Mount Vernon, NY Rental Inspections: Inspection Programs (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- City Code § 149-42
- Inspection fee
- $10 to Building Department
- Request deadline
- Within 2 days of vacancy
- Department response time
- 3-day inspect, 2-day notice
- Mandatory penalty
- $100 fine or 15 days jail
Summary
Mount Vernon requires a Building Department vacancy inspection, with a $10 fee, before any owner may re-rent a vacant dwelling unit. The unit cannot be rented until it is certified free of violations, and skipping the process carries a mandatory $100 fine or 15 days in jail.
C. For the purpose of facilitating the inspection of vacant residential rental units, it shall be the duty of every owner, sublessor, agent, manager or operator of a vacant dwelling unit offered for rerental to file a written request for vacancy inspection of the unit by the Building Department prior to its rental. ... H. ... The request for inspection must be accompanied by a fee of $10 payable to the Building Department. I. No dwelling unit shall be rented or reoccupied by any owner, sublessor, agent, manager or operator until such inspection is completed and the dwelling unit is certified by the Department of Buildings to be free of any violations of this chapter, the Building Code or any rule or regulation adopted pursuant thereto. J. Failure to comply with the mandates of this section shall result, upon conviction, in a mandatory fine of $100 or imprisonment for 15 days, or both such fine and imprisonment.
Full Breakdown
City of Mount Vernon Code § 149-42, added within Chapter 149's Enforcement article and last amended effective 11-25-2025, requires every owner, sublessor, agent, manager or operator of a vacant residential rental unit to file a written request for a vacancy inspection with the Building Department before re-renting it, and the request must be made within two days after the unit becomes vacant under § 149-42G. The Department then has three days to inspect and, within two more days, must notify the requesting landlord in writing whether violations were found under § 149-42F.
The request must be accompanied by a $10 fee payable to the Building Department. Critically, § 149-42I bars renting or reoccupying the unit until the inspection is complete and the Department of Buildings has certified it free of violations of the Housing Code, the Building Code, or any rule adopted under either. Subsections D and E separately address tenant occupancy without a vacancy inspection and a person providing rent for a dwelling that lacks one. Inspectors carry out these duties under the City's Local Government Code Enforcement Program and Administrative Search Warrant Procedure per § 149-42A, entering with consent, in an emergency, or under an administrative search warrant.
Violations & Fines
Section 149-42J makes failure to comply with the vacancy-inspection mandates of Subsections C through J a strict-liability offense: upon conviction it carries a mandatory fine of $100 or imprisonment for 15 days, or both. Section 149-42K severs any subsection found illegal so the remaining requirements stay in force.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Sources & Official References
Other rules in Mount Vernon
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Inspection Programs in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Westchester County handle inspection programs.