Technology Helps Landlords Promptly Address Maintenance Violations

Owning and operating apartments in the country’s oldest and most highly regulated housing market comes with plenty of maintenance challenges.

Landlords face urgent issues that involve heat and water, and general repair requests from individual residents on a regular basis. Addressing them to maintain compliance with NYC regulations is paramount.

The New York City housing ecosystem, which encompasses more than 2 million rental homes, is incredibly complex, according to Michael Gareth Johnson, a director with Community Housing Improvement Program (CHIP).

“Things will break,” Johnson said, as a 2023 survey found about 54% of the housing was built before 1947. Another 26% was built between 1947 and 1974.

Tenants have several options on how to report and request service for repairs – including through direct communication.

“The City has internal systems that generate violations and complaints,” Johnson said. “If it’s a hazardous situation, the City inspectors will inform the landlords ASAP. Otherwise, landlords often rely on service partners to get alerts.

Alex Kohn, Chief Operations Officer, J Wasser & Co., Brooklyn, said in most cases, tenants simply call 311 to file a complaint.

“Managing 2,200 units in the City, I wake up to maintenance alerts pretty much every day,” he said.

Tenants can complain about anything and everything, a chip in a wall, a loose floor tile, a sloped hardwood floor plank, Kohn said.

Landlords have a week to make the repair. HPD checks on the progress. If it’s not done in a week, a violation is issued. Violation fines are based on the infraction and range from $50 to more than $1,000. Lead-based paint fines can approach $10,000.

Once the landlord does the fix, HPD inspects it. If it’s performed to the tenant’s satisfaction, HPD removes the violation. If not, it becomes a much bigger deal, said Kohn, who added that there should never be situations where landlords are harassing their tenants, not doing the work, to drive them out.

“It’s just unfortunate that today the situation has gotten out of hand, out of control and HPD is overreaching,” he said.

Therefore, receiving alerts is crucial, Kohn said. Using AppWork, the software keeps track of everything going on in the process, he said. For landlords, there’s no more data entry. It’s done automatically, including photos and layouts.

“Being able to use technology to address complaints from residents or violations cited by the City with an instant notification would be incredibly helpful,” Kohn said. “It helps to keep you organized.”

This month, AppWork, a multifamily maintenance management software, announced its partnership with BCompliant, a leader in New York City violation and compliance software.

Using the mobile- and desktop-based tool, AppWork integrates violation data into the maintenance workflow so maintenance teams can respond promptly.

Johnson said that many landlords have installed sensors in their units that alert them on things such as water or heat complications. The sensors help them to verify if there are in fact problems and serve as a continuous monitor for their properties.

The partnership empowers property managers with enhanced tools and automation, helping to ensure that compliance and maintenance tasks are not only tracked but also meticulously documented.

Through this integration, violations noted by BCompliant can automatically generate work orders within the AppWork system, streamlining processes and ensuring rapid response to compliance issues.

“This partnership represents a significant step forward in our commitment to the New York City market,” said Sean Landsberg, CEO of AppWork.

BCompliant has been at the forefront of compliance software solutions in New York City, offering tools that help property managers stay ahead of regulations and avoid penalties. The collaboration with AppWork is expected to enhance the capabilities of both platforms.

Joe Leff, COO of BCompliant, said the partnership makes compliance management as straightforward and as integrated as possible.

For New York City property managers, this partnership eliminates the time spent on manual entry, creating a more accurate and timely compliance management process and reducing the risk of non-compliance penalties.