Parapet inspections: What NYC boards and building owners need to know about Local Law 126

[ad_1] When you’re on a New York Metropolis co-op or condominium board, or the proprietor of a rental constructing or townhouse, it’s time to have your parapet inspected.

Virtually all NYC properties have to have their parapets checked for unsafe circumstances beneath Native Legislation 126, the identical regulation that mandates parking storage inspections.

Parapet failures haven’t garnered the identical headlines because the tragic collapse of a parking storage in 2023. However the Division of Buildings remains to be mandating the inspection of metropolis parapets—part of a roof that extends past a constructing’s roof line—to stop severe accidents.

[Editor’s note: A previous version of this article ran in January 2024. We are presenting it again with updated information for April 2025.]

Parapets join the outer partitions of a property to the roof and are uncovered to the weather on two sides, making them extra susceptible to degrading over time, mentioned Stephen Varone, founder and president of Rand Engineering & Structure.

“A quite common element that fails is the parapet,” Varone mentioned. The DOB “all the time tries to place issues in place earlier than there are main failures. And hopefully they're comparatively forward of the curve on this one.”

[The Department of Buildings will host a parapet information session on Zoom on Monday, May 5th at 6 p.m. so residents can learn more about the required parapet inspection. To attend, RSVP here.]

Parapets typically serve an aesthetic goal or can hold residents from falling off a roof. However after they degrade, there’s a danger that crumbling bricks or stones may fall on pedestrians, which is why it’s essential to ensure these dealing with public streets are secure.

Learn on for every little thing your board must know in regards to the parapet remark.

Does my constructing have to comply? Each constructing with parapets that entrance a public right-of-way—similar to a road, avenue, or sidewalk—is required to have its parapets inspected. The one properties exempt from the requirement are indifferent one- or two-family homes or buildings with a barrier that forestalls entry to the outside wall.

For some smaller condominium and co-op buildings, a parapet inspection often is the first time knowledgeable has seemed on the constructing’s facade in many years, Varone mentioned. Buildings over six tales tall have to endure a facade inspection each 5 years, however these six tales or beneath don’t have to fulfill this requirement.

“For a number of the oldest housing inventory within the metropolis—like five-story stroll ups within the Decrease East Aspect—I can rely on two palms what number of occasions we have been requested to go and examine a type of buildings,” Varone mentioned. “I believe nearly all of the buildings beneath six tales are by no means inspected by knowledgeable.”

What does my constructing have to do? Your constructing must have a “competent” particular person observe the property’s parapets yearly, beginning in 2024. (When you missed final yr’s inspection, Varone recommends doing two for the 2025 yr.)

Despite the fact that the observer will be anybody able to doing the job, similar to a brilliant, handyman, or a licensed architect or engineer, it's your decision a licensed skilled to do the job (extra on this beneath).

Whoever does the remark wants to arrange a report that homeowners should hold for not less than six years in case the DOB needs to view them, however your constructing doesn't should file the report back to the DOB, as with a facade inspection. If the DOB requests to see your stories and your constructing doesn’t have them, the property may face fines and penalties, based on a DOB spokesperson.

As a result of buildings don’t should file these stories, it’s troublesome to say what number of properties throughout town have complied with the regulation thus far. Varone suspects that smaller, self-managed buildings could also be much less prone to comply.

When you uncover unsafe circumstances, the particular person doing the remark should notify the DOB instantly by each calling 311 and emailing the DOB. Your constructing can also be liable for putting in a sidewalk shed, fence, or security netting to maintain the general public secure whereas your constructing fixes the difficulty inside 90 days of notifying the DOB.

What kinds of circumstances are probably harmful? The particular person doing the remark ought to make certain the parapet stands up straight and is undamaged—that means it’s not crumbling into items.

The most typical challenge in parapets tends to be cracks that enable water to get into the parapet, however observers also needs to be looking out for poor previous restore jobs, Varone mentioned.

“Typically if the wall is deteriorating, as an alternative of repairing it they simply cowl it with tar,” Varone mentioned. “The worst we ever noticed was after we peeled the tar off a constructing and it was actually like a bag of sand. The wall had simply deteriorated.”

Who ought to examine the parapet? It’s greatest to rent a registered engineer or architect to ensure the parapet is correctly inspected, mentioned Michael Wolfe, chair of the Actual Property Board of New York’s residential administration council and a board member of the Council of New York Cooperatives & Condominiums.

In case your property’s tremendous had been to do the remark and miss one thing—say a crumbling outer wall—the tremendous may face authorized legal responsibility, in addition to the constructing, Wolfe mentioned. In different phrases, they’re sticking their head above the metaphorical parapet.

“The overwhelming majority of business specialists and organizations advocate that you just interact a licensed engineer or registered architect to carry out the annual inspection,” Wolfe mentioned. “They've the required experience and it additionally reduces and/or eliminates legal responsibility for the constructing. Furthermore, it enhances security.”

Varone mentioned his personal agency acquired a whole lot of requests to deal with parapet inspections final yr for that motive.

“The standard proprietor goes to have to usher in knowledgeable,” Varone mentioned. “It does make sense to usher in somebody who, one, is educated to investigate and search for structural failure and who, two, has the legal responsibility insurance coverage to cowl any errors.”

When you do rent an architect, prices can vary from $1,800 for small buildings to $10,000 for a big constructing with a number of roofs with parapets, Varone mentioned.