Whole-home remodeling in New York City

With 60%⁴ of the city's homes built before 1960, a whole-home renovation almost always disturbs old paint. HPD says that in a New York City building built before 1978, lead-safe work practices should be used for any repair or renovation that disturbs 2 square feet or more of paint in a room, 10 percent or more of a small component, or involves removing windows, whether or not children live there.¹⁵ Under Local Law 1 of 2004, all paint in a pre-1960 multiple-dwelling apartment where a child under 6 lives, and in the building's common areas, is presumed to be lead paint, and any repair or renovation there that disturbs it must follow the city's work practices and use trained workers.¹⁶

New York City's water report says homes built before 1961 may have lead service lines connecting the building to the city main, and that property owners own and are responsible for their service lines.¹⁷ While floors and walls are open, replacing the service line and any galvanized supply pipe inside your own walls costs far less than it will once the finishes go back. The EPA notes that lead can collect inside galvanized pipe and later reach drinking water, and that solder made before 1986 contained high levels of lead.¹⁸

In New York City, an owner planning a renovation, alteration or demolition is responsible for finding out whether asbestos is present where the work will reach, and a DEP Certified Asbestos Investigator determines whether any must be removed before work begins.¹¹ If a Certified Asbestos Investigator finds the work is not an asbestos project, an Asbestos Assessment Report (form ACP-5) is filed with DEP and verified by DOB before the permit moves ahead; if it is an asbestos project, an Asbestos Project Notification (form ACP-7) goes to DEP instead.¹⁹

Beyond flooring, the EPA lists vermiculite attic and wall insulation, roofing and siding shingles, textured paint and patching compounds on walls and ceilings, and hot water and steam pipes wrapped in asbestos blanket or tape among the places asbestos may be found in a home.²⁰ In a city house that can mean the wrap on cellar steam pipes, floor tile hiding under carpet and textured ceilings, so book the survey before setting a demolition date. DEP says skipping the asbestos survey before work starts, or failing to use a licensed abatement contractor who files the project, can bring penalties of $1,200 to $10,000 per infraction, and asbestos projects must be filed with DEP at least 7 days before they start.²¹

In DOB NOW, the old Alteration Type 1 job is now called Alteration CO, and the old Alteration Type 2 and Type 3 jobs are both filed as Alteration.²² When an Alteration is filed in DOB NOW, a yes to any one of its questions, including whether the work changes occupancy or use, makes a major change to exits, changes the number of stories or is inconsistent with the current CO, means the job ends in a Certificate of Occupancy rather than a Letter of Completion.²²

DOB issues a final Certificate of Occupancy when completed work matches the submitted plans for a new building or major alteration, and a Letter of Completion for minor alterations that don't need a new or amended CO.¹⁰ Buildings built before 1938 aren't required to have a Certificate of Occupancy unless later alterations changed their use, exits or occupancy; for proof of legal use, the DOB borough office can issue a Letter of No Objection.¹⁰ Ask the architect early which path your plans will take, because a CO job adds inspections and sign-offs at the end of the schedule.

New York City has had its own Energy Conservation Code since July 2010, and it applies to all alterations, so adding onto or renovating a home means meeting it, sometimes with extra requirements the architect or engineer must build into the plans.¹² New York City enacted an Existing Building Code on January 17, 2026, taking effect July 17, 2027; until then, alterations to existing buildings follow the Administrative Code and the 2022 construction codes, with the 1968 code available at the owner's option for older buildings.²³

Interior work in a landmark building generally doesn't need Landmarks Preservation Commission review unless it requires a DOB permit, affects the exterior, or is in a designated interior landmark.²⁴ The Landmarks Preservation Commission issues a Certificate of No Effect through its Portico portal, without a public hearing, for work such as interior renovations that need DOB permits and the installation of plumbing and heating equipment.²⁵ A renovation that adds a rear extension, new front windows or rooftop equipment reaches the outside of the building, so confirm whether it is designated before the drawings are finished.

DOB is the city's floodplain administrator, and an existing building in the floodplain that undergoes a substantial improvement, or was substantially damaged, must be brought fully up to the flood-zone rules as if newly built, which for a home includes raising living space and filling basements or cellars to grade.²⁶ On a low-lying block near the water, that rule can decide how much renovation is worth doing in one go.

For very dusty work such as demolition, the EPA describes isolating the work area: sealing it off with no direct access to the occupied rooms, with workers using a separate entrance until cleanup is done.²⁷ In a brownstone or a two-family house, owners often camp on an upper floor while the crew takes the parlor or garden level, a plan that only works if one bathroom and a kitchen sink stay running upstairs.

If the job changes exits or the number of units, nobody may legally move back in until DOB signs off with a new or temporary CO, so build that inspection into the move-in date.

More than one in four adults 65 and older fall each year.²⁸ With the walls already open, blocking for future grab bars, a wider bathroom door and a step-free shower on the entry floor add little to a gut renovation. NAHB's Certified Aging-in-Place Specialist (CAPS) credential trains remodelers in home modifications for aging in place.²⁹

The number on this page connects you, on a recorded line, with one independent company that handles whole-home remodels in the New York City area. Which floors, in what order and for what price are settled between you and that company.

That company pays us for the call. It costs you nothing, and nobody from our side phones or texts you afterward. How we make money

New York City licenses home improvement contractors through DCWP, so look the company up before you sign. New York City requires a Department of Consumer and Worker Protection Home Improvement Contractor license for residential construction, repair or remodeling work that costs more than $200; new construction, plumbing and purely electrical work are not covered.³⁰ DCWP's online Search Business tool shows whether a business or individual holds a DCWP license, without logging in, and can be searched by name or DCWP license number.³¹ Check a New York license

If a New York home improvement contract has progress payments, it must list each payment in dollars and cents and the stage of work it pays for, and each payment must bear a reasonable relationship to the work done, materials bought or expenses owed at that point.³² A New York homeowner may cancel a home improvement contract until midnight of the third business day after signing, by written notice that shows they don't intend to be bound; the right doesn't apply when the owner called the contractor for a bona fide emergency and signed a handwritten waiver.³²