Local Law 11 (FISP) Facade Inspections: What Owners Pay For
How NYC’s Local Law 11 facade program affects co-op and condo owners: who must inspect, Cycle 10 deadlines, Safe/SWARMP/Unsafe ratings, sheds and penalties.
6 min read · Updated
Local Law 11, now called the Facade Inspection and Safety Program (FISP), requires every New York City building taller than six stories to have its exterior walls inspected and a report filed with the Department of Buildings (DOB) once every five years. If you own a co-op or condo in one of those buildings, you pay for the inspection, any repairs and any sidewalk shed through your maintenance, common charges or a special assessment.
The inspection itself is the smaller cost. The repairs it finds, and the months a shed stays up while they are done, are what drive large facade assessments.
At a glance
- Who must file
- Buildings > 6 stories
- Existing and new
- How often
- Every 5 years
- Within a 2-year filing window
- Current cycle
- Cycle 10
- Began February 21, 2025
- Unsafe repairs
- 90 days
- Extensions possible
- Not filing
- $5,000 a year
- Plus $1,000 a month if late
- Shed left up
- Up to $40/ft/month
- On top of $1,000 a month, by year 5
Which buildings are covered
DOB’s rule, 1 RCNY §103-04, applies to all existing buildings greater than six stories and to new buildings of that height once built. Parts of a wall that are less than 12 inches from a neighboring building are excluded. If your building is six stories or fewer, FISP does not apply, though the owner still has to keep the walls safe.
When your building’s report is due
Every building files once per five-year cycle, inside a two-year window. Which window depends on the last digit of the building’s tax block number. Cycle 10 began February 21, 2025.
| Block number ends in | Sub-cycle | Filing window |
|---|---|---|
| 4, 5, 6 or 9 | 10A | Feb 21, 2025 – Feb 21, 2027 |
| 0, 7 or 8 | 10B | Feb 21, 2026 – Feb 21, 2028 |
| 1, 2 or 3 | 10C | Feb 21, 2027 – Feb 21, 2029 |
Your block number is the middle part of the BBL (borough-block-lot). Find it on Roofy’s building lookup or use the Local Law 11 facade cycle checker.
How the inspection is done
A Qualified Exterior Wall Inspector (QEWI), as defined in DOB’s rules, runs the inspection and signs the report. The rule requires close-up, hands-on examination from a scaffold drop or similar platform along each street-facing wall, at intervals of no more than 60 feet, from the ground to the top of the wall. Drones and high-resolution photos can help but do not replace the close-up drops. Starting with Cycle 9, inspectors must also open small probes into cavity walls, and again in every odd-numbered cycle.
That is why a FISP inspection often means swing-stage scaffolds on the building for days, even when nothing is wrong.
Safe, SWARMP or Unsafe
The report puts the building in one of three categories. One unsafe condition anywhere makes the whole building Unsafe.
| Rating | Definition | What the building must do |
|---|---|---|
| Safe | No repairs needed, and nothing expected to become unsafe in the next five years | File and wait for the next cycle |
| SWARMP (Safe With A Repair and Maintenance Program) | Safe now, but needs repair within the next five years (and not less than one year) to avoid becoming unsafe | Repair within the time frame the inspector sets. An unfixed SWARMP must be reported as Unsafe next cycle |
| Unsafe | Hazardous to people or property | Install public protection such as a sidewalk shed right away, and fix within 90 days unless DOB grants more time |
Sidewalk sheds and why they linger
When an Unsafe condition is reported, the owner must immediately put up sidewalk sheds, fences or netting to protect the public. The shed has to stay until DOB accepts an amended report showing the repairs are done, unless DOB gives permission to remove it early.
Repairs that run past the deadline get expensive. DOB charges $1,000 a month for an uncorrected Unsafe condition, and from the second year it adds a charge for every linear foot of shed:
| Year | Base penalty | Plus, per linear foot of shed | 200 ft of shed, per month |
|---|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | $1,000/month | — | $1,000 |
| Year 2 | $1,000/month | $10/month | $3,000 |
| Year 3 | $1,000/month | $20/month | $5,000 |
| Year 4 | $1,000/month | $30/month | $7,000 |
| Year 5 | $1,000/month | $40/month | $9,000 |
The last column is our example for a corner building with 200 feet of shed. These fines come on top of renting the shed itself. See NYC sidewalk sheds by borough for how many are up.
Filing penalties
- Failure to file: $5,000 a year once the filing window closes without an acceptable report.
- Late filing: $1,000 a month from the day after the window closes until an acceptable report is filed.
- Early filing for buildings that never filed: starting with Cycle 10, a building whose last status is “No Report Filed” can move into sub-cycle A and file early as Safe or SWARMP to stop penalties building up.
How facade work reaches your maintenance
DOB does not publish what facade work costs, and prices depend on the building’s height, materials and the problems found. What owners pay for, in rough order of size:
- Masonry, terra cotta, lintel, parapet and balcony repairs the report requires.
- Scaffolding and sidewalk shed rental for as long as the work lasts.
- The QEWI’s inspection, probes and report, plus amended reports after repairs.
- DOB penalties if the building files late or repairs drag on.
Boards pay these from reserves, a special assessment or a loan repaid through maintenance. A lower-value co-op or condo may qualify for the J-51 R tax abatement, which HPD says can help pay for facade work. See special assessments for how charges are split.
How to check a building’s facade status
- 1
Get the block number and BIN
Search the address on Roofy or ACRIS. The block’s last digit tells you the filing window. - 2
Look up the FISP filings in DOB NOW
Facade reports are filed through DOB NOW: Safety. Search the address in DOB’s public records, or ask the managing agent for the latest cycle’s status (Safe, SWARMP, Unsafe or No Report Filed). - 3
Check DOB violations and shed permits
Facade violations and sidewalk shed permits show on the building’s DOB record. A shed that has been up for years usually means repairs have stalled. - 4
Read the minutes and budget
Look for the inspector’s cost estimate, a repair schedule, and whether the work is funded or will be assessed.
For the building-side process, see the FISP facade inspection guide.
1 RCNY §103-04 (DOB rule PDF, 2026 version): applies to buildings greater than six stories; five-year report filing cycle with a two-year filing window; staggered windows by last digit of block number; definitions of Safe, SWARMP and Unsafe; close-up inspections from scaffold or platform at intervals of not more than 60 feet, drones do not replace them; probes of cavity walls from Cycle 9 and every odd cycle; unsafe conditions require immediate public protection (sheds, fences, netting) and correction within 90 days, with QEWI-recommended timeframe and up to 90-day extensions; SWARMP cannot be reported for the same condition two cycles in a row and becomes Unsafe if not fixed; penalties: $5,000 per year failure to file, $1,000 per month late filing, failure to correct Unsafe $1,000/month plus $10-$40 per linear foot of shed per month in years 2-5, $2,000 for SWARMP that becomes Unsafe. DOB Cycle 10 service notice: windows A (4,5,6,9) Feb 21 2025-Feb 21 2027, B (0,7,8) Feb 21 2026-Feb 21 2028, C (1,2,3) Feb 21 2027-Feb 21 2029; early filing for NRF buildings. No inspection or repair cost figures are given because no official source publishes them. Independent re-check 2026-10-12: rule PDF and Cycle 10 service notice text extracted and re-read; all windows, definitions, the 12-inch exclusion, 60-ft close-up interval, drone language, probe rule, 90-day repair, SWARMP rules, the building-classification rule (one unsafe condition makes the building unsafe) and every penalty amount match. Shed example re-computed (200 ft: $3,000 to $9,000 a month). Only the meta description was shortened.
Sources
- 1 RCNY §103-04: Periodic Inspection of Exterior Walls and Appurtenances of Buildings · NYC Department of Buildings (accessed October 12, 2026)
- Service Notice: Facade Inspection and Safety Program (FISP) Cycle 10 · NYC Department of Buildings (accessed October 12, 2026)
- J-51 Reform (J-51 R) tax incentive · NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development (accessed October 12, 2026)
General information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Rules change; confirm with the agency or a professional before you act.