Local Law 126 requires an annual parapet observation for buildings with a street-facing parapet - any height. We perform the observation and provide the written report you keep on file for six years.
Local Law 126 is due every year by December 31. Check your status in three questions.
The parapet rule reaches the low- and mid-rise buildings older facade laws never touched. Here is what it means for you.
Local Law 126 of 2021 requires an annual observation of parapets, and it took effect on January 1, 2024. Unlike FISP, which only covers buildings over six stories, the parapet rule applies to buildings of nearly any height - if your building has a parapet facing a street, sidewalk, or public right-of-way, it is almost certainly covered.
The only exemptions are detached one- and two-family homes and buildings with a barrier that keeps the public away from the wall. The observation is a close-up look at the entire parapet, done by a qualified person - which can include masons, superintendents, and construction-trade professionals, not only engineers.
Here is the catch: the report is not filed with the city. You keep it on-site, retain it for at least six years, and produce it to the DOB on request. There is no filing reminder and no portal - the annual discipline is entirely on the owner, which is exactly where buildings slip. We run the yearly cycle and hold the record.
Read the full Local Law 126 guide → - who must comply, who is exempt, the annual cycle, recordkeeping, and how to get compliant.
A qualified inspector accesses the roof and examines the full length of the parapet - coping, mortar joints, flashing, and any lean or displacement - then documents the condition in the written report you keep on file. There is no filing and no city portal; the discipline is the annual record, and that is what we run for you.
The annual observation and the six-year record the law makes you keep on file.
One process each year, so the observation gets done, the record stays current, and nothing lapses.
We check whether your building has a parapet on the public right-of-way and whether either exemption applies.
A qualified inspector performs a close-up observation of the entire parapet from the roof or fire escape.
You receive a written report to keep on-site for six years - not filed with the DOB, but produced on request.
If an unsafe condition is found, the owner must install public protection right away and arrange the repair. We re-inspect and document the corrected condition for your record.
We handle Local Law 126 parapet observations and recordkeeping across all five boroughs.
Low- and mid-rise buildings that never had a facade obligation until now.
Manhattan →Brownstones, storefronts, and small apartment houses - most now in scope.
Brooklyn →A vast stock of two- to six-story buildings, most now covered annually.
Queens →Apartment houses and commercial blocks, mostly in scope whatever the height.
The Bronx →Commercial strips and apartment buildings in scope regardless of height.
Staten Island →From sound coping and flashing to the displaced stones and open joints a yearly observation is designed to catch.
Local Law 126 of 2021 requires an annual observation of parapets on buildings with a parapet facing the public right-of-way, regardless of height. The annual requirement took effect January 1, 2024.
Only two types: detached one- and two-family homes, and buildings with a barrier - at least half the height of the wall - that prevents public access to the exterior wall. The exemptions are narrow.
The observation is due every year by December 31. Unlike FISP, the report is not filed with the DOB - you keep it on-site for at least six years and produce it on request.
No. Local Law 126 allows a broader range of qualified people, including masons, building superintendents, and construction-trade professionals, as well as engineers and architects, as long as they can identify parapet hazards.
If a parapet is unsafe, you must install public protection immediately and keep it up until the condition is corrected. The owner arranges the repair; we can re-inspect and document the corrected condition for your record.
Tell us your building address and we will confirm your requirement and next deadline.
Send us your address and we will confirm whether Local Law 126 applies and get your annual observation on the calendar - well before the December 31 deadline.
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