Rule guide · Filings & registration

HPD property registration, explained.

If you rent out apartments in a building with three or more units, or you rent out a one- or two-family home you don't live in, HPD requires you to register the property and a managing agent every single year. It's a form, not an inspection, and it's one of the cheapest requirements to satisfy and one of the most expensive to ignore.

What it costs to skip: a civil penalty of $500–$1,500 for buildings with 5 or fewer units, or $1,000–$5,000 for larger ones (raised by Local Law 71 of 2023). Worse: while unregistered you cannot bring a nonpayment case against a tenant, and courts can stay your rent claims. Penalty amounts vary by building size and can change; confirm the current figures with HPD.

Applies toRentals with 3+ units, and any non-owner-occupied 1–2 family rental

DeadlineEvery year by September 1, and whenever ownership or agent info changes

HowHPD's online Property Registration system (PROS)

AgencyHPD

The lawNYC Admin. Code §§ 27-2097–2109 · § 27-2107

What registering actually involves

You file one form identifying the owner and a managing agent — a person 21 or older with a NYC address who can accept notices for the building (you can name yourself). File through HPD's Property Registration Online System, pay the small fee through the Department of Finance, and you're done for the year.

Why the City takes it seriously

The registration is how HPD and the courts know who answers for a building. That's why the stick is procedural as well as financial: an unregistered owner can't use housing court to collect rent, and can't certify violations as corrected.

The details people miss

Registration renews every year by September 1 even if nothing changed.
Sell, buy, or change managing agents mid-year? You have to update the registration then too.
Your registration number belongs on the building's posted signs (the serial number sign by the mailboxes).

See every rule that applies to your building

Sources: HPD, Register Your Property · Admin. Code § 27-2107 (as amended by Local Law 71 of 2023). Reviewed July 5, 2026. This guide organizes public requirements in plain English; it is not legal advice, and No Fines is not affiliated with the City of New York. Confirm specifics with the agency before your deadline.