Yonkers building department

The City of Yonkers Department of Housing and Buildings (DHB) issues building, plumbing, electrical, sign, and demolition permits for the city. It also issues certificates of occupancy and completion and enforces the housing code. It applies the New York State Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code together with Yonkers’ own zoning, building, housing, plumbing, and fire codes. Building permit applications filed on or after December 31, 2025 fall under the 2025 Uniform Code. Westchester County does not issue building permits for Yonkers addresses, but the county is where Yonkers plumbers and electricians get their licenses (see below).

The front counter at 20 South Broadway, 3rd Floor, is open 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., and paper permit applications are accepted during those same hours.

What needs a permit in Yonkers

DHB’s published FAQs answer the most common homeowner questions directly.

Project	Permit?	Notes from DHB
Deck	Yes	Treated as a structural system reviewed against the Yonkers Zoning Ordinance and NYS codes
Shed	Yes	Zoning and state code setbacks apply
Above-ground pool	Yes	Also needs a plumbing permit (for drainage) and an electrical permit (for wiring and GFCI protection)
Fence	No	The Zoning Ordinance still applies: 6 ft maximum in side and rear yards, and no encroachment past your property line
Roofing	Yes	Required to remove, replace, or add shingles, or to replace sheathing
Siding	Depends	No building permit for vinyl siding; aluminum siding requires a permit
Facade repair, pointing, scaffolding, sidewalk sheds	Yes	Each requires a building permit

For deck rules in more detail, see do I need a permit for a deck.

Home improvement contractor license

Renovating an existing one- to three-family dwelling requires a Yonkers Home Improvement Contractor’s License, which the contractor must hold before the permit is issued. The license comes from the city’s Consumer Protection Bureau, not DHB. It covers improvements to private residences of no more than three families and does not cover new home construction.

Filing through City Squared

DHB has moved building applications to City Squared, a browser-based filing system. To file:

1. Open City Squared in Chrome, the browser the city specifies.
2. Choose City of Yonkers as the municipality.
3. Register an account. Keep using the same login for future filings, because DHB warns that duplicate accounts can delay processing.

The city’s January 2026 paperless filing requirements set these rules:

• Plans must be signed and sealed, drawn to scale, and combined into one complete PDF.
• Flatten or compress the plan file.
• Leave a blank box in the lower-right corner of each sheet for the DHB stamp.
• Submit supporting forms as a separate PDF.
• The application form must be signed and notarized by the property owner.
• Mail-in or drop-off filings must include the plans on a USB Type-A flash drive.

Plumbing and electrical permits are also filed on City Squared, with the licensed contractor entered as the applicant. Plumbers must also have a current Westchester County plumbing hold-harmless form on file. Yonkers stopped licensing plumbers itself when countywide licensing began in 1996, so plumbers and electricians working in Yonkers hold Westchester County licenses.

Fees

The city’s DHB fee schedule (effective July 1, 2019) and its Forms & Permits page list the following:

Permit	Fee
Building permit, one- and two-family dwellings	$125 filing fee plus $15 per $1,000 of estimated cost up to $1,000,000, then $12 per $1,000
Building permit, all other buildings	$250 filing fee plus the same per-$1,000 rates
Certificate of occupancy, one- and two-family (new construction or alteration)	$150
Certificate of occupancy, multifamily	$250 per floor (including basement, cellar, and mezzanine) plus $100 per dwelling unit
Certificate of occupancy, commercial or industrial	$250 per floor plus $250 per tenant space
Plumbing permit (includes inspection)	$100 plus $25 per fixture
Electrical permit	$175 base plus $10 per $1,000 of electrical work
Electrical service work, one- and two-family dwellings	$175 plus $25 per meter

Inspections, housing code, and certificates

The Building Division inspects permitted construction and issues certificates of occupancy and completion. DHB’s plumbing, electrical, sign, and elevator units inspect their own trades. Housing Code Enforcement handles certificate-of-occupancy inspections, temporary-residence inspections, and housing complaints.

Contact	Phone
Permit information	(914) 377-6500
Building complaints	(914) 377-6527
Heat complaints	(914) 965-3331
Plumbing Division	(914) 377-6566
Electrical Division	(914) 377-6502

Property file research

To see a property’s historic permits and certificates, first find its section, block, and lot in the city’s Image Mate Online assessment database, then book a records appointment through DHB. You don’t need to visit the office. DHB is digitizing its paper files and emails a link to all available documents for the property. The digitizing team can be reached at (914) 377-6534.