Look up any NYC address before you sign.
See the operator behind the LLC, open HPD violations, and the distress score in 10 seconds. Free, no account.
Examples: 123 Main St · 1000010001 · Stellar Management
Vet your landlord
before you sign.
See HPD violations, eviction filings, distress score, and the full LLC network behind any NYC building. Free. No credit card required. Built on public records the landlord can't hide.
The three jobs tenants use MetroDeeds for
Every signal below is sourced from NYC HPD, ACRIS, NYS Department of State, and the NYC Office of Court Administration.
Pre-lease building research
Before signing, search the building address. See HPD open violation count by class, recent eviction filings, ownership LLC structure, recent acquisitions, and the operator distress score. A high distress score is a yellow flag worth a question. A serial-evictor pattern is a red flag worth walking away.
Organizing context on a landlord
Find every building the same operator controls. Tenant organizers use this to identify cohort campaigns — buildings sharing a landlord often share heating, lead paint, or rent-stabilization issues. The operator profile page lists every property MetroDeeds has tied to the operator through HPD and ACRIS records.
Service of process for housing court
When you sue a landlord, you need a name to serve. NYC LLCs are required to name a head officer in HPD registration filings — that filing is public, and MetroDeeds surfaces the named human behind most NYC residential LLCs. Verify the registered-agent address against NYS Department of State before filing.
Five tools, all built on public records
Distress score for every named NYC residential rental operator.
Approximately 1,920 named operators are scored nightly on a 0-to-100 distress scale weighted by open HPD violations, eviction filings, foreclosure activity, serial-acquisition behavior, and tenant complaint volume. The top of the list is unflinching about who is causing the most measurable tenant harm — and the data is fully public, sourced from NYC agencies and federal court records. Click any operator for a profile page with full violation breakdown, eviction history, and the LLC network they control.
Every building has an open and recently-closed violation count.
NYC HPD tracks roughly 2.87 million open housing maintenance code violations across the residential rental stock. Class A is non-hazardous (paint, signage), Class B is hazardous (broken windows, peeling paint with possible lead exposure), Class C is immediately hazardous (no heat in winter, exposed wiring, vermin). MetroDeeds surfaces the violation breakdown by class for every building, every operator, and every borough — and joins violation history to the operator who held title at the time, so a new owner cannot inherit zero violations from a previous owner.
Marshal eviction history at the building and operator level.
Eviction filing data is sourced from the NYC Office of Court Administration and aggregated against the operator who held title at the time of filing. Operators with high eviction-per-unit ratios are flagged in the distress score. Tenants in pre-lease research mode should treat any building with an above-cohort eviction rate as worth a second look — and tenant organizers can use the data to identify serial-evictor cohorts across an operator portfolio.
The named human behind the LLC on the deed.
NYC residential rental buildings of three or more units are required to file an annual HPD registration naming a personally-accountable head officer or corporate owner. That name is public. MetroDeeds joins the deed party (the LLC name on the ACRIS recording) to the HPD registration filing, exposing the named human behind most residential rental LLCs. For LLCs without an HPD registration requirement (1-2 unit buildings), the registered-agent address from NYS Department of State often clusters with other LLCs controlled by the same operator — also surfaced.
NYC Public Advocate Worst Landlord Watchlist context, year over year.
Each January the NYC Public Advocate publishes a ranked list of the worst landlords by unaddressed HPD violation count. MetroDeeds carries a curated context paragraph for every Public Advocate-ranked operator with their rank, parent company affiliation, and recent enforcement actions where verified. The Public Advocate methodology is documented; MetroDeeds adds the operator-level cross-referencing that makes it actionable — the Public Advocate publishes the rank, MetroDeeds surfaces what the operator did this year and which buildings they control.
Recommended for tenants: Free
Tenants and tenant organizers are the audience that benefits most from public-records access. The free tier covers what most tenants need. No credit card. No upgrade pressure.
- +Full Landlord Ripoff Watch directory (no account required)
- +Operator profile pages with HPD violation breakdown
- +Eviction filing history by building and operator
- +LLC ownership network and registered-agent clusters
- +3 lifetime Due Diligence Reports (with free account)
- +7-day deed feed (with free account)
Tenant-organizing nonprofits with verified 501(c)(3) status: email hello@metrodeeds.com for free Pro access (Portfolio Reports, full LLC mapping, unlimited Due Diligence Reports).
Frequently asked
Is MetroDeeds really free for tenants?
Yes. The Landlord Ripoff Watch directory, the operator profile pages, and the building-level distress signals (HPD violations, eviction filings, ACRIS deed history) are all viewable without an account. Creating a free account adds a 7-day live deed feed and three lifetime full Due Diligence Reports. No credit card required at any point. The free tier exists because tenants and tenant organizers are the audience that benefits most from public-records access — and we want the people deciding whether to sign a lease to have the same information the landlord has.
How accurate is the distress score?
Each operator gets a 0-to-100 distress score recomputed nightly, weighted by HPD violations (open and recently closed), eviction filings, foreclosure activity, serial-acquisition behavior, and the tenant complaint volume across the operator portfolio. The components are documented in full at /landlord-ripoff-watch/methodology. The score is a research aid, not a legal finding — it reflects publicly observable signals, and we always recommend verifying specific facts against the source data linked from each profile.
How do I find out who owns my building when the deed says LLC?
Search MetroDeeds by address. If the building has three or more residential rental units, NYC HPD requires the LLC to register a personally-accountable head officer or corporate owner — and that name is public. MetroDeeds joins the deed party (the LLC name on the ACRIS recording) to the HPD registration filing, surfacing the named human behind the LLC for most NYC residential rentals. For 1-2 unit buildings the HPD requirement does not apply and the LLC name typically traces only to a registered-agent address.
I want to organize my building. How do I find every property the same landlord owns?
Click any operator name in Landlord Ripoff Watch, or visit /landlord-ripoff-watch and find the operator. The operator profile page lists every building MetroDeeds has tied to that operator through HPD registration data and ACRIS deed parties. Scout+ subscribers can pull a full Portfolio Report PDF; tenant organizers and advocacy groups should email us at hello@metrodeeds.com — we offer free Pro access to verified tenant-organizing nonprofits.
What does it mean if a building is on the Public Advocate Worst Landlord Watchlist?
Each January the New York City Public Advocate publishes a ranked list of approximately 100 landlords with the highest unaddressed HPD violation totals across their portfolios, weighted by unit count and class severity. MetroDeeds surfaces every Public Advocate-ranked operator in Landlord Ripoff Watch with a curated context paragraph citing their rank, parent company affiliation if any, and recent enforcement actions where they exist. The Watchlist is a research-quality public document, not a legal finding.
The landlord already knows what's in the public record.
Now you do too.
Browse Landlord Ripoff Watch without an account. Create a free account when you want to pull a full Due Diligence Report.