Many New York City building owners have seen how quickly a loose brick can turn into a headline. After several high-profile façade failures, the Department of Buildings (DOB) launched the Façade Inspection & Safety Program (FISP) to protect pedestrians and shield owners from liability.
Under the 2025 start of Cycle 10A, every structure taller than six stories on blocks ending in 4, 5, 6, or 9 must file a certified report between February 21, 2025 and February 21, 2027. If the deadline is missed, there are financial penalties.
This guide breaks down the NYC façade inspection, how early planning cuts costs, and how professional engineering expertise can provide guidance through compliance with confidence.
What is the NYC Façade Inspection & Safety Program (FISP/Local Law 11)?
NYC’s FISP is a mandatory inspection and reporting system that requires all buildings over six stories to undergo comprehensive exterior wall examinations every five years.
New York City first tackled façade safety with Local Law 10 in 1980, but inspectors soon realized that a simple sidewalk‐level survey missed critical defects higher up the wall. In 1998, the law was overhauled, becoming Local Law 11; today it is referenced as FISP. The goal remains unchanged: protect pedestrians from falling masonry and other exterior hazards, while giving owners a clear maintenance roadmap.
Buildings that fall under FISP must have a Qualified Exterior Wall Inspector (QEWI) — a licensed engineer or architect — must perform a “critical examination” of every exterior wall once every five years and file a technical report through DOB NOW: Safety.
The Department of Buildings assigns each property to a sub-cycle based on its block number, which dictates the exact filing window. Hands-on inspection of at least one street-facing elevation is mandatory; drone imagery or binoculars alone never satisfy the code requirements.
Key FISP Compliance Requirements
The law operates on a repeating five-year cycle, but the filing deadlines vary.
The Department of Buildings organizes inspections into three distinct filing windows based on the building’s block number:
- Cycle 10A (2025-2027): Buildings on blocks ending in 4, 5, 6, or 9
- Cycle 10B: Follows in successive year for other block numbers
- Cycle 10C: Final sub-cycle for remaining block digits
Building owners and managers can confirm their specific block numbers through the DOB portal to determine their filing window.
For buildings in the upcoming Cycle 10A, the following timelines and rules apply:
- Filing window opened: February 21, 2025
- Filing deadline: February 21, 2027
- Missing deadlines triggers immediate violations
- Penalties include: $1,000 per month for late reports and $5,000 per year for failure to file
- Additional daily fines and emergency repair mandates can escalate costs quickly
The inspection process itself follows rigorous technical and professional standards to help ensure public safety:
- QEWI must be a New York-licensed Professional Engineer or Registered Architect
- QEWI license number must be included in electronic submissions
- At least one street-facing elevation requires physical, hands-on inspection from:
- Scaffolding
- Platform
- Rope descent system
- Special attention required for balconies, railings, parapets, and areas with prior damage
Once the inspection is complete, a methodical documentation and compliance process begins:
- The QEWI classifies the façade as Safe, SWARMP, or Unsafe
- Report uploads through DOB NOW system
- DOB-issued Wall Certificate must be posted in a public building area
The repair timelines are strictly enforced:
- Unsafe conditions: Immediate public protection and repairs within 90 days
- SWARMP conditions: Must be completed before next cycle or automatically become Unsafe
Early planning, such as securing a QEWI, budgeting for potential repairs, and organizing access, keeps progress ahead of the rush that inevitably builds as the filing window closes.
What are the Risks of FISP Non-Compliance?
If 2025 filings are postponed, the danger goes far beyond a paperwork violation. Non-compliance exposes building owners, staff, tenants, and pedestrians to cascading threats that grow more costly with each missed deadline. These risks fall into four categories that impact the building’s safety, finances, operations, and long-term value.
The immediate safety and liability risks create the most urgent concerns:
- Structural hazards: Uninspected façades can shed masonry, railings, or glass without warning, creating immediate safety hazards for pedestrians
- Emergency mandates: Buildings deemed “Unsafe” must install sidewalk sheds and begin repairs within 90 days
- Severe enforcement: Ignoring DOB orders invites aggressive enforcement action with compounding consequences
- Legal exposure: Façade failures that cause injuries can lead to multimillion-dollar settlements or even criminal charges
The financial penalties add up quickly. In addition to monthly fines and annual penalties, building owners might also face:
- Daily violations: Additional daily fines that accumulate quickly
- Emergency work premiums: Rushed repairs cost significantly more than planned maintenance
- Legal defense costs: Defending against claims without proper inspection documentation is exceptionally difficult
Non-compliance also creates significant operational and business impacts:
- Tenant disruption: Vacate orders and long-term sidewalk sheds drive away customers and tenants
- Project delays: Stop-work orders halt planned renovations and improvements
- Revenue loss: Reduced foot traffic and tenant departures directly impact the bottom line
- Financing complications: Lenders scrutinize violation records and may restrict funding options
- Property value decline: Outstanding façade violations can significantly depress sale prices
- Insurance consequences: Carriers increasingly exclude façade-related claims, raise premiums, or cancel policies when violations persist
What makes FISP violations particularly damaging is how risks compound over time:
- Escalating conditions: SWARMP items automatically convert to “Unsafe” if left unaddressed
- Deterioration acceleration: Small problems become catastrophic failures when ignored
- Increasing regulatory scrutiny: Properties with violation history face more intensive future inspections
Staying ahead of the compliance schedule is the only sure way to avoid these compounding risks and protect both public safety and financial interests.
What Does a Façade Inspection Include?
During a façade inspection, a QEWI reviews drawings, past reports, and maintenance logs to identify high-risk areas and prevent expensive surprises once fieldwork begins.
A comprehensive façade inspection includes multiple phases of examination.
First, the expert conducts a street-level assessment using binoculars and telephoto lenses to document visual anomalies across all elevations. This initial survey guides the crucial second phase, which includes close-up physical examinations where NYC regulations require “touch-and-feel” verification at regular intervals on street-facing façades.
For these hands-on inspections, the QEWI may access the façade using scaffolding, rope descent equipment, or aerial lifts. While drones may supplement documentation, the DOB explicitly requires direct physical examination of the building exterior.
During these close inspections, QEWIs focus on failure-prone elements including:
- Masonry units and mortar joints
- Curtain wall panels and anchors
- Balconies and railings
- Parapets and coping stones
- Window lintels and sealant joints
Inspectors look for critical warning signs such as cracks and bulges in brick and concrete, corroded steel supports, loose façade elements that could become pedestrian hazards, and moisture infiltration evidence. To verify these conditions, they can employ hammer sounding techniques to detect hidden delamination, probe mortar joints and sealants, and use moisture meters to trace water infiltration pathways.
The inspection culminates in a comprehensive DOB-compliant report that classifies each elevation as Safe, SWARMP, or Unsafe; includes photographic documentation; and provides detailed repair recommendations with timelines.
How to Prepare for a Façade Inspection
The filing window for Cycle 10A opened February 21, 2025, and closes February 21, 2027, giving stakeholders a finite runway to act. Here is how to prepare for a façade inspection:
- Secure the QEWI (12+ months before deadline): Retain a QEWI early, as the best professionals book quickly and backlogs intensify as the deadline approaches.
- Gather documentation (10-12 months before): Collect all previous façade reports, repair invoices, and maintenance logs to help the QEWI identify recurring issues and verify completion of past SWARMP repairs.
- Develop a provisional budget (9 months before): Create early cost estimates to prevent financial surprises when deterioration is uncovered during inspection.
- Plan access logistics (6 months before): Coordinate roof, setback, and street access requirements, including permits for scaffolding or other equipment needs.
- Arrange neighboring property access (if needed): Factor in additional time for coordinating access to adjacent properties if the building’s inspection requires it.
- Schedule tenant notifications (3-4 months before): Inform tenants about potential noise, scaffold installation, and temporary view obstructions to manage expectations and reduce complaints.
- Reserve repair contractor availability (3+ months before): Set aside time with trusted contractors to address any immediate “Unsafe” conditions that might be discovered.
- Train building staff (ongoing): Implement a system for staff to flag new cracks, leaks, or loose elements between formal inspections to address small problems before they become major hazards.
Choosing the Right Partner for Façade Inspections
When the Department of Buildings requires a QEWI to sign a report, the typical general contractor won’t work. Building owners and managers need an engineering partner who understands façade technicalities, files through DOB NOW: Safety, and backs their certification with professional liability coverage.
Look for a firm that offers:
- Licensed QEWI professionals with NYC‐specific experience and current requirements knowledge
- Structural engineering capability to diagnose hidden problems beyond surface defects
- DOB-ready reporting with photographs, classifications, and repair timelines
- Experience with similar buildings, whether pre-war masonry or curtain‐wall high-rise
Before signing any proposal, ask who serves as the QEWI of record and how many Cycle 10 reports they’ve filed. Find out how the firm coordinates emergency repairs when “Unsafe” conditions surface, what digital tools they use for data capture and DOB NOW submission, and whether they can provide references for comparable façade materials and complexity.
The Rimkus Approach
Partner with Rimkus and learn how we can help stop façade compliance in NYC from being a crisis-driven scramble. We guide clients through the complete process, from inspection, DOB NOW filing, and repair planning to project management, so every requirement gets handled without the usual last-minute chaos.
Our licensed structural engineers conduct hands-on examinations with forensic-level analysis that identifies root causes. This means repair designs that actually help solve problems instead of patching them temporarily. These insights also inform broader building assessments, allowing for the coordination of façade work with energy upgrades, roofing projects, or interior renovations to avoid multiple mobilizations.
Our Built Environment Solutions team of architects, engineers, and technical specialists converts complex technical data into clear reports and capital plans.
Contact Rimkus today to schedule an NYC façade inspection and help ensure compliance for 2026.
This article aims to offer insights into the prevailing industry practices. Nonetheless, it should not be construed as legal or professional advice in any form.