SWARMP explained: the repair window, when it turns UNSAFE, and who does the work
A plain guide for facade contractors, with numbers from public DOB filings: 491 NYC buildings carry a cycle 10 SWARMP report and show no repair work yet (DOB data as of Oct 19, 2026).
What SWARMP means
Every five years, owners of NYC buildings taller than six stories must have their facades inspected under the Facade Inspection & Safety Program (FISP, also called Local Law 11). The inspecting engineer or architect, the QEWI, rates the facade in a technical report filed with the Department of Buildings. There are three ratings: SAFE, SWARMP (“Safe With A Repair and Maintenance Program”) and UNSAFE.
SWARMP sits in the middle. Nothing has to be closed off today, but the report lists conditions such as cracked brick, loose mortar joints, rusting lintels or deteriorated terracotta that need repair or maintenance within a set time. For a contractor, a SWARMP report is the earliest public sign that a repair job is coming, often a year or more before the work is filed.
The repair window
The report gives a time frame for each SWARMP condition. Under the FISP rule (1 RCNY § 103-04), the repairs must be done within that time and before the next cycle. If the next inspection finds the same condition unrepaired, the engineer must report it as UNSAFE. That is the step owners want to avoid: an UNSAFE rating means a sidewalk shed right away and a 90-day deadline to correct the condition, unless the Department of Buildings grants an extension.
In practice many owners wait. In cycle 9, only 52% of SWARMP or UNSAFE reports got a filed repair at all; for those, the median time from the report was 446 days, and after 24 months only 35% of all reports had one (our track record). Today 491 SWARMP and 103 UNSAFE buildings on our list have no repair filing or repair permit since the report.
How often SWARMP turns UNSAFE: our numbers
Buildings rated SWARMP in one cycle and their rating in the next cycle's initial report, from the public FISP filings (NYC Open Data, DOB data of Oct 19, 2026):
| SWARMP in cycle 8, rated in cycle 9 | Buildings |
|---|---|
| SAFE (repaired or resolved) | 2,522 (51%) |
| SWARMP again | 2,068 (42%) |
| UNSAFE | 349 (7%) |
| no report filed | 31 (1%) |
4,970 buildings in total. Cycle 10 is still running: of the 695 cycle-9 SWARMP buildings that have filed a cycle 10 report so far, 499 are SAFE, 167 SWARMP and 29 UNSAFE.
What the numbers mean for contractors
Roughly half of all SWARMP buildings were rated SAFE at the next inspection, and four in ten were rated SWARMP again. Only a small share became UNSAFE: most SWARMP conditions do get repaired at some point. The question is when, and who gets the call. Of the 491 open SWARMP cases on our list on Oct 19, 2026, 160 reports were older than a year, and 102 of the buildings had already been rated SWARMP in cycle 9.
UNSAFE cases look different: 63 of the 103 open UNSAFE cases had a sidewalk shed on Oct 19, 2026, and every month without work can add penalties under Local Law 48 of 2025 (see LL48 and LL51 penalties and the shed penalty calculator). SWARMP cases rarely have a shed (6 of the 491), so there is no daily cost pushing the owner. Here a well-timed first contact matters more.
Who does the work, and who decides
The owner or the managing agent hires a facade or masonry contractor. The scope usually comes from the same engineer or architect who filed the FISP report, and that firm often invites the bidders. The contractor or the design professional then files the repair permit with the Department of Buildings; after the repairs the engineer files an amended report. That is why our list names, for every case, the inspection firm of record and the managing agent, and why a case leaves the list as soon as a repair filing or repair permit shows up. A sidewalk shed alone does not count as work.
The full sequence from report to amended report, with deadlines and real durations, is in our guide to Local Law 11 repairs. See the open cases near you: open cases by borough, with five free cases per borough. How we count and check every case is on the method page.
Questions about SWARMP
What does SWARMP mean?
SWARMP stands for “Safe With A Repair and Maintenance Program”. The engineer or architect who inspects the facade under the Facade Inspection & Safety Program (FISP, Local Law 11) uses it for conditions that are not dangerous today but need repair or maintenance so they do not become unsafe.
How long does an owner have to repair a SWARMP condition?
The report sets a time frame for the repair. Under the FISP rule (1 RCNY § 103-04) the work has to be done within that time and before the next five-year cycle; a SWARMP condition that is still not repaired at the next inspection is reported as UNSAFE.
What happens when a facade is reported UNSAFE?
The owner must protect the public right away, usually with a sidewalk shed, and correct the condition within 90 days of filing the report unless the Department of Buildings grants an extension. After the repair the inspecting engineer files an amended report.
Who does the repair work?
A facade or masonry contractor hired by the owner, usually against a scope written by the engineer or architect who filed the report. The contractor or the design professional files the repair permit; that filing is what removes a case from our list.
Sources: NYC Department of Buildings: Facade & Local Law (FISP) · 1 RCNY § 103-04 (PDF) · FISP filings on NYC Open Data (DOB NOW: Safety - Facades Compliance Filings). Our numbers: own count of initial reports per building and cycle, informational only, verify every filing in DOB NOW. Not legal advice.
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