Most municipalities in the U.S. have laws on their books governing how exterior building façades must be inspected, maintained and repaired. While such legislation can be enacted at the state level, generally these laws are a local matter. And while the specific rules and requirements may differ slightly from city to city, the basics are the same; they’re designed to maintain structural integrity and prevent the tragic accidents that can occur when masonry, metal cladding, ice, or unsecured rooftop items dislodge or deteriorate and fall onto busy sidewalks below.

The Back Story

Façades and exteriors are complex, integrated systems, often composed of multiple materials, including brick, glass, steel, and stone. Over time, these different materials age and deteriorate at different rates and for different reasons. 

For example, masonry façades are generally tied with concrete-based mortar—and while brick and stone expand over their lifetime, the concrete-based mortar shrinks. This inevitably causes the material bonds to loosen, eventually creating gaps; in colder climates, ice and snow can accumulate in these gaps, the freeze-and-thaw cycle further accelerating the problem and leading to hazards to both the building and those passing by it.

Enter the façade law. The granddaddy of façade inspection laws is New York City’s Local Law 11, which was famously passed in 1980 after a Barnard College student was struck and killed by a falling piece of building masonry. Since then, the city’s façade laws have periodically been expanded and refined (often after a tragic event) to ensure that building exteriors are well maintained, and that regulators have a systematic way to inspect and verify that maintenance.

New Jersey

Cities and towns in the Garden State have their own similar statutes. To cite one example, as of 2023 all buildings in Jersey City taller than six stories and buildings of four stories or more with masonry façades must be professionally inspected every five years. The inspection must include all exterior walls and appurtenances, and a written report prepared by a Resident Architect or Professional Engineer must be submitted to Jersey City’s Division of the Construction Code Official within 30 days of the inspection.

According to Anthony Volpe, Structural Engineering Principal and Partner with the architecture and engineering firm, The Falcon Group, headquartered in New Jersey, “The purpose of periodic inspections is to establish a baseline, and identify any defects or anything that may or become hazardous.”   

The Inspection Process

A typical facade inspection begins with a visual survey during which inspectors use binoculars to scan the building exterior from the ground and roof, looking for signs and symptoms of deterioration that can lead to further problems—things like cracks in mortar and stone, localized flaking or peeling, chipping or delamination of face material, as well as any signs of material shift, like bulging bricks. 

Terra cotta cracking is another sign of trouble, and may indicate metal corrosion caused by water infiltrating the building envelope. Balconies, railings, fire escapes, and building appurtenances are all checked for signs of corrosion and structural stability as well. 

Along with what a given building is made of, inspectors take its age into consideration as well. Older buildings are generally built better, and have multi-layer brick walls, while newer buildings have veneer brick façades and are less ‘solid,’ so they tend to develop problems faster. 

After the visual scan is a more close-up, hands-on inspection, usually performed via scaffolding, suspended platforms, or rope access. In this phase, inspectors physically probe masonry joints, anchors, balconies, and parapets to assess stability. They may conduct non-destructive testing (e.g., infrared scans, moisture meters) or limited probes to uncover hidden defects. 

During an inspection, Volpe says, “An engineer or an architect may see that the brick is bulging, or we may see some cracks, or maybe evidence of some settlement; we may need to do some probing to see what’s causing that, so there may be some additional inspections required.” 

Send in the Drones

In recent years, drone technology has become an invaluable tool, enabling inspectors to get inches away from the surfaces they’re inspecting without the hassle, risk, and expense of scaffolding and suspended platforms. According to Michael Tynan, managing partner of Drone On Pro Aerial Inspections based in Howell, drones are a game-changer in terms of accuracy and thoroughness; visual inspections from a distance can miss details and lead to nasty (and expensive) surprises when repair crews get to work and discover that the visual inspections failed to see the true scope of a façade issue. 

And not only can “drones get you up close easier and faster,” Tynan notes, but they’re also equipped with visual cameras to show inspectors and engineers on the ground what’s going on in hard-to-access areas. They can even be armed with sensitive thermographic scanners that detect variations in temperature on a given surface, locate areas of moisture penetration, assess the energy performance of windows, doors, and balconies, and even identify water line breakage below ground. 

Says Tynan, “Co-ops and condo associations benefit from using these drones because we can provide a review of the building quicker, cheaper, and with better accuracy [than just a visual inspection]. Also, when you put a thermographic camera on a drone, we can look straight down, with the camera at a 90-degree angle, which takes away reflectance, so you see the issue better.”

After the Inspection 

Post-inspection, all findings from the visual and physical scans are documented with photos and notes, and conditions are ranked (typically as ‘safe,’ ‘repair needed,’ or ‘unsafe’). Finally, a report is filed with the relevant authority, including recommended repairs and timelines, including immediate stabilization measures like sidewalk sheds or netting for any urgent hazards. According to Volpe, “The building owner typically has 30 days to submit the report from the date of the inspection.”

If signs of trouble are identified, the underlying conditions need to be examined more closely and corrected as soon as possible to prevent further damage and/or injury. If a façade is found to be unsafe, netting may need to be installed and a sidewalk bridge erected to prevent injury from falling debris.

And, Volpe adds, “It’s very important that building owners and managers keep good records of all the work that’s done, so that you can provide that information to the subsequent engineers. The more information that you can provide, the better maintained and the more comprehensive your reports are going to be.”

Following Through 

Any issues discovered during an inspection should be communicated immediately to the association manager, who will in turn present the findings to the board. Boards have a duty to maintain, repair, and replace their common elements under both their own governing documents and all applicable statutory provisions—so any necessary repairs should be made promptly, and in accordance with local government requirements and standards. This means that as unpopular as increasing common charges or leveling a special assessment is likely to be, a board may have to do exactly that if the community’s reserves aren’t able to cover the cost of the needed work. 

While a deep dive into the importance of conducting regular reserve studies is beyond the scope of this article, it’s definitely worth noting that knowing the age, condition, and expected useful life of your building’s infrastructural components is crucial when it comes to budgeting for major capital projects and staying compliant with local laws. Between mandated inspections, proactive board-management teams should also conduct periodic walk-throughs of their property, and promptly report any potential problems to the appropriate professionals.   

Fundamentally, “The most important thing for boards to do is to listen to their professionals,” says one attorney. “Most board members are not building management professionals, much less façade specialists, so they usually have no independent way of knowing what is required in order to maintain a building envelope or comply with façade maintenance rules. Board members aren’t required to be experts, but they are required to listen to experts.” 

It’s About Safety

Whether your building is a condominium, co-op, or HOA, resident- or landlord-owned, the pros agree that safety is key, and keeping façades in one piece is primarily a safety concern. That said, it’s important to remember that the boards of shared interest communities have a fiduciary responsibility to their unit owners and shareholders, and compliance with local inspection mandates is only part of that duty; board members must also act to remedy any hazards uncovered by those inspections, and act quickly. Failing to do so not only courts costly fines and other penalties, but risks lives and liability claims. A lawsuit resulting from falling masonry could be financially ruinous for a community—to say nothing of the potential harm done to the unfortunate victim of the accident.                         

And safety is what it comes down to at the end of the day. Local laws are enacted to monitor façade conditions, and to keep people safe. That applies to both the public walking by the property and residents of the properties themselves.  It is imperative for boards to stay on top of the requirements laid out by local laws and ordinances governing façade maintenance and inspections and to make necessary repairs quickly and thoroughly. That potentially saves lives and provides financial protection to the community.