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Property Maintenance in New York (2026)

78 rules on the books across New York, 33 cities and counties. Select a rule to read the full details.

Severity: Few Restrictions · Light Restrictions · Some Restrictions · Significant Restrictions · Heavy Restrictions

Property Blight

Standards for property appearance including peeling paint, broken windows, junk accumulation, and other conditions the city considers blight.

Islip

Heavy Restrictions

When a residential structure in Islip is deemed unsafe under the New York State Property Maintenance and Fire Codes, a…

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Syracuse

Heavy Restrictions

Syracuse's director of code enforcement can label a building "unfit premises" under Revised General Ordinances § 27-115…

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Albany

Significant Restrictions

Albany's Bureau of Code Enforcement can designate a decayed, unsafe, or overcrowded building unfit for habitation…

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Amherst

Significant Restrictions

Outside the Village of Williamsville, Amherst's Building Commissioner inspects any structure that is severely…

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Brookhaven

Significant Restrictions

Brookhaven designates a property blighted once it racks up 100 points on a checklist running from broken windows to…

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Clarkstown

Significant Restrictions

Clarkstown's unsafe-buildings chapter lets the Building Inspector investigate dangerous, fire-damaged, or…

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Colonie

Significant Restrictions

When a Colonie building is dangerous, unsafe, or an attractive nuisance to trespassers, § 62-29 requires the Building…

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Glen Cove

Significant Restrictions

Glen Cove treats any building meeting the defects listed in City Code Section 112-2, from major structural damage to…

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Greece

Significant Restrictions

Greece's Unsafe Buildings and Collapsed Structures Law (Ch. 75) lets the Town Board order a dangerous or dilapidated…

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Greenburgh

Significant Restrictions

When Greenburgh's Building Inspector finds a building or structure dangerous or unsafe, Chapter 340, Demolition, gives…

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Hempstead

Significant Restrictions

Hempstead declares any structurally unsafe, unsanitary, fire-hazardous or otherwise dangerous building illegal under §…

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Huntington

Significant Restrictions

Huntington scores properties on a point system to designate them as officially 'Blighted' under Chapter 156, Article…

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Monroe County

Significant Restrictions

Monroe County's Health Director can order owners to repair or vacate any building found insanitary or unfit for human…

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Mount Vernon

Significant Restrictions

Mount Vernon's Commissioner of Buildings can order repair, vacation or demolition of any building that leans, is…

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New York

Significant Restrictions

New York City's Department of Buildings can declare any structurally compromised, fire-hazardous, or dangerous building…

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North Hempstead

Significant Restrictions

Owners of a vacant, blighted or otherwise unsafe building in North Hempstead must register it with the Building…

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Oneida

Significant Restrictions

The City of Oneida, Madison County, New York can declare an unsafe, dangerous, or unsightly building a public nuisance…

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Orange County

Significant Restrictions

Orange County's Commissioner of Health can declare a dilapidated, unsanitary or vermin-infested dwelling unfit for…

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Oyster Bay

Significant Restrictions

Oyster Bay's Commissioner of Planning and Development can order a dangerous, vacant or abandoned building sealed…

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Ramapo

Significant Restrictions

When Ramapo's Building Inspector finds a structure unsafe or dangerous, he must have it examined by a licensed…

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Rochester

Significant Restrictions

Rochester's Municipal Code declares any building, structure or vacant area that violates the Property Conservation…

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Rockland County

Significant Restrictions

Inside the Village of Spring Valley, Code § 23-10 declares any building with structural failure, fire damage, or unsafe…

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Schenectady

Significant Restrictions

Schenectady's Building Inspector can declare a structurally unsafe, dilapidated, or dangerous building illegal and…

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Smithtown

Significant Restrictions

Smithtown declares any structurally unsafe, unsanitary, fire-hazardous or dilapidated building unlawful and requires…

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Ulster County

Significant Restrictions

Ulster County can condemn, order repaired, or demolish any building or structure found unsafe or unfit for human…

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Westchester County

Significant Restrictions

Westchester County's Health Department can order the abatement, suppression or removal of any property condition it…

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Yonkers

Significant Restrictions

Yonkers can force the owner of a structurally unstable, fire-damaged or otherwise dangerous building to repair, remove…

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Babylon

Some Restrictions

Owners of business, industrial, multiple-residence and senior-residence properties in the Town of Babylon must keep…

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Buffalo

Some Restrictions

When a property owner repeatedly fails to comply with Buffalo's building and property maintenance codes, the…

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Cheektowaga

Some Restrictions

Cheektowaga's Unsafe Buildings Law lets the Town order the repair or demolition of any building that's structurally…

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New Rochelle

Some Restrictions

New Rochelle orders owners to repair or remove any building that endangers public health, safety or welfare, including…

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Saratoga County

Some Restrictions

When a town, village or city in Saratoga County demolishes or remediates a dangerous building, the County can front the…

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Vacant Lot Maintenance

Requirements for maintaining vacant or undeveloped land, including mowing, fencing, and preventing dumping and trespassing.

Hempstead

Significant Restrictions

Hempstead bars anyone in possession of vacant, unimproved land from letting weeds or brush exceed 8 inches, letting…

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Islip

Significant Restrictions

Any mortgagee holding a defaulted mortgage on Islip real estate must register the property with the Town within 10 days…

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Saratoga Springs

Significant Restrictions

Saratoga Springs requires the owner of every vacant building to register it with the Office of Code Administration…

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Albany

Some Restrictions

Albany requires every vacant lot in the city to stay clean and free of litter, debris and hazards, with ground cover…

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Amherst

Some Restrictions

Amherst requires vacant land and vacant structures to be kept in a clean, safe, secure, and sanitary condition so they…

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Babylon

Some Restrictions

Undeveloped parcels in the Town of Babylon can't grow weeds, brush or grass past two feet: a looser cap than the…

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Brookhaven

Some Restrictions

Brookhaven's Property Maintenance chapter requires yards, courts, play areas and vacant lots to be kept clean and…

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Buffalo

Some Restrictions

Buffalo requires every yard, court, and vacant lot in the City, whether privately owned or built on, to stay clean and…

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Cheektowaga

Some Restrictions

Cheektowaga requires yards, courts and vacant lots to be kept clean and free of hazards, enforced the same way as every…

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Colonie

Some Restrictions

Town of Colonie Code § 62-45 applies to every parcel in Town, occupied or vacant, and requires all land be kept free of…

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Glen Cove

Some Restrictions

Glen Cove bans weeds, grass or rank vegetation over 12 inches average height on any occupied or unoccupied lot under…

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Greece

Some Restrictions

Owners of vacant and undeveloped lots in the Town of Greece must clear combustible waste, refuse and heavy undergrowth…

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Mount Vernon

Some Restrictions

Mount Vernon's Commissioner of Public Works can enter any property, public or private, to remove accumulated rubbish…

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New Rochelle

Some Restrictions

New Rochelle requires owners of vacant lots in commercial or mixed-use districts to install a wrought-iron fence and…

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New York

Some Restrictions

New York City law requires every owner of a vacant lot to keep it and the abutting sidewalk free of garbage, refuse…

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North Hempstead

Some Restrictions

Town Code § 28-22A(4) requires yards, courts, and vacant lots to be kept clean and free of physical hazards, rodent…

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Oneida

Some Restrictions

The City of Oneida, Madison County, New York bars any lot owner, agent or occupant from letting garbage, rubbish, waste…

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Oyster Bay

Some Restrictions

Every parcel in the unincorporated Town, vacant or built on, must be kept under Chapter 135's eight-inch cap on lawns…

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Rochester

Some Restrictions

Rochester requires every vacant lot owner to keep the lot in a safe and sanitary condition and free of refuse, high…

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Schenectady

Some Restrictions

Owners of occupied or unoccupied lots in Schenectady cannot let weeds, grass, or noxious growth stand over one foot…

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Smithtown

Some Restrictions

Smithtown's Property Maintenance Ordinance makes every owner, tenant or occupier responsible for cutting, trimming or…

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Syracuse

Some Restrictions

Syracuse requires every yard, court and vacant lot to be kept free of hazards, illegally stored trash, debris and…

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Yonkers

Some Restrictions

Every owner, lessee or contractor in control of a vacant lot in Yonkers must keep it clean, free of standing water and…

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Snow & Sidewalk Clearing

Your responsibility to clear snow and ice from sidewalks next to your property, including deadlines after a snowfall and penalties for not clearing.

Albany

Some Restrictions

Albany property owners and occupants must clear snow and ice from sidewalks within 24 hours after a snowfall ends, or…

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Babylon

Some Restrictions

Property owners and tenants in the Town of Babylon must clear sidewalks of snow and ice within four hours after…

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Brookhaven

Some Restrictions

Brookhaven Code Section 38-9 puts the job of clearing adjacent sidewalks on the property owner, tenant or occupant…

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Buffalo

Some Restrictions

Every Buffalo property owner or occupant must clear snow and ice off the sidewalk fronting their premises before 9:00…

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Cheektowaga

Some Restrictions

Cheektowaga makes property owners and occupants jointly responsible for clearing snow, ice and debris from the sidewalk…

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Clarkstown

Some Restrictions

Clarkstown property owners must clear snow and ice from their abutting sidewalk within 36 hours of it falling or…

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Glen Cove

Some Restrictions

Glen Cove property owners and occupants must clear snow, ice, dirt and debris from the sidewalks, gutters and drains…

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Greenburgh

Some Restrictions

Greenburgh landowners and occupants must clear snow, ice, dirt or other obstructions from their abutting sidewalk…

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Hempstead

Some Restrictions

Every homeowner, occupant and business in unincorporated Hempstead must keep the sidewalk in front of the property free…

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Huntington

Some Restrictions

Huntington property owners must clear snow and ice from the sidewalk fronting their land within 24 hours for…

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Islip

Some Restrictions

Town Code § 47A-17 requires every Islip property owner or occupant to keep the sidewalk in front of the lot free of…

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Mount Vernon

Some Restrictions

Mount Vernon gives property owners and lessees just 12 hours after snow stops falling, or ice forms, to clear the…

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New Rochelle

Some Restrictions

New Rochelle property owners must clear new ice and freshly fallen snow from abutting sidewalks before 12:00 noon each…

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New York

Some Restrictions

NYC property owners must clear snow and ice from abutting sidewalks within 4 daytime hours after snow stops falling, or…

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North Hempstead

Some Restrictions

North Hempstead property owners, tenants and occupants must clear snow, ice, dirt or debris from the sidewalk fronting…

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Oyster Bay

Some Restrictions

Property owners in the Town of Oyster Bay must clear snow and ice from their abutting sidewalk within six hours after…

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Ramapo

Some Restrictions

Owners and occupants of property next to a Ramapo sidewalk have 12 hours to clear snow, ice, dirt or other obstruction…

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Rochester

Some Restrictions

In Rochester, the owner of a building or lot must clear snow and ice from adjoining sidewalks by 9:00 a.m. when snow…

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Saratoga Springs

Some Restrictions

Saratoga Springs requires the owner, occupant, or person in charge of any lot to clear snow and ice from the abutting…

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Schenectady

Some Restrictions

Schenectady gives every property owner 24 hours after snow, sleet or freezing rain stops to clear the abutting sidewalk…

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Smithtown

Some Restrictions

Smithtown's Property Maintenance Ordinance requires every property owner to keep steps, walks, driveways and parking…

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Syracuse

Some Restrictions

Syracuse requires the owner, agent, or occupant fronting any park, street, or alley to clear the abutting sidewalk of…

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Yonkers

Some Restrictions

Yonkers owners must clear snow and ice from the sidewalk in front of their property, and from a three-foot ring around…

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