To look up code violations on a property, search the city’s own enforcement records by street address: Chicago’s Building Permit and Inspection Records, New York City’s HPDONLINE, Austin’s Citizen Connect, or the Seattle Services Portal. The same search means different things in each city. In our count of 2024 records, 64% of Chicago building violations still read “OPEN” in October 2026, while Austin closed 99% of its 2024 code complaint cases, half of them within five days.
Where to look up code violations by address in Chicago, New York, Austin and Seattle
- Chicago: Building Permit and Inspection Records, run by the Department of Buildings, opens after you accept its user agreement and covers permits, inspections and the violations cited on them. The same violations are published as the city’s Building Violations data set.
- New York City: HPDONLINE lists housing maintenance code violations for residential buildings. Department of Buildings violations sit in a separate system, covered in our NYC DOB permit search guide.
- Austin: Citizen Connect searches code complaint cases by address, case ID or region. For an update on a case, the Development Services Code Compliance team’s Code Connect line is 512-974-2633.
- Seattle: every record in the city’s Code Complaints and Violations data set links to its page on the Seattle Services Portal, so the data set works as an address index for complaints.
What 2024 code violation records show in each city
We downloaded every record each city opened in 2024 from its open data portal on October 24, 2026, then counted current statuses and, where the data has a closing date, the days to close. Chicago and New York count individual violations; Austin and Seattle count complaint cases. Compare results within a city, and treat the cross-city view as context.
Chicago: 49,529 violations, 64% still open
Department of Buildings inspectors cited 49,529 violations in 2024. As of October 24, 2026, 31,484 (64%) read OPEN, 17,942 (36%) read COMPLIED, and 103 read NO ENTRY. For complied violations, the status date came a median 258 days after the violation date, and the slowest 10% took 598 days or more.
The source of the inspection separates the fast cases from the slow ones. Violations found on permit inspections are 26% open, and the complied ones took a median 93 days. Complaint-driven violations are 69% open and took a median 290 days. Periodic inspections fall between, at 56% open.
Among common items, “Repair exterior wall” is 69% open (1,370 of 2,000), “Repair porch system” 67% (847 of 1,259), and “Plans & permits required” 79% (749 of 947). That last one cites work that needed plans and a permit, so read it next to the address’s records of unpermitted work.
New York City: 995,415 HPD violations, 28% still open
HPD inspections dated in 2024 produced 995,415 housing maintenance code violations, and 280,388 (28%) are still open. Immediately hazardous class C violations closed fastest, a median 92 days after the inspection, though most carry a 24-hour correction deadline. Our NYC HPD violations lookup guide breaks the numbers down by class, borough and condition.
Austin: 25,317 complaint cases, 99% closed
Austin opened 25,317 code complaint cases in 2024; 181 are still active. Closed cases took a median 5 days, and the slowest 10% took 73 days or more. The outcome field explains the speed: 40% closed as “No Violation(s) Found/Inspection Performed,” 14% as duplicate cases, and 23% after voluntary compliance. Our breakdown of Austin work-without-permit complaints follows one complaint type through to the permit record.
Structure condition cases ran longer, a median 9 days with the slowest 10% at 161 days or more. “Work Without Permit” complaints totaled 1,017. Of the 986 closed, 503 ended with no violation found, and the slowest 10% took 193 days or more.
Seattle: 16,395 complaint records, 13% still open
Seattle logged 16,395 code complaint records in 2024. As of October 24, 2026, 2,161 (13%) were in an open status such as Under Investigation, Initiated or NOV Issued. Construction complaints had the highest open share at 41% (654 of 1,611), followed by landlord-tenant complaints at 39% (758 of 1,930). The data set lists the open date and the current status but no closing date.
For Seattle complaints about work done without a permit, our analysis of 422 Seattle complaints from 2024 follows each address to notices and later permits.
For Chicago specifically, our Chicago building violations lookup follows 2024 no-permit citations through permits and Administrative Hearings outcomes.
How to read a code violation record before you buy or rent
- A complaint and a violation are separate records. In Austin, 40% of 2024 complaint cases ended with no violation found. A complaint tells you someone reported the property; the inspector’s finding is the part to read.
- The repair and the status change are separate events. Chicago’s complied violations took a median 258 days to reach COMPLIED, so ask the owner for the compliance paperwork and the date of the passing reinspection.
- Fines and court cases sit in other searches. Chicago’s building records page links to Administrative Hearing and Cook County circuit court case searches. Unpaid amounts can become liens, which our property lien search guide covers.
- Permit violations lead back to permit history. A permit-related violation is worth checking against open permits on the house.
Checklist for comparing code violation records across addresses
- The unit being counted: a violation (Chicago, New York) or a complaint case (Austin, Seattle).
- The same date range for every address you compare.
- The current status and the date it last changed.
- Where the inspection came from: complaint, periodic or permit, where the city records it.
- Class or severity, where the city uses one, such as HPD classes A, B and C.
- Any related permit, hearing case or fine.
For New Orleans, our New Orleans code enforcement lookup follows 2,965 blight cases from 2024 through inspection, hearing and recorded judgment.
For Philadelphia, our Philadelphia L&I violations lookup follows 48,392 cases L&I opened in 2024 to closure, court or an unpaid ticket. For Cincinnati, our Cincinnati code enforcement lookup shows where 5,218 housing cases from 2024 stand, from orders to civil citations and tax bill assessments. For Norfolk, Virginia, our Norfolk code violation lookup shows how fast 14,859 violations written in 2024 were corrected.
All counts are our calculations from the official open data of Chicago, New York City, Austin and Seattle, pulled October 24, 2026. Statuses change daily, so confirm any single address in the city’s own search. More of our analyses are on the permit data page.