Facade compliance

Local Law 11 / FISP — Facade Inspection Cycles, SWARMP, and Contractors

How NYC facade inspections work — FISP cycles and sub-cycles, QEWI reports, SAFE, SWARMP and UNSAFE classifications, penalties, and hiring the right contractor.

Last reviewed: 2026-07-13

Local Law 11 — today formally the Facade Inspection Safety Program (FISP) — requires owners of NYC buildings higher than six stories to have their facades inspected every five years by a Qualified Exterior Wall Inspector (QEWI) and to file the report with the Department of Buildings. It exists because falling masonry kills people, and the compliance machinery around it is correspondingly unforgiving: fixed cycles, defined classifications, and penalties that accrue monthly.

This guide explains the cycle system, what the three classifications mean for your budget, and how the QEWI, the contractor, and the filings fit together.

The cycle system

FISP runs in five-year cycles, and each building’s deadline window (sub-cycle) is set by the last digit of its tax block number. Cycle 10 runs from February 2025 through February 2030:

* Verify your building’s exact window against DOB’s current FISP materials — the rule, not this table, controls.

Two planning realities follow. First, the inspection itself takes lead time: QEWIs get booked, close-up inspections may need rigging or drops, and repairs found during inspection need design and permits. Owners who start a year before their window closes are the calm ones. Second, the window is a filing deadline: the report must be prepared, signed, and accepted, not merely “the inspection happened.”

SAFE, SWARMP, UNSAFE — what each costs you

• SAFE — no conditions threatening public safety. File and move on; budget for the next cycle.
• SWARMP (Safe With A Repair and Maintenance Program) — not currently dangerous, but specific conditions must be repaired by the date the QEWI sets in the report. SWARMP is where owners get hurt financially: the repairs feel optional because nothing is falling, and then the next cycle arrives. Conditions reported as SWARMP that remain unrepaired must be classified UNSAFE in the following report — with everything that classification triggers.
• UNSAFE — a condition threatening public safety. The owner must install public protection (typically a sidewalk shed) immediately, perform repairs, and have the QEWI verify and file an amended report. UNSAFE status carries monthly penalties until resolved — and the shed itself costs real money every month it stands.

The strategic takeaway: treat SWARMP items as scheduled liabilities with a due date, not suggestions. Repairing masonry on your own schedule is materially cheaper than repairing it under an UNSAFE classification with a shed on the sidewalk and penalties running.

Penalties, in plain terms

Per DOB’s facade rule and current fee schedule (verify amounts there):

• Failure to file a required report: an annual civil penalty per building until filed.
• Late filing: monthly penalties.
• Failure to correct an UNSAFE condition: monthly penalties until the amended report is accepted.
• Add the indirect costs — shed rental, higher insurance scrutiny, and the diligence flag every buyer and lender raises when they see facade penalties in the record. Facade history is public; it appears alongside everything else in the NYC violation lookup.

Who does what

• QEWI (Qualified Exterior Wall Inspector) — a NY-licensed PE or RA who performs the inspection, classifies conditions, sets SWARMP repair dates, and files the report through DOB NOW: Safety. The QEWI works for you but signs professionally; they cannot classify problems away.
• Facade repair contractor — executes repairs: pointing, lintel replacement, balcony and parapet work, terra cotta restoration. This is specialized exterior restoration work with rigging, not general renovation — vet accordingly.
• Expediter / filings coordinator — useful when repairs need permits, shed permits must be maintained, and amended reports must land in the right order; see the permit expediter guide.

Choosing the facade contractor

1. Ask for FISP-specific references — buildings of similar height and facade material (brick cavity wall vs. terra cotta vs. curtain wall are different trades in practice).
2. Verify insurance appropriate to suspended scaffold work, and ask who supervises the rigging.
3. Get the scope keyed to the QEWI report items — line-item pricing against the report’s numbered conditions, so nothing reported goes unrepaired by accident.
4. Coordinate sequencing: repairs, QEWI re-inspection, amended filing, shed removal. The shed comes down when the paperwork closes, not when the mortar dries — a contractor who plans around that saves you months of shed rent.
5. Be wary of a contractor who suggests the QEWI “reclassify” conditions. That is asking a licensed professional to absorb your risk; the good ones refuse.

A working compliance calendar

For a small owner, the entire program compresses to five dates: your sub-cycle window opening, your target inspection date (early in the window), the filing date, any SWARMP repair due dates from the report, and the next cycle’s window. Put them in a calendar with reminders a season ahead — the download below is a template for exactly that. Owners who manage FISP as a calendar item pay for mortar; owners who manage it as a surprise pay for mortar, sheds, penalties, and rushed contractors.

Official sources

• DOB Facade Inspection Safety Program (FISP)
• DOB NOW Safety facades filings
• 1 RCNY 103-04 (facade rule)