Code Violations on a Property: How to Check and What Transfers to a Buyer
How to look up code violations on a property by address and what a buyer inherits: the condition, open orders and recorded liens. Chicago, Philadelphia, Cincinnati.
Quick answer
Code violations stay with the building, not the seller. A buyer inherits the physical problem, often the duty to comply with open orders, and any fine or cleanup cost the city has recorded as a lien or put on the tax bill. Check the city's building and code enforcement records by address, ask about open cases, and resolve them before closing.
What is a code violation on a property?
Violations are a local matter. Each city or county enforces its own code through its own department (Chicago's Department of Buildings, Philadelphia's Department of Licenses and Inspections, Cincinnati's Buildings and Inspections, a Florida county's code enforcement board), so there is no national search. The records live with the city, and only some of them ever reach the county land records.
Definition
Code violation — A finding by a city or county inspector that a building or lot does not meet the local building, property maintenance, fire or zoning code, usually followed by a notice to correct it, fines if it is not corrected, and in some cases the city doing the work and billing the owner.
What transfers to a buyer, and what does not
Three different things can follow a property through a sale. They are found in different places and they end in different ways.
| What | Does it stay with the property? | Where to find it |
|---|---|---|
| The physical condition that was cited | Yes. The broken stair or illegal unit is still there after closing. | Inspection report, the city's violation record |
| An open order or case to fix it | Often. Florida makes the transferor tell the buyer that the new owner will be responsible for compliance. | City building or code enforcement records, court dockets |
| A recorded code lien or a cost on the tax bill | Yes. It is a lien on the land, paid at closing or by the new owner. | County land records (title search), the tax bill |
| A fine or judgment against the former owner personally | Generally not by itself, unless it was recorded as a lien on the land. | Court or administrative hearing records |
How the law makes violations follow the property
Florida. If a property in a code enforcement proceeding is sold between the initial pleading and the hearing, the seller must disclose the proceeding in writing, hand over the papers, and "Disclose, in writing, to the prospective transferee that the new owner will be responsible for compliance with the applicable code and with orders issued in the code enforcement proceeding." The statute adds: "A failure to make the disclosures described in paragraphs (a), (b), and (c) before the transfer creates a rebuttable presumption of fraud." The case is not dismissed; the new owner gets a reasonable time to correct the violation (Fla. Stat. 162.06(5)).
Once a fine order is recorded, Florida turns it into a lien that "shall constitute a lien against the land on which the violation exists and upon any other real or personal property owned by the violator" (Fla. Stat. 162.09(3)). A homestead cannot be foreclosed for it, but the lien stays of record until it is paid or released. Our Florida municipal lien search guide covers the rest of that chapter.
Ohio. When a city abates a nuisance itself instead of waiting for the owner, Ohio law lets it certify the cost to the county auditor, who places it on the tax list. "The costs are a lien upon such lands from and after the date the costs were incurred." The city can instead record a lien affidavit with the county recorder and foreclose it (Ohio R.C. 715.261).
How to check for code violations on a property
Find the right city
Confirm the city, village, township or county that actually has jurisdiction over the parcel. A mailing address can name a city the property is not in.
Search the city's violation records by address
Get the violation history for the address from the building department. Look for open cases, cases referred to court or an administrative hearing, and unpaid balances. An AI title search from HeritageDeed covers these city records for supported addresses.
Check the land records and the tax bill
Recorded code liens and abatement costs show up in the county records and on the tax bill. A title search and a look at the tax bill catch those even when the violation itself is old.
Ask the seller in writing
Ask for every notice of violation, order and hearing notice. In Florida a seller in an active case must hand those over under section 162.06(5).
Decide who fixes it
Make correction, payment of fines and release of any lien a closing condition, or price the repair and the city's requirements into the offer.
Code violations in Chicago, Philadelphia and Cincinnati
All three cities keep public violation records. The counts below are as of 2026-10-19.
| City | Records | Counts on 2026-10-19 | HeritageDeed tool |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago | Department of Buildings violations, 2006 to present | 1,161,287 of 2,032,872 violations read OPEN, 864,325 COMPLIED and 7,260 NO ENTRY | Chicago building violations |
| Philadelphia | L&I code violations under the Philadelphia Building Construction and Occupancy Code, 2007 to present | 55,543 open cases (36,941 in violation, 14,036 SVN issued with a balance due, 4,353 in court, 213 under investigation) and 13,317 complied with a balance due | Philadelphia L&I violations |
| Cincinnati | Code enforcement records: building, property maintenance and zoning enforcement and the demolition program | 17,159 records with costs assessed on the tax bill, 919 with demolition costs assessed, 1,092 with an ordinance being prepared to assess costs | Cincinnati code enforcement |
Reading the records in each city
Chicago. The city's own note on its violation records is a warning to buyers: "These data are historical in nature and should not be relied upon for real estate transactions." For closings it points to "the title commitment for outstanding enforcement actions in the Circuit Court of Cook County or the Chicago Department of Administrative Hearings." Statuses lag, which is why more than half the violations since 2006 still read OPEN. Treat the records as a list of questions, then confirm the enforcement status.
Philadelphia. Read the case status, not each violation line: a case reads In Violation, In Violation - Court (referred to court), Under Investigation or SVN Issued, Balance Due while it is open, and Complied, Balance Due means the conditions were fixed but fees are still owed. The city notes that it "makes no representation about the accuracy of any specific information in this data." For scale, Philadelphia recorded 18,269 sales between 2025-10-20 and 2026-08-11, at a median price of $270,000.
Cincinnati. The status to look for is costs assessed on the tax bill: the city did the work and, as Ohio R.C. 715.261 allows, put the cost on the property's taxes, where it is a lien. Ask how much is owed and whether it will be paid at closing.
New York City has its own system of HPD and DOB violations, covered in HPD and DOB violations NYC: what a buyer inherits.
What a HeritageDeed report checks
For addresses in Chicago, Philadelphia and Cincinnati, the HeritageDeed report now adds the city's building violations and permits to the owner of record, deeds, mortgages and releases, recorded liens, court records and tax status, for $49. Coverage: Cook County, Philadelphia, Hamilton County. Open permits are covered in open permits on a house.
A records search is not a home inspection, a municipal lien letter from the city, title insurance or legal advice. A violation the city never wrote up is not in any database.
Key takeaways
Key takeaways
- The cited condition always stays with the building; open orders often bind the new owner too.
- Recorded code liens and abatement costs on the tax bill are liens on the land and must be paid or released.
- Florida requires a seller in an active code case to tell the buyer the new owner will be responsible for compliance.
- Chicago, Philadelphia and Cincinnati keep public violation records, but statuses lag; confirm before closing.
- Check the city records, the land records and the tax bill, and make resolution a closing condition.
Frequently asked questions
- Do code violations transfer to a new owner?
- The condition does, because it is part of the building. Open orders can bind whoever owns the property, and in Florida a seller in an active case must tell the buyer that the new owner will be responsible for compliance. Recorded liens for fines or abatement costs stay on the land.
- How do I find out if a house has code violations?
- Search the city or county building and code enforcement records by address, then check the county land records and the tax bill for recorded liens or assessed costs. Chicago, Philadelphia and Cincinnati keep public violation records that can be matched to an address.
- Can you sell a house with code violations?
- Yes, but disclosure rules vary by state and city. In Florida, selling during an active code enforcement case requires written disclosure to the buyer under Fla. Stat. 162.06(5).
- Are code violations public record?
- Generally yes. Chicago keeps Department of Buildings violations since 2006, Philadelphia keeps L&I violations since 2007, and Cincinnati keeps its code enforcement cases, all as public records.
- Does a title search show code violations?
- A title search shows code liens and orders that were recorded in the land records, but not open cases that never produced a recorded document. That is why Chicago tells closings to check the title commitment for court and administrative hearing enforcement actions, and why a city records search is still needed.
- What does costs assessed on tax bill mean?
- It means the city did abatement work on the property itself and certified the cost to the county auditor, who added it to the property tax bill. Under Ohio R.C. 715.261 that cost is a lien on the land.
Legal references
Statutes and rules cited in this article.
- 1Florida Statutes 162.06
- 2Florida Statutes 162.09
- 3Ohio Revised Code 715.261
Cite this guide
APA
HeritageDeed. (2026, October 19). Code Violations on a Property: How to Check and What Transfers to a Buyer. https://heritagedeed.com/blog/code-violations-on-a-property
MLA
“Code Violations on a Property: How to Check and What Transfers to a Buyer.” HeritageDeed, October 19, 2026, heritagedeed.com/blog/code-violations-on-a-property.
Link (HTML)
<a href="https://heritagedeed.com/blog/code-violations-on-a-property">Code Violations on a Property: How to Check and What Transfers to a Buyer</a> (HeritageDeed)HeritageDeed provides public-record search reports only. Reports do not constitute title insurance, an attorney opinion of title, or a title insurance commitment.
