Guide

NYC Facade Inspection: FISP and Local Law 11 Explained

Every few years, scaffolding and sidewalk sheds appear around New York City's taller buildings. Much of that work traces back to one rule: the Facade Inspection Safety Program, better known by its original name, Local Law 11. It requires owners of buildings taller than six stories to have a qualified inspector examine the exterior walls on a fixed five-year schedule and file a report with the city. This explainer covers who must comply, the current inspection cycle, the ratings, and the penalties for missing a deadline.

What FISP and Local Law 11 require

FISP stands for the Facade Inspection Safety Program. It is set out in New York City Administrative Code § 28-302 and traces back to Local Law 11 of 1998, which is why many owners and contractors still refer to it simply as Local Law 11.

The rule applies to buildings taller than six stories. Height, not use, is what triggers coverage, so residential, commercial, and mixed-use buildings above that threshold are all included. The term exterior walls covers the facade and its attached parts, such as cornices, balconies, and window guards.

Because the requirement turns on details of a building's construction and address, it helps to read the underlying rule directly, which is available on a detail page for Local Law 11 that reproduces the § 28-302 provisions.

The five-year cycle and the QEWI

Under FISP, the inspection is not a one-time event. Every five years, the owner of a covered building must retain a Qualified Exterior Wall Inspector, or QEWI. A QEWI is a licensed professional engineer or registered architect who meets the Department of Buildings' experience criteria for this work.

The QEWI examines the exterior walls, including a close, hands-on look at representative sections rather than only a view from the ground. The inspector then files a technical report with the Department of Buildings that assigns the facade a formal condition.

The QEWI also oversees any required repairs and, where conditions are serious, the protective measures that go up while the work is scheduled. The report must be filed within the building's assigned window, described below.

Safe, SWARMP, and Unsafe

Each FISP report places the facade in one of three categories. Safe means the inspector found no conditions that require repair before the next cycle.

SWARMP stands for Safe With a Repair and Maintenance Program. It describes a facade that is safe today but has conditions that will become unsafe if they are not corrected on a set schedule. The owner is expected to fix those conditions before the next inspection, and SWARMP items left unaddressed can carry a penalty of up to $1,000 per year.

Unsafe is the most serious rating. It means the facade has conditions that pose a present hazard to the public. The owner must put up public-protection measures, such as a sidewalk shed, promptly, complete the repairs, and have the QEWI re-inspect and file an amended report.

Cycle 10 and its staggered deadlines

FISP runs in numbered five-year cycles. The current one is Cycle 10, which runs from February 21, 2025 to February 21, 2030. Every covered building must file one report during that window.

The deadlines are staggered so that filings do not all land at once. A building's specific filing window is set by the last digit of its block number, the tax-map identifier the city assigns to the parcel of land a building sits on. Buildings are sorted into sub-windows within the larger cycle based on that digit.

Because the schedule is fixed years in advance, owners can line up a QEWI and budget for any repairs well before their window opens. Filing late, or not at all, is what triggers the failure-to-file penalties covered next.

Penalties, sidewalk sheds, and liability

Failure to file a required FISP report carries a penalty of $1,000 or more per month, and that amount rises for continuing violations. As noted above, unaddressed SWARMP conditions can carry a separate penalty of up to $1,000 per year.

The costs are not only financial. When a facade is rated unsafe, or when repairs are delayed, a sidewalk shed usually stays in place until the work is finished, which can mean months or years of scaffolding and added expense. The program exists chiefly for public safety, since loose masonry and failing anchors can fall onto sidewalks below.

There is also liability to weigh: an owner who leaves a known hazardous condition unrepaired can face significant exposure if someone is hurt. This is general information, not engineering or legal advice, and owners should confirm their obligations with the Department of Buildings or a licensed professional.

How to find your building's deadline and status

Start with two facts about your building: its height and its block number. If the building is taller than six stories, FISP applies. You can look up the block number on your property tax bill or the city's public property records, and its last digit points to your Cycle 10 sub-window.

To see whether prior FISP reports were filed and how the facade was rated, you can search the Department of Buildings' online records by address, which list past filings and their status.

If you would rather view your FISP date next to a building's other recurring obligations, a calendar of NYC compliance deadlines gathers them in one place. Treat any date you find as a starting point, and confirm the exact deadline with the Department of Buildings or your QEWI.