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The Data
Staten Island has the lowest housing-violation rate of any NYC borough. By open HPD Class B (hazardous) and Class C (immediately hazardous) violations per 1,000 residential units, Staten Island sits at about 274 — compared to the Bronx at 838, Brooklyn at 715, and the citywide average of 536.
In raw numbers, Staten Island has roughly 49,000 open B/C violations — by far the fewest of any borough, reflecting both its smaller size and its lower violation rate. On the most serious category, Class C immediately hazardous violations, Staten Island has about 9,179 open — again the lowest in the city.
By the measure that matters most to an individual tenant — how many unresolved hazards exist per apartment — Staten Island's rate is roughly one-third that of the Bronx.
Why Staten Island Is Different
The borough's housing profile is fundamentally unlike the rest of the city, and that explains much of the difference.
Homeownership, not rental. Staten Island is overwhelmingly a borough of one- and two-family homes owned by their occupants. It has only about 2,156 multiple-dwelling buildings (buildings with three or more units) — a tiny fraction of Brooklyn's roughly 79,000. Owner-occupants maintain their own homes; there's no absentee landlord deferring repairs.
Newer housing stock. Much of Staten Island developed later than the dense pre-war neighborhoods of the Bronx and Brooklyn, meaning newer construction with fewer of the aging-systems problems (old boilers, antiquated wiring, deteriorating facades) that generate violations.
Lower density. Fewer large multifamily buildings means fewer of the big, violation-prone complexes that drive up the numbers in other boroughs.
A Caveat on the Numbers
One statistic looks misleading at first glance: measured per multiple-dwelling building, Staten Island appears to have a high violation count. That's a denominator artifact, not a real signal. Because Staten Island has so few multiple-dwelling buildings (just 2,156), the per-building math is distorted — a handful of troubled large buildings skew the average across a tiny base.
The robust measure is violations per apartment (per 1,000 residential units), which corrects for this. On that metric, Staten Island clearly has the lowest violation rate in the city.
What These Numbers Are
These figures represent open violations on record in HPD's open-violations dataset as of June 2026 — a standing backlog accumulated over time, not new filings in a single period. A violation stays open until the landlord certifies correction and HPD closes it.
What This Means for Renters
If you rent on Staten Island, the borough-wide odds are in your favor — but borough averages don't guarantee any individual building. The relatively small rental stock means the buildings that do have problems matter more for the people in them.
The practical rule is the same everywhere in NYC: check the specific building, not the borough reputation. Staten Island's strong overall numbers don't mean a particular building is well-maintained — they mean the baseline is better. Verify before you sign.
How to Check Your Building
Run any Staten Island address through Weverit to see its HPD violation history, open violations by class, and complaint record. The borough data is reassuring at the macro level; a building report tells you what you actually need to know about your specific apartment.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which NYC borough has the fewest housing violations? Staten Island, by both raw count (about 49,000 open hazardous violations) and rate (about 274 per 1,000 residential units — the lowest in the city).
Why does Staten Island have a low violation rate? It's overwhelmingly a borough of owner-occupied one- and two-family homes with newer housing stock and far fewer large multifamily buildings than other boroughs — meaning fewer absentee landlords and aging-building problems.
Does a low borough violation rate mean my building is safe? No. Borough averages reflect baseline odds, not any individual building. Always check the specific building's violation record before signing a lease.
Related NYC Housing Guides
Sources: NYC HPD Open Data (housing maintenance code open violations, as of June 2026); NYC Department of City Planning (PLUTO) housing unit and building counts. This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.
