HMC §27-2097 · annual
Annual HPD Property Registration
Every multiple dwelling (and many smaller rentals) must register with HPD every year by September 1. Skip it and you can’t certify violations, can’t collect in housing court, and eat civil penalties.
Who must comply
All multiple dwellings (3+ units), plus 1–2 family rentals where the owner doesn’t live in the building.
Key deadlines
| Annual registration (+$13 fee) | September 1 every year |
What it costs to miss
Failure to register: civil penalties of $250–$500, but the real teeth are procedural — an unregistered owner cannot certify correction of violations, cannot bring a nonpayment proceeding, and DOF won’t bill the registration fee reminder to whoever actually manages the building.
Keep it current, not just filed
Registration is also the city’s contact-of-record system: the officers, agents, and addresses you list are where HPD sends violations and where process gets served. Stale registrations are how owners "never heard about" a violation until it became a judgment.
Update within 5 days when ownership or the managing agent changes — don’t wait for September.
Knowing isn’t the hard part. Doing is.
Parcel shows each building’s current registration (MDR number, expiry, listed contacts) and alerts you before the September 1 renewal.
Official source: HPD: Property Registration
Current as of September 9, 2026 · last reviewed 2026-08-19. This guide is a summary for owners and managers, not legal advice.