Old photograph of New York City

Letter of No Objection in NYC updated 2025

In the City of New York, in order for a building to be legally occupied, the building must first have a Certificate of Occupancy (CO). The CO must state a building’s legal use and type of permitted occupancy. New buildings must have a CO.   Older, pre-existing buildings may not have a CO if built prior to 1938. For those buildings, owners may file for a Letter of No Objection or Verification letter. This is issued by the Dept. Of Buildings to establish legal use of the building or a particular space in the building.

Why would I need an LNO?

If you are selling a property that pre-dates the CO requirement, the potential buyer or bank will ask for one as proof of current use.  If you are opening a business in a building without a CO, and your business requires a license from another governmental agency, you will have to file for an LNO.

A Letter of No Objection (LNO)

An LNO is fairly easy to obtain and on average takes approximately 3-4 weeks. A LNO is issued when the proposed and actual use of the space/building in question are the same use group and occupancy group. This is as dictated by the city zoning regulations and building code. When the usage group or occupancy group changes, a new certificate of occupancy must be applied for.

Some of the  agencies or entities interested in Letters of No Objections are the New York State Liquor Authority, banks, mortgage companies, the Fire Dept.  and the Dept. of Consumer and Worker Protection.  The Fire Department will require an LNO for a property without a certificate of occupancy. This is necessary when applying for approval of Fire Alarm or Fire Suppression/Rangehood filings. 

What is required to acquire a LNO? 

There are several requirements to receive an LNO. These requirements include, but are not limited to the following:

For buildings with a Certificate of Occupancy

  1. Copy of most recent CO
  2. Copy of Property Profile
  3. Job filings establishing use or occupancy that LNO is needed for
  4. Payment of filing fee

When the property does not have a Certificate of Occupancy

  1. Copy of Property Profile and list of Job filings
  2. Block & Lot Folder Plans
  3. Recent Survey
  4. Sanborn or Belcher-Hyde Map
  5. Photos
  6. Payment of filing fee
  1. Copy of most recent CO
  2. Copy of Property Profile and list of Job filings
  3. Block & Lot Folder Plans
  4. Hours/Dates of Operation, number of children (over and under the age of 2)
  5. Layout Drawing with exits, accessory locations, etc.
  6. Payment of filing fee

Reasons why the Department of Buildings will not issue an LNO

  1. Property has open applications
  2. When there are any unresolved violations on the property
  3. City agencies have conflicting information regarding building’s usage
  4. Insufficient proof of usage has been submitted. 

Need help applying for Certificates of Occupancy (COs), TCOs, and Letters of No Objection? Call us today at 718-833-2333.