After recently reminding owners and managers of enforcement fines, the DOB just proposed an increase for retaining wall inspection penalties – and it’s significant. Here’s what the newly proposed rule covers, and what you can expect next.
If you missed the DOB’s initial retaining wall news, get a recap at our blog post here. You’ll also find key resources & more details on requirements.
Increased Penalties For Failure To File
One of the biggest changes in the DOB’s newest proposed rule is an increase for failure to file retaining wall inspections.
Before we get into the proposed increase, here’s some background on retaining wall penalties in general. Retaining wall inspections have been required for several years at this point, with the first year of inspections in Cycle 3 coming due on 12/31/24. That said, penalties for failure to comply weren’t being issued in the form of violations.
This October, the DOB issued a Service Notice informing teams that penalties for failure to file inspections would be enforced starting this year. Currently, failure to file retaining wall inspections will result in the following penalties:
- Failure to file: $1,000 per year starting on January 1 following the deadline, and ending on the filing date of an acceptable report
- Late filing: In addition to the penalty for failure to file, $250/month beginning on February 1 following the deadline and ending on the filing date of an acceptable report
It’s one of the biggest examples of compounded penalties for city requirements – not just annual penalties, but late fees on top of FTF fines.
If the proposed rule is accepted, here’s what the penalties would change to:
- Failure to file: $5,000 per year
- Late filing: $1,000/month
That’s as much as a 5x increase to the original penalty amount. And remember – penalties for late filings include not only the monthly fee, but the original FTF penalty. So if a report is filed in March after a due date of December 31st, it could mean a total penalty of $7,000 ($5,000 + $1,000 x 2 months).
Additionally, there’s a new proposed penalty for failure to correct SREM (safe with repair and/or engineering monitoring). Owners who fail to correct SREM conditions and subsequently file conditions as Unsafe shall be liable for one-time penalties of $2,000. Owners are also responsible for penalties for failing to correct unsafe conditions – $1,000/month, pro-rated daily.
Process-Related Changes
In addition to increased penalties, the proposed rule changes outline adjustments to the inspection procedures and required documentation. Most importantly, there are new processes for notifying the department of Unsafe conditions.
Per the Summary Statement of Basis, the proposed amendments:
- Establish requirements for photo documentation and mapping of conditions that are unsafe, safe with minor repairs or safe with repairs and/or engineering monitoring
- Establish guidelines for report filing classifications
- Clarify the requirements for unsafe and subsequent reports
- Simplify the process to request a time extension for completing repairs
We recommend connecting with your QRWI about how the above changes will impact inspections beginning in 2025.
Timing of Potential Changes
The hearing of this proposed rule is scheduled for January 9th, 2025 – you can provide commentary here.
Typically, adopted rules are published at least a few weeks after the hearing. Of course, that depends on the quantity and quality of feedback, the hearing itself, and general complexity of the rule (LL 97 rules took a long time to adjust before adoption, for example).
That said, even though this rule won’t be finalized until the new year, it could still impact filings due in 2024. If the city delays enforcement (violation issuance) until after passage of the rule, initial violations could potentially carry the increased penalties.
Bottom line? It’s critical to protect your portfolio by ensuring retaining wall inspections are done on time. Inspections for retaining walls in the Bronx are due on December 31st, 2024, with retaining walls in Manhattan due at the end of 2025.
Our team provided information to organizations that may have retaining wall inspections due this year. If you have questions about any of your properties, reach out to support@sitecompli.com. You can also get more information on the city’s Retaining Wall page here.
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