At the time, the mine had 31 outstanding violations, and government inspectors had not returned to determine whether they had been corrected.

Mr. Shermano said the 254 outstanding violations on his building were old news.

There are also 25 outstanding violations for unauthorized store changes, involving installation of signs, awnings or shop fronts.

As a result, sponsors are now required only to disclose outstanding violations in the conversion plan documents.

Mr. Gilbert added, "The project is currently on schedule and has no outstanding violations."

The issue has become such a high priority for landlords because the outstanding violations often prevent them from selling or refinancing their buildings.

It was twice under contract to purchasers who had agreed to cure outstanding violations.

Mr. Smith said a rapid check of records showed no outstanding violations on the building, which, he added, was about 75 years old.

Upon running a check, the officer discovered that he had an outstanding violation for speeding, reckless driving and failing to yield to an emergency vehicle.

As the owner of buildings with outstanding violations, I don't need the threat of higher fines to encourage me to make repairs.