If your building is more than six stories tall, you are in the Facade Inspection Safety Program — and Cycle 10 is in progress. The rules look intimidating from the outside, but the structure is straightforward once you understand how the sub-cycles work. This guide walks through who is covered, when filings are due, who can certify, and the small handful of mistakes that cost owners real money.
What FISP actually is
FISP — historically called Local Law 11, formerly Local Law 10 — requires owners of buildings taller than six stories to have their exterior walls and appurtenances inspected and reported on every five years. The inspection is performed by a Qualified Exterior Wall Inspector (QEWI), who is a NY State licensed PE or RA with at least seven years of relevant experience and DOB qualification.
The QEWI files a Technical Facade Report (TFR) with the Department of Buildings classifying the facade as one of three conditions:
- Safe — no defects or only routine maintenance items.
- Safe With a Repair and Maintenance Program (SWARMP) — defects that need correction within the cycle but do not pose immediate hazard.
- Unsafe — conditions requiring immediate sidewalk shed and repair.
A Safe filing closes the cycle. A SWARMP filing closes the cycle conditionally — you must repair the SWARMP items before the next cycle's filing. An Unsafe filing triggers immediate corrective work, ongoing public protection, and quarterly status reports until the condition is corrected and reclassified.
Cycle 10 — the timeline owners actually need
Cycle 10 covers filings due between February 21, 2025 and February 21, 2029. The cycle is split into three sub-cycles based on the last digit of the building's block number.
| Sub-cycle | Block ends in | Filing window | | --- | --- | --- | | 10A | 4, 5, 6, 9 | Feb 21, 2025 – Feb 21, 2027 | | 10B | 0, 7, 8 | Feb 21, 2026 – Feb 21, 2028 | | 10C | 1, 2, 3 | Feb 21, 2027 – Feb 21, 2029 |
The block number is on your property tax bill. It is also on PLUTO. Don't guess — check.
Owners assume the deadline is the end of their sub-cycle window. It isn't. The deadline is the day the previous cycle's report expires. If your last filing was in March 2022 and you are in Sub-cycle 10B, your filing window technically opened in early 2026 but you cannot file Safe with new SWARMP items if your last cycle's SWARMP items haven't been repaired and re-filed first.
The inspection itself
The QEWI inspection requires a hands-on, close-up examination from suspended scaffolding or another approved means. Binoculars from the sidewalk are not enough — that is the visual portion only. The full inspection includes:
- A close-up survey of every elevation, including parapets, roof appurtenances, and balcony rails where present.
- Probes of suspect conditions — a few brick removals, mortar samples, sealant checks.
- Photo documentation, dated and tied to elevation drawings.
- A condition assessment per the FISP rule's required categories.
Expect a three-bedroom prewar to take a couple of weeks of scaffold time. A 30-story tower can take a month or more. Plan around tenant communications: you will need notice posted at the building, and you may need to schedule unit access for any setback or terrace inspections.
Cost expectations for 2026
Pricing varies by size, complexity, and how busy your QEWI is. As of early 2026:
- Small (6–10 stories, simple massing): $8,000 to $15,000 for the QEWI report, plus rigging.
- Mid-rise (10–25 stories): $15,000 to $35,000 for the QEWI, plus rigging.
- Tall or complex: $40,000 and up. Stone-clad towers, ornamental terra cotta, and historic landmarks add significantly.
Rigging is often a separate line item billed by the rigging contractor. A typical four-elevation suspended scaffold rig on a mid-rise might run $25,000 to $60,000 for a few weeks of access. If you have an existing facade restoration contractor, sometimes you can dovetail the FISP inspection with planned work and save on rigging.
Choosing a QEWI
Three things matter more than price.
Track record on similar buildings. A QEWI who specializes in glass curtain wall is a poor match for a Beaux-Arts limestone facade, and vice versa. Ask for three reference reports on buildings of similar vintage and construction.
Communication during the cycle. SWARMP items become your repair scope for the next five years. If your QEWI flags 40 conditions in vague language, you will spend the cycle arguing about them. A good QEWI writes specific, photographed, locatable items that a contractor can price.
Willingness to defend the report. If DOB or a tenant challenges anything, you want a QEWI who returns calls.
Avoid the lowest bid as a reflex. The cheapest FISP inspection often becomes the most expensive — either because the QEWI misses something that surfaces as an emergency two years later, or because the report is so generic that contractors interpret it three different ways.
Mistakes that cost real money
Filing late
The late-filing penalty is $1,000 per month per building, indefinitely. A two-year-late filing is $24,000 plus the original filing cost. We have seen portfolios with mid-six-figure late-filing exposure because someone left a job and the filing fell through the cracks.
Filing Unsafe and walking away
An Unsafe filing requires immediate sidewalk shed installation. If you don't put up the shed within 90 days, DOB will issue ECB violations and may install the shed at city expense. Sheds rented from your contractor cost a few thousand a month; sheds installed by the city — which you still pay for — cost much more, and you do not control when they come down.
SWARMP repairs not completed
If you filed SWARMP last cycle and haven't repaired the items, you cannot file Safe this cycle. You either repair, re-classify, or carry the SWARMP forward — and DOB watches for repeat SWARMP items across cycles. Three cycles of the same SWARMP item triggers an audit.
Forgetting parapets
Local Law 126's annual parapet observation is separate from FISP. A FISP filing does not satisfy the parapet requirement, and a parapet observation does not satisfy FISP. They are two different obligations, often confused. If a building is over six stories, you owe both.
A reasonable timeline for owners filing in Cycle 10
If your sub-cycle window opens in 2026 or 2027 and you want a smooth filing:
- 12 months before deadline: Engage QEWI, sign agreement, schedule rigging.
- 9 months out: Begin inspection. Communicate with tenants.
- 6 months out: Receive draft report. Review SWARMP items, scope repairs.
- 3 months out: Complete repairs that affect classification. Final QEWI sign-off.
- Filing window: TFR submitted to DOB through DOB NOW.
Trying to compress this into 90 days because someone forgot the deadline is how owners end up filing Unsafe simply to buy time, then carrying that designation for years.
If you want this calendar built automatically across every building you manage — with the right sub-cycle for each block — that is exactly what LLDesk does.
Key takeaways
- FISP applies to every NYC building over six stories. Cycle 10 runs 2025 to 2029, split into three sub-cycles based on block number.
- The filing classifications are Safe, SWARMP, or Unsafe. SWARMP items must be repaired before the next cycle's Safe filing.
- The late-filing penalty is $1,000 per month and runs forever. Track your sub-cycle from year one.
- Choose a QEWI by reference projects and reporting clarity, not price. SWARMP items become your five-year repair budget.
- FISP and the LL126 annual parapet observation are different obligations. Don't conflate them.