Buffalo building permits and code violations
Enter an address in the City of Buffalo, New York to see the permits issued for it since 2000 and its code violations since 2012: what is active, what was cited recently, and what was cited as an unsafe structure. The answers come from official city records, matched to the parcel.
Start with the house number. The first 5 results of each list are free; HeritageDeed Pro shows them all. Usually answers in a few seconds.
Permits
The city's permit records go back to January 2000 and cover repairs, electrical, plumbing, heating, demolition, new construction, signs and more. The city publishes no permit status, so a permit whose expiration date has passed is shown with that date and never called expired.
Code violations
The city's code violation records go back to August 2012 and list each violation with the code section cited. Each is active, complied or closed. Records are matched to the parcel itself, and to the street address only when that cannot point to a different parcel. Buffalo Housing Court cases are a separate record and are not part of this lookup.
Buying in Buffalo
A HeritageDeed report puts these permits and violations in one PDF with the owner of record, the County Clerk's deeds, mortgages and liens, federal court cases, the flood zone and nearby EPA-listed sites. Where the records are kept and what the report searches: Erie County title search and property records.
Questions
How do I look up building permits for a Buffalo address?
Enter the street address in the lookup above. It finds the Erie County tax parcel, then lists the permits the city issued for it since 2000, newest first, with their type and the work described.
Does it show code violations too?
Yes. It lists the code violations the Department of Permit and Inspection Services recorded for the parcel since 2012: how many are active, how many were cited in the last three years, and any cited under the unsafe structures section of the property maintenance code.
Why is there no "expired" permit count?
Buffalo's permit records show an expiration date but no status, and many older permits have none. The lookup counts a permit as active while its expiration date has not passed and never calls a permit expired. To learn whether work was finished and inspected, ask Permit and Inspection Services.
My address is in Amherst, Cheektowaga or Tonawanda. Why is it not searched?
Those towns keep their own building records; the City of Buffalo's records only cover property inside the city. The lookup decides this from the parcel's municipality, not from the mailing address.
What else is in the full report?
A HeritageDeed report for an Erie County address adds the owner of record, the deeds, mortgages, satisfactions and liens recorded with the Erie County Clerk, federal court cases, the flood zone and nearby EPA-listed sites, with the Buffalo permits and violations above in one PDF.
Official public records; statuses can lag inspections. Not legal advice.