Academy/Inspections & Building Safety
Building/facade inspections
What a facade inspection actually checks, how findings get classified, and whether your building is required to do one.
A facade inspection examines a building's exterior wall system, cladding, parapets, sealant, and anything attached to the wall, for conditions that could let water in or fall onto people below. New York City requires periodic facade inspections for buildings taller than six stories, but most cities have no equivalent law. Even without one, boards generally must maintain the exterior anyway.
What a facade inspection actually checks
A facade inspection looks at a building's exterior wall system: cladding or masonry, sealant and waterproofing, parapets, cornices, and anything bolted or hung on the wall, such as light fixtures or signage. The inspector is checking for conditions that could let water into the building or let material fall onto a sidewalk, parking lot, or patio below.
New York City runs the most developed example of a mandatory program. Buildings taller than six stories there must be inspected on a recurring cycle.
"all existing buildings greater than six stories in height...must be conducted at periodic intervals"
Source: Title 1 of the Rules of the City of New York, section 103-04, Facade Inspection Safety Program, New York City Department of Buildings
Your city's height threshold, cycle length, and whether it runs a facade program at all will differ. Check with your local building department for a citywide facade or exterior wall ordinance.
How findings get sorted: three tiers, not pass or fail
A facade report is not a simple pass or fail. New York City's program sorts every finding into one of three categories, and the categories are a useful way to read any inspection report, not just a facade one.
Safe means the condition will not need repair for the next five years. SWARMP, short for Safe With a Repair and Maintenance Program, means the condition is safe today but needs work within the next one to five years. Unsafe is the urgent tier.
"A condition...that is hazardous to persons or property and requires repair within one (1) year of completion of critical examinations."
Source: Title 1 of the Rules of the City of New York, section 103-04, Facade Inspection Safety Program, New York City Department of Buildings
Read any deficiency report, facade or otherwise, by asking the same three questions: is this fine, does this need to go on the schedule, or does this need to happen now? See Understanding deficiency reports for how to turn that sorting into an action plan.
Does your building have to do this
Most states have no citywide or statewide facade-specific law the way New York City does. Confirm whether your own city or county has adopted its own facade or exterior wall ordinance, since a lack of state law does not mean a lack of local law.
Even where no facade-specific law exists, the board is not free to ignore the exterior. State law generally makes the association responsible for maintaining and repairing the common areas, and a facade is a common area. That underlying duty exists independent of any inspection-specific statute; an inspection program is how a board discharges it, not an optional extra.
Some states layer a structural inspection law on top of that general duty. Florida's milestone inspection, for instance, includes a visual review of exterior components as part of its broader structural check. See Structural inspections for how that program works.
Check yourself
Answer before you read the explanation, recalling it is what makes it stick.
A facade inspector flags a parapet crack as "safe today, but it needs repair within the next three years." Which classification tier is this?
Your city has never adopted a facade inspection ordinance. Does your board still have to worry about the building's exterior?
A facade condition is classified as Unsafe under New York City's program. What repair deadline attaches to that finding?
Sources
- Title 1 of the Rules of the City of New York, section 103-04, Facade Inspection Safety Program, New York City Department of Buildings
- California Civil Code 4775, California Legislative Information
- Nevada Revised Statutes 116.3107, Upkeep of common-interest community, Nevada Legislature
Inspections & Building Safety
Next: see how a facade report's findings turn into a prioritized repair list in Prioritizing findings.
Whether your city or county runs a mandatory facade inspection program, the height or age threshold that triggers it, the classification categories used for findings, and the repair deadline attached to each finding all vary by state and municipality.