Clarkstown, NY Rental Inspections: Tenant Complaint Process (2026)

Chapter 157's Article VII, Administration and Compliance, spells out how a tenant or neighbor complaint moves through the Building Department. Section 157-44(C)(2) makes it the Building Inspector's duty "to cause an investigation of all complaints of alleged housing violations or other unsafe or insanitary conditions," and Subsection (C)(1) separately requires periodic inspections of all covered premises "not less than once every five years," independent of any complaint. Once a violation is confirmed, § 157-44(C)(3) requires a written order with a reasonable compliance deadline, and where a premises is unfit for habitation the Inspector may order it vacated; Subsection (C)(4) lets the Inspector ask the Town Attorney to sue if the owner ignores that order.

Section 157-44(D) gives the Inspector emergency authority to direct immediate abatement action where a violation poses an immediate hazard. Section 157-45 gives inspectors the right to enter premises during normal business hours (and in emergencies) to do this work, and puts the burden on owners, agents, operators and occupants to provide access to areas under their control. Section 157-46 then closes the loop: the Inspector must keep records of every complaint received, every inspection made and every violation found, in a form the public can inspect.

That paper trail is what lets a tenant, a prospective buyer or a neighbor verify whether a specific address has open housing violations rather than taking an owner's word for it.