Tonawanda, NY Code Violation Reporting: How to Report (2026)

Chapter 54, Building Code Administration, tells the Code Enforcement Officer how to handle a complaint. Under § 54-16, the officer must review and investigate complaints alleging that a condition or activity fails to comply with the New York State Uniform Code, the Energy Code, Chapter 54, or any other local law or regulation tied to those codes. The response can include: inspecting the alleged condition and documenting the results; if a violation is found, giving the property owner and any other responsible person written notice of the violation with an opportunity to abate, correct or cure it, or proceeding under the enforcement track in § 54-19; issuing a stop-work order where appropriate; and, once a violation is corrected, reinspecting and filing a final written report with the original complaint.

The Code Enforcement Officer keeps permanent records of every complaint, inspection, and enforcement action under § 54-17, and those records are open to public inspection during normal business hours. Each year, the officer reports to the Town Board on all complaints, inspections and pending or concluded appeals or litigation under § 54-18, and separately reports the town's Uniform Code enforcement activity to the New York Secretary of State. If a complaint is substantiated and not resolved, § 54-19 lets the Code Enforcement Officer issue a written compliance order, an appearance ticket, or seek injunctive relief in court with Town Board authorization, and violators face a civil penalty of up to $250 for each day the violation continues.