SWARMP Repair Timeline NYC: A Co-op Board Action Guide

A SWARMP repair timeline in NYC runs to the completion date set by the building's Qualified Exterior Wall Inspector (QEWI), not automatically to the end of the five-year FISP cycle. The owner must complete the listed work by that date, document the correction, and prevent the same condition from returning as Unsafe in the next report.

Updated for 2026 FISP Cycle 10 planning. This guide separates DOB requirements from an owner-side procurement calendar, so boards can act on the actual report rather than treating SWARMP as a five-year deferral.

A report marked SWARMP gives a building time to repair, but it does not make the repair optional. Start by finding the exact completion date and condition schedule in the accepted report. Then work backward through QEWI scoping, board approval, permitting, contractor work, professional confirmation, and record closeout.

What does SWARMP mean in NYC?

SWARMP definition: Safe With a Repair and Maintenance Program means a facade condition is safe at the time of inspection but needs repair or maintenance within a condition-specific timeframe to prevent it from becoming Unsafe. Under 1 RCNY 103-04, the QEWI must set that timeframe at no less than one year and no more than five years [1].

FISP definition: The Facade Inspection and Safety Program is NYC's recurring inspection and filing system for exterior walls and appurtenances on buildings higher than six stories. Owners must retain a QEWI for the critical examination and file a technical report through DOB NOW: Safety every five years [2].

The key date is the SWARMP completion date in the report. DOB says the QEWI must state when the condition is expected to become unsafe if it is not corrected, and the owner must complete the repair by that listed date [3].

That date can arrive before the next filing window ends. A board should not substitute the next cycle deadline, its annual-meeting date, or a preferred budget year for the QEWI's date.

Start with a condition-by-condition deadline register

A useful SWARMP plan begins with the accepted report, not a contractor's proposal. Extract every condition, location, recommended repair, permit note, and completion date into one register.

1 RCNY 103-04 requires the report to map SWARMP conditions, analyze their causes, recommend repairs, identify the completion date, and list required work permits [1].

Do not reduce the report to one line that says "facade repairs." Cracked mortar at one elevation, deteriorated sealant at another, and corrosion at an appurtenance can have different access, permit, and repair needs. The register keeps those differences visible when proposals arrive.

Build the board calendar backward from the QEWI date

The board calendar should preserve enough time for professional confirmation after physical work. A contractor saying "complete" is not the same as the building having usable proof for the next FISP report.

This is a conservative owner-side planning sequence, not a DOB deadline schedule. The legal control remains the SWARMP completion date in the accepted report.

A shorter runway does not change the requirement. It changes the procurement method. If the board receives a report with less than a year remaining on an existing condition, ask the QEWI immediately whether the date, classification, or condition history needs clarification. The rule requires an owner to notify DOB of a deviation from the stated correction timeframe, with supporting documents from the QEWI in the subsequent report [1].

Who is responsible for each SWARMP step?

The owner is responsible for making sure SWARMP conditions are corrected within the QEWI's timeframe. The QEWI defines and documents the condition, but the board or owner representative must fund, procure, and track the work [1].

Use a simple responsibility split:

1. QEWI: Clarifies the report condition, professional repair intent, completion date, permit assumptions, and required confirmation.
2. Board or owner: Approves funding, selects the project team, gives owner consent where required, and keeps the deadline visible.
3. Managing agent: Maintains the register, runs procurement, coordinates access, records decisions, and collects closeout documents.
4. Repair contractor: Prices and performs the written scope, documents concealed and completed work, and closes assigned permits.
5. Scaffolding contractor: Provides access or public protection within the agreed schedule and returns permit and removal records when applicable.

Do not let responsibility sit between the QEWI and contractor. The contract should name who requests inspections, who tracks permits, who supplies location-tagged photos, and who resolves incomplete work before the completion date.

What should a SWARMP bid package include?

A SWARMP bid package should give every contractor the same condition map and scope basis. This makes price and schedule differences easier to interpret.

Include:

• Relevant report pages, photographs, condition IDs, and elevation maps.
• The QEWI's repair recommendations and controlling completion date.
• Known permit, Landmarks, access, sidewalk, roof, and resident constraints.
• Requirements for mockups, probes, material testing, or concealed-work photos.
• A schedule that includes professional review and punch-list correction.
• A closeout list covering permits, warranties, invoices, photos, and signoffs.
• A change-order process that requires location, cause, price, and schedule impact.

DOB's filing guidance says facade reports must include current color photographs, mapping, repair timeframes, and permit needs. It also warns that missing photographs, missing repair timeframes, and inconsistent findings can cause review problems [4].

The board should use that same level of specificity in procurement. The scaffolding bid comparison guide provides a line-by-line structure for comparing inclusions, exclusions, schedule assumptions, and closeout responsibility.

How should boards compare facade and scaffolding contractors?

Compare contractors against the written scope, access method, schedule, documentation plan, and current credentials. Do not treat a low total as comparable until the bidder has answered the same conditions and closeout requirements as the other firms.

For scaffolding work, The Shed Registry can show recent NYC DOB sidewalk shed permit history and borough coverage. Those records can indicate current filing activity, but they are not a quality, price, or safety rating. Boards should still verify insurance, licenses where applicable, references for comparable buildings, open violations, staffing, and contract terms directly.

Use the contractor verification guide before award. If temporary access will affect an adjoining property, start with the neighbor access dispute guide rather than assuming the contractor can solve the legal access path after mobilization.

What happens if SWARMP work is not completed?

An unrepaired SWARMP condition cannot be reported as SWARMP in the same location for a second consecutive filing cycle. The QEWI must report that prior condition as Unsafe if it remains uncorrected at the current inspection [1]. If the owner fails to correct a prior-cycle SWARMP condition and subsequently files it as Unsafe, the owner can also face a $2,000 civil penalty [5] [1].

That is an exception boards should put at the top of the decision memo. The condition may be safe today, but carrying it forward does not preserve the SWARMP classification. The next report can convert it to Unsafe, which brings immediate public-protection requirements and a separate repair process.

If a QEWI identifies an Unsafe condition at any time, do not wait for the SWARMP date. The owner must immediately install the public protection recommended by the QEWI, and the QEWI must notify DOB of the unsafe condition [3]. The Unsafe facade repair timeline covers that separate 90-day process.

Close the record, not just the physical work

The closeout packet should prove what was repaired, where, when, and under whose review. Save it in the building's owner-controlled facade file.

Before final payment, collect:

1. A condition-by-condition completion log tied to the original report IDs.
2. Dated before, during, and after photographs with elevation and location labels.
3. Contractor invoices and change orders that identify the completed area.
4. Permit records, inspection results, and signoffs where required.
5. Material warranties, test results, and product information.
6. The QEWI's written confirmation or filing documentation appropriate to the project.
7. Board minutes or resolutions showing approval and acceptance of the completed scope.

The rule requires the next report to compare current conditions with the prior cycle, address earlier repair and maintenance work, and include permit and signoff information where applicable [1]. A clean closeout packet gives the next QEWI evidence instead of an oral history.

Use the co-op facade maintenance program to keep that evidence available between cycles.

Board action checklist for a SWARMP report

Before the next board meeting, ask for:

1. The accepted FISP report and every SWARMP completion date.
2. A condition register with location, repair action, permit need, and owner.
3. Written QEWI clarification for any ambiguous scope or date.
4. A backward calendar that protects time for permits, access, work, and confirmation.
5. A board budget that separates professional, repair, access, scaffolding, and contingency costs.
6. Comparable bids based on the same mapped condition schedule.
7. A closeout requirement tied to final payment.
8. A monthly exception report for any task threatening the QEWI date.

The board does not need to diagnose the facade. It needs to preserve the professional deadline, make a funded decision, and insist on evidence that each listed condition was addressed.

Frequently asked questions

How long do you have to repair a SWARMP condition in NYC?

You have until the SWARMP completion date stated by the QEWI in the accepted report. The permitted timeframe is at least one year and no more than five years, but the exact date controls for that condition [3].

Can a board wait until the next FISP cycle to fix SWARMP?

Only if the QEWI's completion date actually allows that timing and the repair is completed before the next inspection. The same uncorrected condition cannot remain SWARMP for two consecutive cycles. It must be reported as Unsafe at the current inspection if it was not corrected [1].

Does every SWARMP repair require a sidewalk shed?

No. Access and public-protection requirements depend on the condition, repair method, location, and permits. Ask the QEWI and project team to identify the appropriate access and protection plan before bidding. Do not assume a SWARMP classification itself automatically requires a shed.

Who files the FISP report after SWARMP repairs?

The QEWI handles FISP technical reports through DOB NOW: Safety. The owner must maintain an eFiling account and provide consent for the QEWI's reports [4]. Ask the QEWI which report type and supporting documents apply to your repair and filing status.

What is the penalty for not correcting SWARMP?

DOB lists a $2,000 civil penalty when an owner fails to correct a SWARMP condition reported as requiring repair in the previous filing cycle and subsequently files that condition as Unsafe [5] [1]. A prior-cycle condition that remains unrepaired must be classified as Unsafe at the current inspection.

Act from the report date, not the next board crisis

The practical SWARMP sequence is simple: record the QEWI date, map each condition, resolve access and permits, bid one consistent scope, finish early enough for professional review, and preserve the proof.

If the work needs scaffolding, compare NYC scaffolding contractors by verified permit history and borough coverage after the QEWI scope is clear. Permit history helps a board ask better questions, while the contract and closeout requirements keep responsibility tied to the actual repair deadline.