Key facts
- 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)
- 1 to 5 years
- A SWARMP report must state the date by which the condition is expected to become unsafe if not repaired. That date may not be less than one year or more than five years out, and the owner must repair by it. (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)
- $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)
- At once
- When a QEWI finds an Unsafe condition, the owner must put up public protection immediately and keep it until an amended Safe or SWARMP report is approved. (NYC DOB Facade Compliance page, 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)
- 2 weeks
- After repairing an Unsafe condition, the owner must file an amended report within two weeks of completing the repairs. (NYC DOB Facade Fees and Penalties page, checked Nov 7, 2026)
- $1,000 a month
- An Unsafe condition left uncorrected after 90 days carries $1,000 per month in civil penalties in the first year, under the schedule in 1 RCNY 103-04. The schedule rises in later years. (1 RCNY 103-04, checked Nov 7, 2026)
- 13.3%
- Habitat reported in Aug 2026 that 13.3% of FISP filings in Cycle 9 were classified Unsafe, up from under 1% in Cycle 6. (Habitat, Aug 21, 2026, checked Nov 7, 2026)
What SWARMP and Unsafe mean
Every FISP report under Local Law 11 gives the building one of three ratings. Safe means nothing needs doing before the next cycle. SWARMP, Safe With a Repair and Maintenance Program, means the facade is safe today but has conditions that will become unsafe if left alone, and the report sets a date for repairing them. Unsafe means there is a hazard to the public now. The three ratings, side by side:
| Safe | SWARMP | Unsafe | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Meaning | No unsafe conditions and nothing needing repair before the next cycle. | Safe now. Conditions must be repaired by a date the QEWI sets. | A condition that is a hazard to the public. |
| Shed needed | No. | Not required by the rating. | Yes. Public protection At once, kept up until an amended report is approved. |
| Repair deadline | None until the next cycle. | The date in the report, 1 to 5 years out. | 90 days from filing, then an amended report within 2 weeks. |
| Penalty for not repairing | None. | $2,000, and the condition becomes Unsafe next cycle. | $1,000 a month in year one, rising under 1 RCNY 103-04. |
The difference that matters most is time. An Unsafe rating starts a clock measured in days and puts a shed on the sidewalk. A SWARMP rating starts a clock measured in years and puts nothing on the sidewalk. Both end in the same place if ignored: the SWARMP condition is refiled as Unsafe at the next inspection, and the long clock becomes the short one.
Who decides the rating
The inspection, called a critical examination, may only be performed by a DOB-approved Qualified Exterior Wall Inspector (QEWI).The QEWI is a New York State licensed architect or engineer approved by DOB. The owner hires them, but the rating is the QEWI's professional judgment, filed under their own license in DOB NOW: Safety. An owner cannot pick the rating, a managing agent cannot soften it, and a contractor cannot file one. If an owner disagrees, the remedy is to repair and have an amended report filed, not to argue the classification.
That is why the rating is a reliable record. It is a licensed professional's signed statement, dated, filed with the City, and public. When a building is rated Unsafe, it means a QEWI has put their license behind the statement that a condition on that facade is a hazard to the public.
What a SWARMP rating requires
A SWARMP report must state the date by which the condition is expected to become unsafe if not repaired. That date may not be less than one year or more than five years out, and the owner must repair by it.Three things follow from that. First, the SWARMP date is not a suggestion. It is the date by which the QEWI expects the condition to become unsafe, and the owner's obligation is to repair before it. Second, the window is bounded. A QEWI cannot set a date six months out, because a condition that close to unsafe would be rated Unsafe instead, and cannot set one seven years out, because that would push the repair past the next cycle. Third, the repair has to actually happen. A SWARMP condition that is still there at the next inspection does not get another SWARMP rating.
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.That carry-over rule is the hinge between the two ratings. A hairline crack in a parapet, rated SWARMP in Cycle 9 with a three-year date, is a maintenance item. The same crack, found again by the QEWI in Cycle 10, must be rated Unsafe, which means a shed, a 90-day deadline and monthly penalties. Owners who treated SWARMP as "safe" and did nothing are the ones who find out at the next inspection.
The penalty for not repairing a SWARMP condition is $2,000, a one-time civil penalty on DOB's schedule. The larger cost is the conversion to Unsafe and everything that comes with it. The Local Law 11 penalties guide lists the full schedule.
What an Unsafe rating requires
When a QEWI finds an Unsafe condition, the owner must put up public protection immediately and keep it until an amended Safe or SWARMP report is approved.Public protection almost always means a sidewalk shed, and sometimes netting or a fence as well. The QEWI tells the owner to put it up and notifies DOB of the unsafe condition. The owner does not wait for the full report to be filed, and does not wait for a permit for the repairs. The protection goes up first and stays until a QEWI files an amended report rating the facade Safe or SWARMP and DOB accepts it.
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.Ninety days is the deadline for correcting the condition. If the repairs cannot be done in time, the QEWI files an extension request with DOB before day 90, and DOB can grant more time. Without an approved extension the civil penalties start at day 90, at $1,000 a month in the first year, on a schedule in 1 RCNY 103-04 that rises in later years. The penalties are separate from any shed costs and from the repair itself.
After repairing an Unsafe condition, the owner must file an amended report within two weeks of completing the repairs.Once the amended report is accepted the condition is closed, the shed can come down, and the building goes back onto its normal sub-cycle. Since 2026 the shed carries its own milestones for facade work, which the sidewalk shed rules guide covers.
Why Unsafe ratings have risen
Habitat reported in Aug 2026 that 13.3% of FISP filings in Cycle 9 were classified Unsafe, up from under 1% in Cycle 6.Part of that rise is the SWARMP carry-over rule doing what it was written to do. Each cycle, the SWARMP conditions that were never repaired come back as Unsafe. Part of it is QEWIs rating more cautiously as liability for facade failures has grown. Whatever the mix, a growing share of every sub-cycle's filings now start a 90-day clock rather than a multi-year one.
For a sense of the current volume, the Unsafe filings data page counts initial Unsafe and SWARMP reports in Cycle 10 from NYC Open Data every week. The Cycle 10 deadlines guide shows which blocks are filing now and which file next.
What the two ratings mean for contractors
Both ratings are a record that a licensed professional has said a facade needs work, with a date attached. They differ in urgency and in what the owner is likely to do next.
An Unsafe filing is the most time-sensitive lead in NYC facade work. The owner has public protection going up, a deadline in days, penalties behind it, and often no contractor on record. The window between the filing and the repair permit is where the hiring decision is made.
A SWARMP filing is a longer lead with a known expiry. The owner has a date in the report, between 1 to 5 years, and a rule that says the condition becomes Unsafe if it is still there at the next inspection. A contractor who knows the SWARMP date knows when the owner will be looking, and can price the repair while it is still a maintenance item rather than an emergency behind a shed.
The weekly list on the facade restoration leads page is built from the Unsafe filings, which are public on NYC Open Data within days of the QEWI submitting them. The Local Law 11 guide has the full picture of the program these ratings sit in.
Numbers behind this guide: NYC Unsafe facade filings, counted every week.