Two things already sit between a Brooklyn owner and a renovation permit: the ACP-5 asbestos filing, and — where the scope is large enough — a possible full-building sprinkler trigger.
There is a third, and unlike the other two it does not depend on what you are proposing to build. It depends on which building you own.
What it is
A Certification of No Harassment must be obtained before the Department of Buildings will issue permits for certain work on covered buildings.
Local Law 1 of 2018, effective 28 September 2018, established a pilot program requiring owners of buildings on an HPD list to obtain a CONH before permits for demolition or a change in use or occupancy.
It is administered by HPD, not DOB, and like the other two obstacles it sits upstream of the permit rather than in the construction.
You do not opt into this
The distinguishing feature is that coverage is not a function of your project. HPD places the building on a list.
Reported grounds for listing include:
- High levels of physical distress and/or ownership changes, where the building sits in certain targeted areas of the city
- A full vacate order issued by HPD or DOB
- Active participation in the Alternative Enforcement Program for more than four months since 1 February 2016
- A finding of harassment within the last five years by a court or by New York State Homes and Community Renewal
Read the first and third of those carefully. A building can be listed because of distress and ownership churn, or because it spent time in AEP — neither of which requires any finding against the current owner at all.
The covered work is broader than owners expect
This is where the program reaches ordinary renovation rather than only demolition. Reported covered work includes:
- Demolition of all or part of the building
- Change of use or occupancy for all or part of a dwelling unit, or any residential portion of the building
- Any alteration that adds or removes kitchens or bathrooms, increases or decreases the number of dwelling units, or changes the layout, configuration or location of any portion of a dwelling unit
- Application for a new or amended Certificate of Occupancy
That third bullet is very wide. Moving a bathroom, reconfiguring a kitchen, or changing an apartment's layout is ordinary renovation work in a pre-war Brooklyn building — and on a listed building it is covered.
Confirm covered work and current procedure with HPD. This describes the program as reported and the details matter to a specific scope.
The date to check right now
The pilot was extended through 27 September 2026 by Local Law 140 of 2021.
As of this writing that date is imminent, and whether the program is extended again, made permanent, or allowed to lapse is not something to assume in either direction.
If you are planning covered work on a listed building, confirm the current status with HPD rather than relying on any summary — including this one. A program in its final weeks is exactly the situation in which published guidance goes stale fastest.
It attaches to the building, not to you
The point most likely to catch a purchaser.
A CONH requirement arises from the building's history. A new owner can inherit a constraint created by a previous owner's conduct — or by nothing more than distress and ownership churn in the building's record — and find out when a permit application stalls.
Which makes list status a due diligence item, not a formality. For anyone acquiring a Brooklyn building with renovation plans, checking HPD's published list belongs alongside pulling the DOB and HPD violation records. A listing does not make a building a bad purchase. It changes what you can do with it and how fast, and that belongs in the price and the schedule.
Where it goes in a project
The sequence is the same one that governs the other two permit obstacles, with one item added at the front:
- Check whether the building is listed — before scoping, and certainly before budgeting.
- Establish whether your intended work is covered.
- Apply to HPD for the certification if it is, and build the time into the schedule.
- Run the asbestos survey and obtain the ACP-5.
- Have the scope reviewed against the code, including alteration triggers.
- Then file for the permit.
Steps one through five all sit before the permit. An owner who treats permitting as the first hurdle has three surprises waiting in front of it.
Where a managing agent carries this
Knowing a building's list status, checking it at acquisition rather than at permit application, sequencing a renovation so the certifications and filings happen in the right order, and keeping an owner's schedule honest about how long that takes is part of renovation oversight and the legal and regulatory compliance work around it.
If you are buying or renovating a Brooklyn building and have not checked its CONH status, schedule a consultation or call 718-568-9278.
This article is general information, not legal advice. The CONH pilot's status, covered grounds and covered work are subject to change and the program's authorization date is imminent. Confirm current requirements with HPD and a qualified New York attorney.