Key facts
- Taller than 6 stories
- FISP covers NYC buildings higher than six stories. Owners must have exterior walls inspected and file a report with DOB every five years. (NYC DOB Facade Compliance page, checked Nov 7, 2026)
- QEWI
- The inspection, called a critical examination, may only be performed by a DOB-approved Qualified Exterior Wall Inspector (QEWI). (NYC DOB Facade Compliance page, checked Nov 7, 2026)
- Feb 21, 2027
- Sub-cycle 10A, blocks ending in 4, 5, 6 or 9, files between Feb 21, 2025 and Feb 21, 2027. (DOB Cycle 10 sub-cycle diagram, checked Nov 7, 2026)
- Feb 21, 2028
- Sub-cycle 10B, blocks ending in 0, 7 or 8, files between Feb 21, 2026 and Feb 21, 2028. (DOB Cycle 10 sub-cycle diagram, checked Nov 7, 2026)
- Feb 21, 2029
- Sub-cycle 10C, blocks ending in 1, 2 or 3, files between Feb 21, 2027 and Feb 21, 2029. (DOB Cycle 10 sub-cycle diagram, checked Nov 7, 2026)
- 90 days
- An Unsafe condition must be corrected within 90 days of filing the Unsafe report. Owners are liable for civil penalties from day 90 unless an extension is approved. (NYC DOB Facade Compliance page, checked Nov 7, 2026)
- Becomes Unsafe
- A condition reported as SWARMP in one cycle that is still unrepaired, or needs repair again, must be classified as Unsafe in the next cycle. (NYC DOB Facade Compliance page, checked Nov 7, 2026)
- $1,000 a month
- A late initial FISP report carries a civil penalty of $1,000 per month. (NYC DOB Facade Fees and Penalties page, checked Nov 7, 2026)
- $5,000 a year
- Failure to file an initial FISP report carries a civil penalty of $5,000 per year. (NYC DOB Facade Fees and Penalties page, checked Nov 7, 2026)
- $2,000
- Failure to correct a SWARMP condition carries a civil penalty of $2,000. (NYC DOB Facade Fees and Penalties page, checked Nov 7, 2026)
- About 17,000
- About 17,000 buildings are subject to FISP in Cycle 10, out of roughly one million buildings citywide. (DOB FISP Recommendations Report, Dec 10, 2025, checked Nov 7, 2026)
- Oct 1, 2026
- Local Law 49 of 2025 took effect Oct 1, 2026 and lets DOB set the facade inspection interval at between six and twelve years by rule. No rule has been adopted yet, so Cycle 10 dates stand. (Local Law 49 of 2025, checked Nov 7, 2026)
Who Local Law 11 covers
Local Law 11 applies to every New York City building higher than six stories. That is the whole test. Age, use and ownership do not matter: a 1920s co-op on the Upper West Side and a 2015 rental tower in Long Island City are both in the program if they clear six stories. DOB publishes a list of subject buildings, the FISP Universe Map, but the rule is clear that the owner is responsible for knowing whether their building qualifies. About About 17,000 buildings are in Cycle 10.
The law goes back to 1980, when a falling piece of masonry killed a student on West 115th Street. The original Local Law 10 of 1980 covered street-facing walls on buildings over six stories. Local Law 11 of 1998 widened it to every exterior wall and added the close-up inspection requirement. DOB now runs the program as the Facade Inspection and Safety Program, which is why you will see FISP and Local Law 11 used for the same thing.
Who inspects
The inspection is called a critical examination and only a Qualified Exterior Wall Inspector may do it. A QEWI is a New York State licensed architect or engineer with the experience DOB requires, who has been approved by the Department. The owner hires the QEWI; the QEWI inspects the facade, including close-up inspection of parts of it, writes the technical report and files it in DOB NOW: Safety under their own licence.
That matters for contractors because the QEWI, not the owner, decides the rating. A contractor cannot file a FISP report, and a contractor's opinion that a wall needs work has no standing. What has standing is the rating the QEWI filed and the date it was filed. That is the record a facade lead is built on.
The three ratings
Every FISP report classifies the building one of three ways, defined in 1 RCNY 103-04:
| Rating | What it means | What the owner must do |
|---|---|---|
| Safe | No conditions found that are unsafe or need repair before the next cycle. | File the report. Nothing else until next cycle. |
| SWARMP | Safe With a Repair and Maintenance Program. Safe now, but conditions must be repaired by a date the QEWI sets, between one and five years out. | Repair by the SWARMP completion date. Report it as Unsafe next cycle if it is still unrepaired. |
| Unsafe | A condition that is a hazard to the public. | Put up public protection at once. Correct within 90 days. File an amended report within two weeks of finishing. |
The SWARMP carry-over rule is the one most owners miss. A condition reported as SWARMP in one cycle cannot be reported as SWARMP again. If it is still there, or needs repair again, the QEWI must classify it as Unsafe. That turns a quiet maintenance item into a shed, a 90-day deadline and penalties. It is also why many Unsafe filings in Cycle 10 are not new damage: they are Cycle 9 SWARMP items that were never fixed. The SWARMP vs Unsafe guide goes through the differences in more detail.
Cycle 10 sub-cycles
Cycle 10 began Feb 21, 2025 and ends Feb 20, 2030. To spread the work, DOB splits each cycle into three two-year filing windows by the last digit of the building's tax block number:
| Sub-cycle | Block ends in | Filing window |
|---|---|---|
| 10A | 4, 5, 6 or 9 | Feb 21, 2025 to Feb 21, 2027 |
| 10B | 0, 7 or 8 | Feb 21, 2026 to Feb 21, 2028 |
| 10C | 1, 2 or 3 | Feb 21, 2027 to Feb 21, 2029 |
An owner can file early. From Dec 15, 2025, owners whose Cycle 9 status is No Report Filed may file 10B and 10C reports before their window opens, once they have paid the outstanding penalties. The Cycle 10 deadlines guide has the block-digit lookup and the early filing notes.
What happens after an Unsafe filing
An Unsafe rating starts a fixed sequence. The QEWI tells the owner to install public protection, which usually means a sidewalk shed, and files a notification of unsafe conditions with DOB. The owner must put the protection up immediately and keep it there until an amended Safe or SWARMP report is approved. The full Unsafe report is filed in DOB NOW: Safety. The owner then has 90 days from the filing date to correct the condition. If the repairs cannot be finished in 90 days, the QEWI files an extension request. Once repairs are done, the owner files an amended report within two weeks and the shed can come down.
Since 2026 the shed itself carries its own clock. Shed permits last 90 days and no longer renew automatically, and facade sheds first permitted on or after Jan 12, 2026 must meet repair milestones at 5, 8 and 24 months. The sidewalk shed rules guide covers that.
For a contractor, the window between the Unsafe filing and the repair permit is the whole opportunity. The owner has a legal deadline, public protection going up, and no contractor on record yet.
Penalties
DOB's civil penalties for FISP are set in 1 RCNY 103-04 and summarised on its fees and penalties page:
| Failure | Penalty |
|---|---|
| Late initial report | $1,000 a month |
| Failure to file an initial report | $5,000 a year |
| Failure to correct a SWARMP condition | $2,000 |
| Failure to correct an Unsafe condition | $1,000 a month in year one, rising on the schedule in 1 RCNY 103-04 |
The Local Law 11 penalties guide lists the filing fees too. Figures you may see elsewhere, such as $5,000 a month or a flat $25,000, are not DOB's civil penalty schedule.
Local Law 49 of 2025 and longer cycles
In 2025 the City Council passed Local Law 49, which lets DOB set the facade inspection interval at between six and twelve years by rule, effective Oct 1, 2026. DOB published a review of the program in December 2025 with recommendations. As of this guide's date, no rule changing the interval has been adopted. Cycle 10 dates stand, and owners should file on the sub-cycle schedule above until DOB says otherwise. We will update this guide and the dates in it when a rule is adopted.
What this means if you sell facade work
Every Unsafe filing is a dated, public, legally binding reason for an owner to hire a facade contractor within 90 days. Every SWARMP filing is the same reason on a longer fuse, with a hard conversion to Unsafe next cycle if nothing happens. The filings are published on NYC Open Data within days. Most firms hear about them when the shed goes up. The ones that read the filings first get to the managing agent first.
Numbers behind this guide: NYC Unsafe facade filings, counted every week.