Local Law 11 façade inspections (FISP): who must file, the Cycle 10 deadlines and the penalties

Published 10/18/2026 · 8 min read · By Bulwark

New York City’s Façade Inspection and Safety Program (FISP), still widely called Local Law 11, requires the owner of every building taller than six stories to have its exterior walls and everything attached to them examined every five years and to file the result with the Department of Buildings. The rule exists because loose masonry, cornices, parapets and window units can fall onto the sidewalk. The report tells DOB whether a façade is sound; when it is not, a sidewalk shed goes up until the repairs are done.

Which buildings are covered

Every building with exterior walls greater than six stories in height, whatever its Certificate of Occupancy says. A building of six stories plus a cellar is also covered when more than half the cellar’s height is above the ground next to any exterior wall, for example along an areaway, yard or ramp. The examination covers all exterior walls and appurtenances: fire escapes, parapets, railings, copings, window frames, balcony enclosures, signs, window air conditioners, antennae and anything else attached to the façade. Wall sections less than twelve inches from a neighboring building are excluded.

DOB publishes a FISP Universe Map listing the buildings it believes are covered and their sub-cycle, but under DOB’s rules it is the owner’s responsibility to know whether the building must file.

Cycle 10 and the sub-cycles

The current five-year cycle, Cycle 10, began on February 21, 2025 and ends on February 20, 2030. Inside it, each building has a two-year filing window set by the last digit of its tax block number, which appears in the building’s borough-block-lot (BBL) on the Department of Finance bill.

Buildings on blocks ending in 4, 5, 6 or 9 must have an acceptable report on file by February 21, 2027. A new building files its first report five years after its first Temporary or permanent Certificate of Occupancy if that date falls inside its window, and otherwise in its window in the next cycle. Starting with Cycle 10, an owner whose building shows “No Report Filed” may file a Safe or SWARMP report before the sub-cycle 10B or 10C window opens, to stop penalties from accumulating, but only after paying the penalties already owed.

Who does the inspection

The examination, called a critical examination, may only be performed by a Qualified Exterior Wall Inspector (QEWI): a New York State licensed Professional Engineer or Registered Architect who meets DOB’s qualification rule and is approved to file façade reports. The QEWI reviews the earlier reports, designs an inspection program for the building, and carries out close-up inspections from scaffolding or rope drops along the street-facing walls; the last close-up inspection must be within one year of the date the report is filed. The report goes to DOB electronically through DOB NOW: Safety, with color photographs, a map of every condition, a statement on water-tightness and a certification that repairs from the previous cycle were completed. A building with ongoing construction cannot be filed as Safe.

Safe, SWARMP or Unsafe

Unsafe conditions and sidewalk sheds

When the QEWI finds an unsafe condition, the owner must immediately install the protection the QEWI recommends: a sidewalk shed, a construction fence or structural netting, each under its own DOB permit. The condition is reported to DOB by calling 311, and the QEWI files a notification of unsafe conditions (FISP3) followed by a full Unsafe report. The protection stays in place until DOB accepts an amended Safe or SWARMP report or approves a partial shed removal.

Unsafe conditions must be corrected within 90 days of the report. If the work cannot be finished in time, the QEWI files an extension request (FISP1) with the shed notice, the repair contract, a time estimate, the permits needed and an owner affidavit; DOB may grant a first extension of up to 90 days, and further extensions only for reasons such as an unforeseen delay, a fire, or repairs that by their nature take longer. Cost is not accepted as a reason. Penalties run from 90 days after the Unsafe report for any period not covered by an accepted extension, including gaps between extensions. Within two weeks of finishing the repairs the QEWI must reinspect and then promptly file the amended report.

Sheds now come with their own deadlines. Under Local Laws 48 and 51 of 2025 and a DOB rule in effect since August 13, 2026, shed permits must be renewed every 90 days with a report on repair progress. Where the first shed permit was issued on or after January 12, 2026, the owner must file complete construction documents for the façade repairs within five months, file a complete permit application within eight months, and finish the permitted work within two years. Missing those milestones carries one-time penalties of $5,000, $10,000 and $20,000 unless DOB grants an extension, which for the first two milestones can be up to 180 days at a time. Sheds standing longer than 180 days also face graduated monthly penalties based on their size and age, which can be paused when the owner shows real progress. The city said in August 2026 that DOB expects to begin imposing these penalties in early 2027.

Filing fees

Penalties

• Failure to file: $5,000 per year, starting immediately after the filing window closes.
• Late filing: $1,000 per month on top of that, from the day after the window closes until an acceptable initial report is filed.
• Failure to correct an unsafe condition: $1,000 per month, plus a charge per linear foot of shed per month from the second year: $10 in year two, $20 in year three, $30 in year four and $40 in year five. It runs until DOB accepts the amended report, the shed is removed and the permits are signed off, unless an extension covers the period.
• SWARMP left unrepaired: $2,000 when a condition reported as SWARMP in the previous cycle has to be filed as Unsafe.
• DOB can also issue OATH/ECB violations for missed deadlines and late repairs.

Changes on the way

A 2025 local law (Intro. 394-A, signed in April 2025) allows the inspection interval to be lengthened from five years to between six and twelve years, and a DOB-commissioned engineering study published recommendations for reforming the program. DOB has not yet changed its rule: its façade rule and pages still set the five-year cycle and the Cycle 10 windows above, so plan to those dates until DOB adopts a new rule.

What to do now

1. Confirm the building is covered

   Count the stories, including a cellar that is mostly above grade, and check the FISP Universe Map. Read the block number off the BBL to find the sub-cycle.

2. Pull the last report

   DOB NOW: Safety shows past filings and their status. Note every SWARMP item from Cycle 9; anything still unrepaired comes back as Unsafe, with a shed and a $2,000 penalty.

3. Fix SWARMP items before the inspection

   Repairing them under a normal permit is usually far cheaper than repairing them later under a shed and a 90-day clock.

4. Hire a QEWI early

   Book months before the window closes. The close-up inspection has to fall within the year before filing, and scaffold or rope access takes time to arrange.

5. If the report is Unsafe, manage the clock

   Put up protection immediately, sign a contractor and file permits, and have the QEWI file each extension before the previous one runs out. For sheds first permitted on or after January 12, 2026, track the five-month, eight-month and two-year milestones as well.

How we help

For buildings in our compliance program we confirm the sub-cycle and the prior filings, hire and coordinate the QEWI, schedule SWARMP repairs ahead of the inspection, and track the unsafe-repair, extension and shed deadlines so that no penalty period opens unnoticed. It is part of violations and compliance. The building’s other deadlines are in the NYC compliance calendar, and open DOB items appear in the free violation check.