What an OATH default costs on a DOB summons.
An OATH default is entered when nobody appears to answer the summons, so the case is decided on the inspector's paperwork alone and the penalty is set with no account from the building.
35,162 DOB summonses at OATH/ECB have the outcome Default: 22.5% of the 156,215 decided or pending. 100.0% were given a penalty. Averaged across all of them, that comes to 7,320 dollars per summons.
See what is open on one building.
What each outcome costs
| Hearing outcome | Relative cost | Dollars per summons | Summonses |
|---|---|---|---|
| Default | 7,320 | 35,162 | |
| Pending | 3,451 | 21,870 | |
| In Violation | 2,200 | 46,569 | |
| Pop/In-Vio | 1,916 | 11,782 | |
| Admit/In-Vio | 1,852 | 11,029 | |
| Stipulation/In-Vio | 780 | 2,516 | |
| Cured/In-Vio | 2 | 11,926 | |
| Dismissed | none | 15,361 |
Each figure is the total penalty for that outcome divided by every summons in it, rounded to the dollar: 156,215 summonses, decided or pending, issued September 30, 2023 through September 24, 2026. The penalty is the amount set on the day of the decision, not a running total and not what the city’s books show today; for a pending summons it is the amount at stake. Summonses the city left with no hearing status are not counted.
What happens next
A defaulted summons had no hearing, so it cannot be appealed the usual way. OATH's rules allow a motion to vacate the default instead, which asks the hearing office to undo the decision and give the summons the hearing it never had.
What to do
Check whether the summons went to the right mailing address: the decision was entered whether or not anyone at the building read it. Not appearing costs more than any other outcome here.
If it is on your building and you would rather hand it off, ask to be introduced to one firm that handles it.
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Buildings with summonses reading Default
12 of the 1,683 buildings with a page on this site that have summonses reading Default, a different 12 each week, listed by street. Each count matches the Status column on that building’s page.
- 32-49 107 Street, Queens 2 summonses reading Default
- 88-50 162 Street, Queens 1 summons reading Default
- 155 East 104 Street, Manhattan 2 summonses reading Default
- 18 East 116 Street, Manhattan 1 summons reading Default
- 345 East 193 Street, Bronx 1 summons reading Default
- 36 Euclid Avenue, Brooklyn 1 summons reading Default
- 1449 Fulton Street, Brooklyn 4 summonses reading Default
- 823 Home Street, Bronx 1 summons reading Default
- 152 Marcus Garvey Boulevard, Brooklyn 1 summons reading Default
- 556 Thomas S Boyland Street, Brooklyn 1 summons reading Default
- 1565 Townsend Avenue, Bronx 1 summons reading Default
- 2357 Walton Avenue, Bronx 1 summons reading Default
Why is a default more expensive than losing a hearing?
A default is decided without hearing from the party cited, so nothing in the file argues the penalty down. The ladder above shows the gap, and it is not small.
Can a default judgment be vacated?
OATH's rules allow it, by a motion to vacate the default filed with the hearing office, showing a reason for not appearing and a defense to the charge. That is a different application from an appeal. We file neither and advise on neither.
Does a default close the matter?
It decides the summons but does not correct the condition. Most defaulted summonses have no payment on file, and that can hold up a sale, a refinance or a permit until it is resolved.
The figures are citywide totals. The buildings above each link to their own page, and no one cited on a summons is named here. Nothing on this page is legal advice. Counts from the DOB ECB Violations dataset on NYC Open Data. All status codes, how a DOB violation reaches OATH, what a default costs.