How to Find a NYC Building Owner Quickly and Free

If you need to know who owns a building in New York City, you don’t have to call a lawyer or pay a fortune. Most ownership info is public and can be accessed online. Below is a straight‑forward plan that works for apartments, commercial spaces, and even small houses.

Free Online Resources

The first place to look is the NYC Department of Finance’s Property Tax Lookup. Enter the address and you’ll get the borough, block, and lot (BBL) number. That BBL is the key to everything else.

Next, head to ACRIS (Automated City Register Information System). It’s the city’s official record of deeds, mortgages, and liens. Type the BBL or the exact address into the search bar and you’ll see a list of recorded documents. The most recent deed shows the current owner’s name.

If you prefer a quick visual, try NYC Open Data’s "MapPLUTO". It layers ownership data on a map, so you can spot the owner without digging through PDFs. Just zoom in on the address and click the parcel.

For a more user‑friendly view, the website PropertyShark offers a free summary for many NYC properties. It pulls data from ACRIS and displays the owner, tax class, and even the owner’s mailing address.

Tips for Accurate Results

Sometimes the name you find is a corporate entity rather than a person. Look up the entity on the NY Department of State’s Entity Search to see who controls it. If the owner is a LLC, the filing will list the managing members.

Cross‑check the owner’s mailing address with the property’s tax bill. A mismatch may mean the record is outdated. You can request a recent tax bill from the NYC Department of Finance if you need the latest info.

When you’re dealing with large buildings, the owner might be a REIT (Real Estate Investment Trust). REITs publish annual reports that list all their holdings, making it easy to confirm ownership.

Finally, keep a record of the BBL, deed date, and any links you saved. If you ever need to prove ownership or contact the owner, having this data ready saves a lot of back‑and‑forth.

Finding a NYC building owner doesn’t have to be a headache. Use the Property Tax Lookup to get the BBL, dive into ACRIS for the deed, verify with MapPLUTO or PropertyShark, and follow the tips above for clarity. You’ll have the owner’s name, address, and even the corporate structure in minutes—not weeks.