Your rent check says one name. The lease says another. When something goes wrong and you need to reach the actual owner, you may find yourself staring at the name of a limited liability company with no address and no human being attached to it. In New York City, this is by design — and there are specific public records that let you look through it.
Why this matters
Residential properties with three or more units generally must be registered annually with HPD, listing the owner's name, contact information, and the name and address of a managing agent. Knowing who owns your building — and who is legally responsible for it — matters when you need to file a complaint, serve legal papers, or understand the context of ongoing violations.
Step 1: HPD registration — the owner on file
Start at hpdonline.nyc.gov. Search by address. The building's HPD registration page shows the registered owner, managing agent, and emergency contact. This gives you the owner and managing-agent information HPD has on file for the property. The owner remains responsible for complying with applicable housing laws, while the managing agent is the designated management contact.
If the owner is a corporation, the HPD registration must include the names and addresses of persons whose ownership share exceeds 25 percent. Partnerships have separate disclosure requirements. Not every entity files this accurately, but it is the required starting point.
HPD registration must be renewed annually by September 1. A building that is not registered is itself in violation — and you can see registration status directly on the HPD page.
Step 2: ACRIS — the deed
ACRIS (Automated City Register Information System) at nyc.gov/acris contains every recorded deed, mortgage, and property transfer in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx. Staten Island uses a separate system (Richmond County Clerk).
Search by address to find the most recent deed. The deed shows who holds legal title to the building. If title is held by an LLC, ACRIS shows the LLC's name and the address used for the transaction — often a law firm or registered agent address, but sometimes a real business address.
Look at two fields specifically: the grantee name (the current titleholder) and the mailing address for tax notices. The tax mailing address can sometimes be more useful than the address appearing in the deed, especially when the deed uses an attorney, agent, or other transaction address.
Step 3: NY Department of State — corporate records
Once you have an LLC name from ACRIS or HPD, search the NY Department of State Division of Corporations at apps.dos.ny.gov. This shows who filed the LLC, its registered agent, and its business address. The public filing does not necessarily identify the LLC's members or ultimate beneficial owners. The filing agent is sometimes a law firm or incorporation service — but the registered agent address may lead to a real office.
If the same registered agent or address appears across multiple building-owning LLCs, that may indicate that the entities use the same service provider or have a connection worth investigating. It does not by itself prove common ownership or control.
Step 4: Department of Finance — tax records
The NYC Department of Finance at nyc.gov/site/finance/index.page maintains property tax records by borough, block, and lot (BBL). Tax records show the billing party and property tax status by BBL. In some cases — for example, certain tax benefit applications — additional ownership information may appear. This is a secondary check, useful when other sources are inconclusive.
What Weverit shows you
Pull up any building on Weverit. The building report aggregates the HPD-registered owner and managing agent alongside the violation history, complaint patterns, and building grade — so you can see not just who owns the building but how it has been managed. A building where the registered managing agent has changed three times in two years tells a different story than one with a stable, responsive contact.
What to do with what you find
If you need to serve legal papers — for an HP Action, a small claims case, or a formal complaint — use the owner and managing-agent information in HPD Online as a starting point, and verify the correct respondent and service address under the rules that apply to your case.
If the registered information is wrong or missing, that is itself a violation you can report to HPD.
Three things to check before you sign a lease
First, look up HPD registration and confirm there is a named managing agent with a current physical business address and usable contact information.
Second, check ACRIS for the most recent deed. A building that has changed hands multiple times in the last few years may be under active repositioning.
Third, search the corporate records for the LLC name. A portfolio of buildings under common ownership with a pattern of violations across multiple properties tells you something the individual building record alone cannot.
Buildings with open immediately hazardous violations
Ranked by open immediately hazardous (Class C) violations, from reports computed between August 16, 2026 and September 5, 2026.
- 2910 Wallace AvenueBronx F
- 2310 1 AvenueManhattan F
- 275 East Gun Hill RoadBronx F
- 179 Milford StreetBrooklyn F
- 3530 Decatur AvenueBronx F
- 909 East 5 StreetBrooklyn F
- 1196 Eastern ParkwayBrooklyn F
- 582 Saint Nicholas AvenueManhattan F
- 2241 Holland AvenueBronx F
- 548 11 StreetBrooklyn F
Sources
- NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development — HPD Online: hpdonline.nyc.gov
- NYC Automated City Register Information System (ACRIS): nyc.gov/acris
- NY Department of State — Division of Corporations: apps.dos.ny.gov/publicInquiry
- NYC Department of Finance — Property Tax Records: nyc.gov/site/finance/index.page
- NYC Administrative Code § 27-2097 (Building registration requirements)
