Last reviewed October 16, 2026. General information, not legal advice. Check your building’s obligations with your design professional or attorney.
Understand the new permit renewals, facade repair deadlines and penalties for keeping a sidewalk shed up.
Have a shed that’s been up too long?
Century 21 Contracting Corp builds the shed, renews its permit and takes it down. Your registered design professional handles the technical repair process: the building examination, the reports, the construction documents and any extension requests.
Local Laws 48 and 51 of 2025 anchor the city’s “Get Sheds Down” push, and both took effect January 12, 2026. Local Law 48 limits shed permits to 90 days and adds monthly penalties when an owner leaves a shed up with no repair work under way. Local Law 51 adds deadlines for the façade repair itself, with a penalty for each one missed. DOB’s rule, 1 RCNY §102-07, took effect August 13, 2026 and sets the procedures: reports, a work progress log, extension requests, penalties, challenges and waivers.
A façade inspection under FISP is a common reason a shed goes up. Under the new rules, a shed that protects a repair now carries a repair schedule.
DOB NOW issues shed permits for 90 days at most. Since February 2, 2026, they no longer renew automatically, and each renewal costs a $130 DOB fee (DOB notice). Each renewal also needs a report from a registered design professional (RDP) the owner hires, with a $90 report filing fee (DOB rule). The sidewalk shed rental page covers the permit mechanics. This page covers what the permit now demands of the repair.
The clocks start the day the initial shed permit issues. Which clock applies to you depends on when your shed’s current permit issued.
| Your Permit Issued | What Applies |
|---|---|
| Before January 12, 2026 | The permit keeps its original term until it expires (Local Law 48, §5). Its first renewal after that follows the 90-day rules, and DOB's rule treats that renewal as the start of the clock. The monthly work requirement begins two renewals later (DOB's statement of basis). The Local Law 51 milestones apply only when the initial permit is issued on or after January 12, 2026, so they don't reach this shed. |
| January 12 to February 1, 2026 | The law was already in effect, so the milestones apply. DOB NOW's 90-day, non-renewing permits began February 2, so confirm your permit's term with DOB or your design professional. |
| February 2, 2026 or Later | A new permit runs 90 days and carries the full timeline below. |
| When | What Happens |
|---|---|
| Day 0 | The initial shed permit is issued, and the milestone clocks start. |
| Day 90 | First renewal. The RDP's initial report, including a repair schedule, is submitted with the $130 DOB fee and the $90 report fee. |
| Month 5 | Complete construction documents for the façade repair are due. |
| Day 180 | Second renewal. Repair work must have taken place during the permit term, or monthly penalties apply. |
| Month 8 | A complete work permit application is due. |
| Every 90 Days | Renew the permit with a new report documenting completed work and work currently in progress. |
| Month 24 | Permitted repair work must be complete. |
An extension request keeps a one-time penalty off the table as long as DOB accepts it. Your RDP files one request per milestone, no earlier than 60 days and no later than 20 days before the deadline. DOB can extend the 5- and 8-month milestones in increments of up to 180 days, and it can grant the 2-year milestone a single longer extension. Filing fees run $410, $465 and $1,425, in that order.
Your design professional runs this timeline. Century 21 Contracting Corp builds and renews the shed around it.
These figures come from the law and DOB’s rule.
The owner pays for each month of a renewal term in which no repair work was in progress, before the permit renews. It starts with the second renewal.
| Shed in Place | Penalty |
|---|---|
| Under 3 Years | $10 per linear foot per month |
| 3 Years to Under 4 Years | $100 per linear foot per month |
| 4 Years or More | $200 per linear foot per month, capped at $6,000 a month |
Illustration: a 100-foot shed under 3 years old with no work for one month costs 100 × $10 = $1,000.
| Failure | Penalty |
|---|---|
| No Acceptable Report at Renewal | $2,500 |
| Construction Documents Not Filed Within 5 Months | $5,000, One Time |
| Work Permit Application Not Filed Within 8 Months | $10,000, One Time |
| Permitted Repairs Not Complete Within 2 Years | $20,000, One Time |
Monthly penalties accrue in 30-day periods from the date of noncompliance until the owner files an acceptable progress report. DOB expects to begin imposing penalties in early 2027.
An owner can challenge a penalty in writing within 30 days of service. The grounds are proof of work done, an accepted report, a milestone met or a granted extension. A new owner can request a waiver with a recorded deed, and a bankruptcy order also supports one. The waiver request fee is $290.
The exemptions below cover the Local Law 48 and 51 requirements: the monthly and milestone penalties, the renewal report and the repair deadlines. They don’t lift any other DOB requirement. Every shed still needs its DOB permit, and every shed still has to come down once the project work is complete.
A facade repair on any other building carries every rule above.
Follow these steps to coordinate the repair process, permit renewals and eventual shed removal.
| Who | What They Do |
|---|---|
| Owner | Hires the RDP, chooses the repair scope, and is responsible for applicable penalties and fees. |
| RDP | Examines the building, files reports and extension requests, and reviews the work progress log. |
| Repair Contractor | Maintains the weekly work progress log and carries out the repairs. |
| Century 21 | Builds the shed, tracks the 90-day deadlines, renews the permit, coordinates with the RDP and repair contractor, and removes the shed when appropriate. |
DOB’s own shed guidance adds one more lever. A shed may not be required when the area under the work zone closes to the public, or when fences, barriers, or cones with flaggers protect it. Ask your RDP whether that fits any phase of your job. For fencing, see our temporary construction fence rental.
We’ll handle the shed side of your timeline (renewals and removal) while your design professional handles the repairs.
Century 21 Contracting Corp has built sidewalk sheds across all five boroughs since 2004, including 303 Powell Street in Brooklyn in 2023, before the 90-day rules. We are not a design professional, so we don’t prepare reports, construction documents or extension requests. Shed already up? Send us the permit date and we’ll tell you what the next renewal needs.
Each permit lasts 90 days at most, and you renew it by hand. The repair has to move during that time: monthly penalties start with the second renewal when no work happens, and milestones run from the initial permit. Construction documents are due at 5 months, the permit application at 8 months and finished repairs at 2 years.
A one-time penalty attaches to the missed milestone: $5,000 for construction documents, $10,000 for the permit application and $20,000 for unfinished repairs. An accepted extension request keeps it off. Monthly penalties apply separately when no repair work happens during a renewal term. DOB expects to begin imposing penalties in early 2027.
Yes. Your registered design professional files a request with DOB for each milestone, no earlier than 60 days and no later than 20 days before the deadline. DOB can extend the 5- and 8-month milestones in increments of up to 180 days and the 2-year milestone once, for a longer period. Filing fees are $410, $465 and $1,425.
One- and two-family homes skip the penalties and the renewal report. Sheds installed for permitted new-building, enlargement or demolition work fall outside the Local Law 48 and 51 requirements, according to DOB's notice. These exemptions cover only those laws: every shed still needs a DOB permit and must come down when the project work is complete. Every other façade-repair shed carries the penalties.
DOB's shed guidance says a shed may not be required when the area under the work zone closes to the public, or when fences, barriers or cones with flaggers protect it. Your design professional and DOB decide whether that fits your job. Otherwise, the shed stays until the project work is complete.
Send the building address, the shed permit date and where the repair stands. We call you with what the next renewal and the removal need.
