Local Law 48 of 2025: NYC's 90-Day Sidewalk Shed Permits and the 2026 Implementing Rule

The short version: a shed permit now comes with paperwork every 90 days, not just a renewal fee

Since January 12, 2026, a New York City sidewalk shed permit no longer runs for up to two years. It runs for 90 days. As of August 13, 2026, a new DOB rule — 1 RCNY §102-07 — spells out exactly what has to happen at each of those 90-day renewals: who signs off, what the report has to contain, what it costs, and what happens if it’s missing.

This is Local Law 48 of 2025, part of the city’s “Get Sheds Down” package that Mayor Adams signed on April 17, 2025. For a visual walkthrough, see our briefing slides: Your façade clock and your sidewalk shed.

If your building has a sidewalk shed up right now — for a FISP/Local Law 11 finding, a facade repair, or any other condition — this changes how you manage both the permit and the paperwork behind it.

What Local Law 48 itself changed

Local Law 48 amended Section 28-105.8.1 of the Administrative Code (permit duration) and added a new Article 220, “Sidewalk Shed Penalties,” to Title 28. The core mechanics:

• Permit term cut to 90 days. Every sidewalk shed permit is issued for 90 days and must be renewed by hand to continue standing — no auto-renewal.
• No renewal without paying penalties owed. A permit “may not be renewed until department penalties for sidewalk sheds in the public right-of-way are paid.”
• Work has to be happening, starting with the second renewal. Beginning with the second renewal of a shed permit issued after January 12, 2026, the owner has to be conducting work to address the condition the shed was put up for. Per DOB’s own promulgation notice for the implementing rule, the earliest this requirement could apply to any shed is July 12, 2026 (two 90-day renewals after the law’s effective date).
• Penalties scale with how long the shed has been up:

Shed has been up	Penalty
Less than 3 years	$10 / linear foot / month without work in progress
3 years to less than 4 years	$100 / linear foot / month without work in progress
4 years or more	$200 / linear foot / month without work in progress, capped at $6,000/month

Source: Local Law 48 of 2025 text, § 28-220.1.

Who’s exempt: one- and two-family homes, and sheds installed in connection with new building, enlargement, or demolition work that already has its own permit.

The August 2026 implementing rule: 1 RCNY §102-07

Local Law 48 told DOB what to enforce. It took until this past August for DOB to finish the rule telling owners and RDPs how. DOB’s promulgation notice confirms 1 RCNY §102-07 became effective August 13, 2026, implementing both Local Law 48 and Local Law 51. It defines “acceptable report,” spells out the RDP’s duties, sets the new fees, and lists the penalty schedule in one place.

The renewal fee and the report filing fee

Per DOB’s August 7, 2026 service notice, “Follow up #1: Local Law 48 and Local Law 51 of 2025 – Sidewalk Shed Progress Report and Progress Report Fee,” beginning August 17, 2026:

• The existing $130 renewal fee still applies to every 90-day permit renewal.
• A new $90 progress report filing fee applies on top of it for any shed subject to the work-and-reporting requirement — bringing the total to $220 per renewal.
• The exceptions carry over from Local Law 48 itself: one- and two-family homes, and sheds tied to a permitted new-building, enlargement, or demolition job, don’t owe the report or its fee.

What the owner’s RDP has to file, every renewal

Under 1 RCNY §102-07(c)-(f), an application to renew a sidewalk shed permit must come with a sealed report of physical examination from a Registered Design Professional (a licensed PE or RA retained by the owner). Before filing, the RDP has to physically inspect the building elements tied to the shed and review the contractor’s work progress log. The report itself must include, at minimum:

• A general description of the work completed since the permit was first issued, and a detailed description of work completed since the last renewal specifically.
• A detailed description of work currently in progress and an anticipated completion date for the underlying repair.
• Color, high-resolution elevation photos and representative condition photos, sealed and signed by the RDP.
• If no work happened since the last renewal, the specific reason (financial hardship, blocked access to a neighboring property, or a materials issue) and confirmation that no hazard exists.
• For the initial report, a detailed schedule of anticipated progress at each future 90-day renewal point through completion of the job.

The contractor’s weekly work log

Separately, 1 RCNY §102-07(e) puts a recordkeeping duty directly on the permit holder for the repair work (or the contractor, if there’s no separate permit holder): a log updated at least once a week, covering the shed’s install date, the repair’s start date, a summary of progress by trade with an approximate percent-complete, the specific floors/elevations worked, and any modifications to the shed itself. The RDP has to pull this log before writing the renewal report, and DOB can request it directly.

A separate penalty just for a missing or bad report

This is the piece that’s easy to miss: failing to perform repair work is one violation, but failing to file an acceptable report is its own violation, carrying a $2,500 penalty under 1 RCNY §102-07(g)(2) — independent of whatever per-linear-foot idle-shed penalty might also apply if the underlying work isn’t progressing. In other words, an owner who’s actually doing the repair but shows up to a renewal without a compliant, sealed RDP report can still get hit.

Thirty days to challenge, and enforcement expected in early 2027

An owner has 30 days from the date of service of a violation to file a written challenge with DOB, on grounds that include proof of work performed, an already-accepted report, timely milestone filings, completed repairs, or a previously granted extension (1 RCNY §102-07(i)). DOB has said publicly it is doing owner outreach through the rest of 2026 before penalties start landing — the Mayor’s Office announcement confirming the finalized rule put the number of permitted sheds citywide at 7,427 as of August 17, 2026, and said enforcement of the new penalties is expected to begin in early 2027. That doesn’t mean the clock isn’t running now — the second-renewal work requirement and the report requirement are both already in force. It means the renewals filed this fall and winter are building the compliance record penalties will be judged against once enforcement starts.

Local Law 51, briefly: the repair-deadline companion law

Local Law 48 governs the permit. Local Law 51 of 2025 governs the underlying repair timeline for sheds tied to a facade compliance condition, with one-time milestone deadlines (construction documents, a repair permit application, and completed work) and its own penalty schedule. Both laws took effect January 12, 2026 and are implemented by the same August 2026 rule, but the milestones and penalty amounts are different enough that we’ve covered Local Law 51 on its own — see our Local Law 51 guide for the 5/8/24-month deadlines, the extension process, and the dollar figures.

What this means if your building has a shed up right now

If your shed went up because of a FISP/Local Law 11 finding — Unsafe or an uncorrected SWARMP condition, as covered in our FISP Cycle 10 guide — the 90-day renewal cycle means your RDP needs a current, sealed report and your contractor needs a real weekly log in place well before the next expiry date, not assembled the week of.

The practical checklist for a board or owner managing an existing shed:

• Confirm who your RDP is and that they’re reviewing an actual weekly contractor log, not reconstructing progress from memory at renewal time.
• Know your shed’s age and renewal history — the per-linear-foot penalty tier jumps hard at the 3-year and 4-year marks, and a missing report is a flat $2,500 regardless of age.
• If work genuinely can’t proceed (access, materials, financing), get that documented in the RDP report now, not after a violation is served.
• Build the renewal fee ($220, where applicable) and the possibility of extension-request fees into your facade restoration budget alongside the construction cost.

Altius CM sequences shed, scaffold, and facade repair work together and keeps the weekly progress logs and photo documentation an RDP needs at every renewal, as part of our facade restoration and full scope of work on projects like The Armory at 529 West 42nd Street and 45 Crosby Street.

This is general information, not legal advice. Confirm your specific shed’s permit history, renewal dates, and current compliance status in DOB NOW: Build, since individual filing dates determine which deadlines and fees apply. If your building has a shed up and you’re not sure the paperwork is keeping pace with the new rule, talk to us before your next renewal, or see our full range of services.

This page cites NYC Local Law 48 of 2025, 1 RCNY §102-07 and its DOB promulgation notice, and DOB’s August 2026 service notice directly (linked above), and does not restate fees, deadlines, or penalty amounts from memory.