Code Violation & Distressed Property Leads

Recent code violations and distressed property leads from city open data

Code Violation & Distressed Property Leads reads the violation files that New York City, Chicago, Austin, Cincinnati, Seattle, San Francisco, New Orleans and Norfolk, Virginia publish as open data and gives you the newest ones in a single format. Each row has the address, the date, what the inspector found, the status and, where the city publishes it, the severity, the penalty and the balance still owed. You can narrow the list by ZIP code and keyword, keep only open violations, combine everything at one address into a single property row, or ask for only the violations you have not seen before.

There is no account, API key or login to set up. Pick your cities and start the run.

Real estate investors and wholesalers use violation lists to find run-down buildings whose owners may want to sell. Contractors, roofers, exterminators and property managers use them to find buildings that need repairs now, and tenant groups and local reporters use them to keep an eye on problem landlords.

How to use it

1. Click Try for free and open the Input tab.
2. Choose your cities, then add a ZIP code or a keyword such as vacant or roof if you want a narrower list.
3. Click Start, then open the Output tab.

To get a fresh list every day, turn on Only violations not seen before and run it on a schedule. The Actor remembers what it already gave you for that exact set of filters.

Example inputs

Open violations in Brooklyn and Queens from the last 30 days that mention vacant buildings:

{
    "sources": ["nyc-housing", "nyc-buildings"],
    "zipCodes": ["112", "113", "114"],
    "keywords": ["vacant"],
    "daysBack": 30,
    "maxItems": 100
}

The Chicago and Cincinnati properties with the most open violations in the last 60 days, one row per address:

{
    "sources": ["chicago", "cincinnati"],
    "daysBack": 60,
    "groupByProperty": true,
    "maxItems": 50
}

Every new Austin case each day, for a scheduled run:

{
    "sources": ["austin"],
    "daysBack": 7,
    "onlyNew": true,
    "maxItems": 500
}

What you get

For each violation: city, state, source, violation or case number, date, status, whether it is still open, violation type, the inspector's description, the code section, address, ZIP code, latitude and longitude. Depending on the city you also get the severity class, the penalty and the balance due, the hearing date and status, the apartment, the borough, the tax lot or parcel number, and a link to the city's record.

A shortened example:

{
    "city": "New York City",
    "state": "NY",
    "sourceId": "nyc-buildings",
    "violationId": "39561157L",
    "violationDate": "2026-10-27",
    "status": "ACTIVE",
    "isOpen": true,
    "violationType": "Construction",
    "description": "AT THE TIME OF INSPECTION ON A NON ACTIVE JOB SITE , I OBSERVED A CONSTRUCTION FENCE AROUND PERIMETER OF SITE ...",
    "severity": "Class 2 (major)",
    "penaltyUsd": 1250,
    "balanceDueUsd": 1250,
    "hearingDate": "2027-01-05",
    "address": "80-11 90 AVENUE",
    "zip": "11421",
    "borough": "QUEENS",
    "parcelId": "4089650051"
}

With One row per property turned on, each row is an address with the number of violations, how many are open, the first and latest dates, the severities seen, the total balance due and a list of up to 20 of its violations.

Which city publishes what

Source	Severity	Penalty and balance	ZIP code	Dataset
New York City, housing (HPD)	Class A, B or C	No	Yes	Housing Maintenance Code Violations
New York City, buildings (DOB ECB)	Class 1, 2 or 3	Yes	Yes	DOB ECB Violations
Chicago	No	No	No	Building Violations
Austin	Case priority	No	Yes	Austin Code Complaint Cases
Cincinnati	No	No	No	Code Enforcement
Seattle	No	No	Yes	Code Complaints and Violations
San Francisco	Marks unsafe buildings	No	Yes	DBI Notices of Violation
New Orleans	No (case stage and hearing dates instead)	No	Yes	Code Enforcement All Cases
Norfolk, VA	No (correction deadline instead)	No	No	Violations

The DOB ECB file only gives the tax lot of the building, so the address and ZIP code come from the city's MapPLUTO property file. A few lots have no match and are left without an address. Chicago lists one row per violation, so one inspection can give several rows. Cincinnati's file covers trash, tall grass and abandoned vehicles as well as building cases, and Austin's mostly says the type of case (structure condition, property abatement, land use or work without a permit) rather than the details. Seattle's file mixes complaints (weeds, noise, landlord and tenant, vacant buildings) with notices of violation and citations; the type column says which. San Francisco's file has one row per item on a notice of violation, so one notice can give several rows with the same case number. New Orleans lists one row per case, with the stage it has reached (inspection, title research, hearing) and the next or last hearing date. Norfolk lists one row per violation, with the ordinance cited and the date the owner has to correct it by. The city notes that a listing only means a notice was issued, not that the city has judged the condition of the property.

Pricing

You pay per use. There is no monthly fee.

What	Price
Each row returned (a violation, or a property when grouped)	$0.003
Starting a run	$0.00005

Getting 500 violations costs $1.50, which is $3 per 1,000. A search that finds nothing costs only the start fee. Set Maximum cost per run in the run options, or use Max results, to cap what a single run can spend.

Questions

Do I need an account or key with the cities?

No. The Actor uses each city's public data portal.

Where does the data come from, and how fresh is it?

The NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development, the NYC Department of Buildings, the City of Chicago, the City of Austin, the City of Cincinnati, the City of Seattle, the San Francisco Department of Building Inspection, the City of New Orleans and the City of Norfolk, through their open-data portals. The files update every day and usually run a day or two behind the city's own records.

Does a violation mean the property is distressed or for sale?

No. A violation means an inspector found a problem on that day. Many are fixed quickly, and some are on well-kept buildings. Repeated, serious and unpaid violations at one address are a stronger signal, which is what One row per property helps you see.

Why did I get fewer results than I asked for?

Usually the filters. A ZIP code or keyword narrows each city, and cities that do not publish ZIP codes are left out when you filter by ZIP. Very short date windows can also come back empty because the files run behind.

Something is wrong or missing. Where do I report it?

Open a thread in the Issues tab with the input you used and the violation number. I answer within a few days.

Good to know

Owner names, inspector names, phone numbers and mailing addresses are not included by default, because they are about private people and are not needed to find the property. The address is the address of the property. For New York City DOB violations you can turn on the respondent name, which is usually the owner or a company. Use it only if you have a lawful reason to.

This is an independent tool. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by any of the cities. Data can be incomplete or out of date, so confirm anything important with the city. This is not legal advice.

Chicago data: this site provides applications using data that has been modified for use from its original source, www.cityofchicago.org, the official website of the City of Chicago. The City of Chicago makes no claims as to the content, accuracy, timeliness, or completeness of any of the data provided at this site. The data provided at this site is subject to change at any time. It is understood that the data provided at this site is being used at one's own risk.