Frequently Asked Questions

Getting started is simple. You only need your property's street address and borough (Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Bronx, or Staten Island). Once you create your account and add your properties, our system immediately begins monitoring them across 13+ NYC datasets including DOB violations, ECB violations, HPD Housing Code violations, 311 service requests, Stop Work Orders, Building Permits, Certificate of Occupancy, DOB Safety Violations, OATH Hearings, FDNY violations, HPD Litigation, and the HPD Alternative Enforcement Program (AEP).

Your protection starts immediately upon registration. Our system begins scanning your properties within minutes. In most cases, you'll receive your first comprehensive property report within 30 seconds to 1 hour. Full synchronization across all 13+ NYC datasets may take up to 24 hours as we verify historical data and establish baseline monitoring.

Absolutely not! D.O.B. Guard is designed for property owners, managers, and landlords with no technical background required. Our intuitive dashboard shows all your properties and alerts in plain English. Simply enter your property address, choose how you want to be notified, and we handle everything else automatically.

Yes! D.O.B. Guard monitors properties across all five NYC boroughs: Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Bronx, and Staten Island. Our system connects directly to citywide databases, ensuring consistent monitoring regardless of your property's location.

D.O.B. Guard performs comprehensive scans every 60 minutes across all 12+ datasets. This means your properties are checked 24 times per day, ensuring you're notified within an hour of any new violation appearing in NYC agency systems. For critical issues like Stop Work Orders, our Intelligent Risk Scoring™ system prioritizes alerts to reach you even faster.

We monitor 13+ comprehensive data sources across multiple NYC agencies:

• DOB (Department of Buildings): Building violations, construction safety violations, zoning violations
• ECB (Environmental Control Board): Quality of life violations, environmental citations
• HPD (Housing Preservation & Development): Housing Code violations, Alternative Enforcement Program (AEP), Litigation cases
• 311 System: Citywide service requests and complaints
• FDNY (Fire Department): Fire safety violations and code issues
• OATH (Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings): Hearing schedules, trial outcomes
• Stop Work Orders: Active construction halts
• Building Permits: New permits and permit modifications
• Certificate of Occupancy: Changes to building use authorizations
• DOB NOW: Real-time permit change tracking

Notification methods depend on your plan:

• Starter Plan: Email alerts only (real-time)
• Pro Plan: Email + SMS text messages + Voice call alerts (real-time, multi-channel)
• Enterprise Plan: All alert types + priority delivery with SLA guarantee

Every alert includes comprehensive details: property address, violation type, issuing agency, severity level, recommended next steps, and direct links to official NYC records. Our Intelligent Risk Scoring™ system prioritizes critical issues so you can respond appropriately.

Intelligent Risk Scoring™ is our proprietary technology that analyzes every violation and assigns a priority level based on:

• Potential fine amounts ($5K, $10K, $50K+)
• Response deadlines and cure periods
• Whether violations can lead to Stop Work Orders
• Historical patterns of escalation
• Impact on Certificate of Occupancy

This means you're not overwhelmed with noise—you see at a glance which issues need immediate attention versus those that can be scheduled for routine maintenance. It's like having a compliance expert reviewing every alert for you.

Yes! In your dashboard's Alert Settings, you can configure notification preferences by:

• Violation type (DOB, HPD, ECB, FDNY, etc.)
• Severity level (Critical, High, Medium, Low)
• Agency source
• Property (set different alerts for different buildings)

For example, you might choose voice alerts only for Stop Work Orders and 311 complaints, while receiving email for permit updates.

Great news—no alerts means your property is in compliance! You can always verify monitoring is active by:

• Checking your dashboard's "Last Scan" timestamp (should be within the past hour)
• Reviewing your property's full history, which shows all past violations even if currently resolved
• Cross-referencing with NYC's public databases if desired

Many well-maintained properties go months without new violations. That's exactly what you want to see!

Absolutely! You can add additional recipients per property based on your plan:

• Starter: 1 recipient (account owner only)
• Pro: Up to 3 recipients per property
• Enterprise: Unlimited recipients per property

This is perfect for sharing alerts with building managers, maintenance teams, legal counsel, or compliance officers. Each recipient must opt in via text confirmation to comply with telecommunications regulations.

Voice alerts are automated phone calls that deliver critical violation details in natural language. When a high-priority issue is detected—like a Stop Work Order or HPD Class C violation—our system calls your designated phone number and provides:

• Property address affected
• Violation type and issuing agency
• Severity level and potential fines
• Recommended next steps
• Option to replay the message

Voice alerts are designed for time-sensitive situations when you might miss an email or text. Calls originate from our verified D.O.B. Guard number so you know it's legitimate.

Voice alerts are available on Pro and Enterprise plans:

• Starter: Email alerts only (no voice)
• Pro: Email + SMS + Voice alerts (standard fair use)
• Enterprise: Unlimited voice alerts with SLA guarantee

Voice calls are measured per-second and tracked in your dashboard. Most alerts are under 60 seconds.

Available on Pro and Enterprise plans, Calendar Sync automatically adds OATH hearings and trial dates to your calendar app (Google Calendar, Outlook, Apple Calendar).

When D.O.B. Guard detects a scheduled hearing for your property, we generate a .ics file that you can download or subscribe to. This ensures you never miss a court date and can prepare evidence in advance. The calendar entry includes:

• Hearing date, time, and location
• Violation case number
• Property address
• Links to relevant documents

DOB NOW is NYC's online permitting system. D.O.B. Guard tracks real-time changes to your permits including:

• Status updates (filed, approved, rejected, expired)
• Scope changes or amendments
• New inspections scheduled
• Payment requirements

Our system performs diff tracking, meaning we compare permit versions and highlight exactly what changed, so you're not reading through entire documents to find updates.

HPD Litigation tracks when your property is named in housing court cases, including tenant complaints, HPD-initiated proceedings, or code enforcement actions. These can result in substantial fines or court-ordered repairs.

Alternative Enforcement Program (AEP) is HPD's aggressive program for properties with persistent violations. If your building enters AEP, you face:

• Enhanced inspection frequency
• Mandatory correction timelines
• Escalating daily fines for non-compliance
• Potential HPD emergency repairs (billed to owner)

D.O.B. Guard alerts you immediately if your property is placed in Litigation or AEP status so you can respond before fines accumulate.

We offer three transparent plans with monthly or annual billing:

💰 All paid plans save 20% with annual billing!

Yes! You can upgrade or downgrade at any time from your account dashboard. When you upgrade:

• Your new features activate immediately
• You're charged a prorated amount for the remainder of your billing cycle
• Your next bill reflects the new plan rate

When you downgrade:

• Your new plan takes effect at the start of your next billing cycle
• You retain full access to your current plan until then
• You'll receive a confirmation email with the downgrade date

Enterprise plan is infinitely scalable. The base price of $249.99/month includes 75 properties. For each additional property beyond 75, you pay $4/month (or $38.40/year with annual billing after the 20% discount).

Examples:

• 100 properties: $249.99 + (25 × $4) = $349.99/month
• 150 properties: $249.99 + (75 × $4) = $549.99/month
• 200 properties: $249.99 + (125 × $4) = $749.99/month

This transparent pricing means no surprises—you always know your cost per property ($3.33/property base, $4/month for additional). For 200+ property portfolios, contact us for custom pricing and volume discounts.

While we don't offer a traditional free trial, we do provide a no-questions-asked 30-day money-back guarantee on all plans. If you're not satisfied within your first 30 days, contact support for a full refund.

Additionally, you can test our system by:

• Using our free public property lookup tool on the homepage to see current violations
• Starting with the Starter plan ($14.99/month) to try basic email alerts
• Reviewing our sample voice alert on the homepage to hear how it works

We accept all major credit and debit cards via our secure payment processor, Stripe:

• Visa
• Mastercard
• American Express
• Discover

All payment information is encrypted and stored securely by Stripe. D.O.B. Guard never stores your full card details. For Enterprise plans with 100+ properties, we can arrange ACH/wire payment—contact support for details.

Yes, you can cancel anytime with no penalties or cancellation fees. To cancel:

• Log in to your dashboard
• Navigate to Settings → Subscription
• Click "Cancel Subscription"

Your account remains active until the end of your current billing period. You'll continue to receive alerts through that date. If you change your mind, you can reactivate anytime before the period ends.

D.O.B. Guard connects to NYC Open Data APIs and official agency databases through authorized channels. All data is publicly available through NYC's transparency initiatives, but we aggregate and monitor it continuously so you don't have to check 13+ separate websites daily.

Our system uses:

• NYC Open Data Socrata API
• DOB BIS (Building Information System)
• HPD Violation & Litigation databases
• OATH hearing schedules
• 311 complaint system
• Direct agency web scraping (when APIs unavailable)

We maintain 99.9% uptime and monitor API health to ensure you never miss an alert due to technical issues.

D.O.B. Guard is a notification service, not insurance or a guarantee. We monitor NYC databases continuously and alert you when violations appear. However, we cannot control:

• Delays in agencies posting violations to their systems
• Unannounced inspections that result in on-site violations
• Manual paper citations not yet digitized
• System outages at NYC agencies

While extremely rare, if a violation is posted to an NYC database and our system fails to detect it due to a bug or outage on our end, we'll work with you to understand what happened and improve our monitoring. However, D.O.B. Guard is not liable for fines or penalties—it's a tool to help you stay informed, not a replacement for your own due diligence.

Yes! All plans include the ability to:

• View your full violation history by property
• Filter by date range, agency, or violation type
• Export to CSV or PDF for record-keeping

Enterprise plans also include:

• Advanced compliance summary reports
• Portfolio-wide analytics (violations per borough, agency, time period)
• Trend analysis (are violations increasing or decreasing?)
• Scheduled email reports (daily/weekly/monthly summaries)

API access is coming soon for Enterprise plans. This will allow you to:

• Integrate violation alerts into your property management system (Yardi, Buildium, AppFolio, etc.)
• Build custom dashboards with D.O.B. Guard data
• Automate workflows (e.g., create work orders when violations are detected)
• Sync property portfolios programmatically

If you're interested in API access, contact us at support@dobguard.com to join the early access waitlist.

Absolutely. D.O.B. Guard takes data security seriously:

• Encryption: All data is encrypted in transit (TLS 1.3) and at rest (AES-256)
• Secure Authentication: Passwords are hashed using industry-standard bcrypt
• Payment Security: All payment data is processed via PCI-compliant Stripe—we never store card details
• Access Control: Only you can access your account; we never share property or contact info
• Privacy: We don't sell your data to third parties or use it for marketing beyond our own services

Read our full Privacy Policy for details.

We offer multiple support channels depending on your plan:

• All Plans: Email support at support@dobguard.com (response within 24 hours)
• Pro Plans: Priority email support (response within 12 hours)
• Enterprise Plans: Dedicated success manager + phone support + SLA guarantee (response within 2 hours for critical issues)

You can also access our knowledge base and submit tickets via the "Help" section in your dashboard.

D.O.B. Guard stands out in several key ways:

You absolutely can! NYC's databases are public. However, manually checking is:

• Time-consuming: You'd need to check 13+ different websites daily for each property
• Error-prone: It's easy to miss a violation or misunderstand its severity without context
• Reactive: By the time you manually check, hours or days may have passed—fines accrue daily
• Unscalable: If you manage 10+ properties, this becomes a part-time job

D.O.B. Guard automates this process, checks every hour, prioritizes critical issues, and alerts you instantly across email, SMS, and voice. Think of it as hiring a 24/7 compliance assistant for $50/month (Pro plan). If one avoided $10K fine pays for 15+ years of monitoring, the ROI is clear.

The ROI is compelling. Consider typical NYC violation costs:

D.O.B. Guard Pro costs $600/year. Avoiding just one $10K fine pays for 16+ years of monitoring. Even a single delayed Stop Work Order saved can pay for decades of service.

Beyond fines, D.O.B. Guard saves you time (no daily website checks), reduces stress (automated monitoring), and protects your reputation (tenants appreciate proactive maintenance).

D.O.B. Guard is a monitoring and notification service—we alert you about violations and provide context to help you respond appropriately. We do not:

• File paperwork on your behalf
• Represent you at OATH hearings
• Perform physical repairs
• Act as an expeditor or legal counsel

However, our alerts include recommended next steps and links to relevant resources. For full-service violation removal, you'll need to hire an expeditor or attorney—but D.O.B. Guard ensures you know about issues early when they're easier and cheaper to resolve.

Stop Work Orders (SWOs) are the most critical violation type. D.O.B. Guard detects SWOs within 60 minutes of them appearing in DOB's system and immediately sends:

• Voice alert (Pro/Enterprise): Explains the SWO reason and next steps
• SMS alert (Pro/Enterprise): Urgent text notification
• Email alert (All plans): Detailed summary with links to DOB records

The alert includes:

• Reason for the SWO (e.g., unsafe conditions, work without permit)
• Specific property address and permit number
• Required actions to lift the order
• Estimated fines and daily penalties

You'll need to engage an expeditor or engineer to resolve the issue, but early notification via D.O.B. Guard minimizes project delays and lost revenue.

311 complaints are tracked because they often trigger inspections by DOB, HPD, or FDNY. D.O.B. Guard alerts you when a 311 complaint is filed for your property, giving you a heads-up that an inspector may visit.

Common 311 complaint types we monitor:

• Heat and hot water issues (HPD inspection)
• Illegal construction (DOB inspection)
• Pest infestations (HPD inspection)
• Hazardous materials (DOB/FDNY inspection)
• Structural concerns (DOB inspection)

While not every 311 complaint results in a violation, early awareness lets you address the issue before an inspection occurs.

Yes! Many investors and buyers use D.O.B. Guard during due diligence to:

• Review the property's full violation history
• Identify unresolved violations that could affect purchase price
• Check for Stop Work Orders or HPD Litigation
• Assess ongoing compliance risks

Simply add the property address to your account. You don't need to own the property to monitor it. After purchase, you can continue monitoring seamlessly.

Yes! Property managers can use a single D.O.B. Guard account to monitor multiple clients' properties. You can:

• Add properties from different owners to your portfolio
• Tag properties by owner or client name for organization
• Set different notification recipients for each property (e.g., forward alerts to the property owner)
• Export reports filtered by owner for billing or record-keeping

Choose the plan that matches your total property count (e.g., if managing 40 buildings across 5 clients, use Enterprise). Many property managers pass the cost through to clients as part of their management fee.