What is Local Law 97?
Local Law 97 of 2019, as amended, sets annual greenhouse-gas emissions limits for New York City's largest buildings beginning with calendar year 2024, with a stated goal of cutting emissions from those buildings 40 percent by 2030 and reaching net zero by 2050 (DOB LL97 program page). The statutory target is a 40 percent reduction in aggregate emissions from covered buildings by calendar year 2030 relative to 2005 (NYC Charter §651(a)(3) (LL97/2019)). The original text has since been modified by LL147/2019, LL95/2020, LL116/2020, LL117/2020, LL126/2021 and LL77/2023; Article 320 is implemented by 1 RCNY §103-14 and Article 321 by 1 RCNY §103-17 (DOB Article 320 Info Guide §I).
Which buildings are covered by Local Law 97, and which are exempt?
A single building that exceeds 25,000 gross square feet; two or more buildings on the same tax lot that together exceed 50,000 gross square feet; or two or more condominium buildings governed by the same board of managers that together exceed 50,000 gross square feet (NYC Admin Code §28-320.1 "covered building"; DOB Article 320 Info Guide §I(A)). Buildings on a shared lot are aggregated even when each one is individually under 25,000 square feet (DOB Article 320 Info Guide §I(A)). The statute's exceptions to the Article 320 definition, as amended by LL147/2019, include industrial facilities primarily used to generate electric power or steam, garden-style attached, detached or semi-detached dwellings of not more than three stories with individually owned HVAC, city buildings and NYCHA property (NYC Admin Code §28-320.1 "covered building" exceptions (as amended by LL147/2019)). Rent-regulated accommodations, HDFC co-ops, buildings in project-based federal housing programs and houses of worship with more than 50% of their floor area in A-3 religious assembly use are outside Article 320 but covered by Article 321 instead — a house of worship at 50% or less may still be subject to Article 320 (DOB LL97 program page; DOB Article 321 Filing Guide §I(B)–(C)).
Is my building on the Covered Buildings List, and what if the list is wrong?
DOB publishes a Covered Buildings List each filing year; the 2026 list was published in March 2026 (DOB Service Notice 3/30/2026; DOB LL97 program page). The list is a reference only — a building left off it is not relieved of its LL97 obligations (DOB LL97 program page; DOB Article 320 Info Guide §I(A)). Inclusion can be disputed by filing BEAM Ticket 01, which needs neither a BEAM account nor a DOB NOW payment (DOB Processing FAQs (Apr 2026) BEAM Q3, Q12).
What is the difference between Article 320 and Article 321?
Article 320 covers most private buildings and imposes annual emissions limits with an annual certified report; Article 321 covers certain affordable housing and houses of worship (DOB LL97 program page). An Article 321 "rent regulated accommodation" is a building in which more than 35% of dwelling units are rent regulated under ETPA, the Rent Stabilization Law or rent control — LL116/2020 replaced the original one-or-more-units test (NYC Admin Code §28-320.1/§28-321.1 as amended by LL116/2020); Article 321 also takes in HDFC co-ops and buildings with one or more units in project-based federal programs such as Section 8 PBRA, Section 202, Section 811 and Continuum of Care, while DOB says buildings with only tenant-based assistance such as Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers are "not necessarily" subject to Article 321, because that assistance attaches to the tenant, not the building (DOB Article 321 Filing Guide §I(B)). Article 321 buildings had a one-time obligation: either meet the 2030 emissions limit in calendar year 2024 or implement 13 prescriptive energy conservation measures by December 31, 2024, and file a report by May 1, 2025 (NYC Admin Code §28-321.2.1, §28-321.2.2, §28-321.3). If a building's rent-regulated share later falls to 35% or less, it becomes subject to Article 320 on January 1 of the following year (DOB Article 321 Filing Guide §I(B)(1)).
When are Local Law 97 reports due?
By May 1 each year for the previous calendar year, starting May 1, 2025 for calendar year 2024 (NYC Admin Code §28-320.3.7; 1 RCNY §103-14(b)). For filing year 2026, DOB's service notice says the report is due May 1 and no later than June 30, 2026, and owners have until June 30 to apply to extend the deadline to August 29, 2026, with no professional attestation needed to apply (DOB Service Notice 2/27/2026; DOB Processing FAQs (Apr 2026) Q4–Q7). The extensions DOB issued by service notice in 2025 do not apply to filing year 2026 (DOB Service Notice 2/27/2026).
Can I get an extension to file my LL97 report?
Yes — under the rule, an extension application with supporting documentation is filed no earlier than 30 days before and no later than 60 days after May 1, on the stated grounds of a registered design professional under contract by February 1 who cannot finish or a pending Department of Finance square-footage challenge, with a $60 filing fee (1 RCNY §103-14(g)(2); 1 RCNY §101-03). For 2026, applying in BEAM by June 30 moves the deadline to August 29, 2026, and no contract or attestation is required to apply (DOB Service Notice 2/27/2026; DOB Processing FAQs (Apr 2026) Q4–Q7). An extension of time to file does not change the obligation to meet the emissions limit for that calendar year (NYC Admin Code §28-320.3.7.1). The first-year relief — extension requests through August 29, 2025 that pushed the deadline to December 31, 2025 — was one-time (DOB Service Notice 6/16/2025; DOB Service Notice 2/27/2026).
What is the penalty for exceeding the LL97 emissions limit?
A civil penalty of not more than the difference between the building's emissions limit and its reported emissions for the year, in metric tons of CO2e, multiplied by $268 (NYC Admin Code §28-320.6; 1 RCNY §103-14(h)). The tribunal must weigh mitigating factors, including good faith efforts, compliance history, unexpected and unforeseeable events, the owner's access to financial resources and the impact on critical facilities (NYC Admin Code §28-320.6.1; 1 RCNY §103-14(i)). Penalties are recovered at OATH by administrative summons, or by the Corporation Counsel in court (NYC Admin Code §28-320.6.4; 1 RCNY §103-14(j)).
What is the penalty for not filing an LL97 report?
Up to the building's gross floor area multiplied by $0.50 for each month the violation is not corrected within the 12 months following the reporting deadline (NYC Admin Code §28-320.6.2; 1 RCNY §103-14(g)(1)). DOB's own worked example: a 25,000 sq ft building that fails to file accrues $12,500 per month (DOB Enforcement of Article 320 presentation (Feb 2026), slide 32). An owner is not liable for the failure-to-file penalty if a report demonstrating compliance is filed within 60 days of the due date — June 30 (NYC Admin Code §28-320.6.2).
What happens if my building never files?
DOB issues a Notice of Deficiency; within 60 days of the notice date the owner can correct — by submitting an extension request and the annual emissions report, which resolves it with zero penalty — pay, or challenge through BEAM Ticket 17, and if nothing is done DOB petitions OATH for trial (DOB Enforcement of Article 320 presentation (Feb 2026), slides 37–43; NYC Admin Code §28-320.6.4). For an over-limit notice the window is 30 days, and one of the correction options is buying offsets to cover all or part of the deficiency (DOB Enforcement of Article 320 presentation (Feb 2026), slide 40). In the first filing year, approximately 93% of covered privately owned properties, representing 91% of covered buildings, filed (DOB press release 4/22/2026).
What are the penalties under Article 321?
A flat $10,000 per covered building for failing to file the Article 321 report within 60 days of the deadline, or by any extension deadline DOB grants, and a separate $10,000 per covered building for failing to demonstrate compliance with either pathway (1 RCNY §103-17(d)(1), (e); DOB Article 321 Filing Guide §IV). Mitigation includes an Eligible Energy Conservation Project backed by a signed HPD/HDC commitment letter or regulatory agreement dated between November 15, 2019 and May 1, 2025, and HPD's "321 Go!" program helps HPD/HDC-managed properties reach mediated resolutions (DOB Article 321 Filing Guide §IV(B); HPD LL97 Guidance for Affordable Housing page).
Can an LL97 penalty be reduced or mitigated?
Yes, three ways under the rule. Demonstrating good faith efforts can produce a mitigated penalty: the owner must have filed the report, benchmarked, and attested to LL88 lighting and sub-metering, plus one of an RDP-certified decarbonization plan filed by May 1, 2025, an approved DOB application for compliance work, electric-readiness work, a prior compliant year, critical-facility hardship, or a pending §28-320.7 adjustment application (1 RCNY §103-14(i)(2)). A documented unexpected or unforeseeable event — a hurricane, flood or fire, for example — may result in a penalty of zero for that year (1 RCNY §103-14(i)(1)). A mediated resolution is an agreement with DOB not to bring an enforcement proceeding, offered only where the owner filed, showed good faith efforts, and the resolution would help the building meet its limit; DOB negotiates it directly rather than at OATH (1 RCNY §103-14(j)(3); DOB Article 320 Info Guide §VI).
Is there a hardship adjustment to the emissions limit?
Yes. §28-320.7 lets DOB adjust a building's limit where compliance is blocked by legal or physical constraints such as landmark status or a lack of energy infrastructure, for up to three calendar years, or where financing the work would prevent a reasonable return or the building is subject to financial hardship as defined in the article, for up to one year; both routes require use of available incentive programs and an RDP-certified application, plus a good-faith attempt to buy offsets (route 1) or offsets or RECs (route 2), and the financial route also requires proof of ineligibility for city financing programs (NYC Admin Code §28-320.7–28-320.7.2). DOB's application fees are $3,540 for external constraints and $690 or $300 for financial constraints, depending on the subsection (DOB Processing FAQs (Apr 2026) Q24). Two earlier, now-closed adjustments also exist. §28-320.8 gave buildings whose 2018 emissions exceeded the 2024 limit by more than 40% a limit of 70% of 2018 emissions; the statutory application deadline was originally July 1, 2021 (DOB's 2021 notice set June 30, 2021) and was moved to January 1, 2025 by LL77/2023 §39, so the window has now closed (NYC Admin Code §28-320.8, §28-320.8.2 as amended by LL77/2023; DOB Adjustments Service Notice 4/9/2021). §28-320.9 gives not-for-profit hospitals and health centers limits of 85% (2024–2029) and 70% (2030–2034) of 2018 emissions; the application deadline was originally July 21, 2021 and was extended to January 1, 2025 by LL77/2023 §40, so it too has now closed (NYC Admin Code §28-320.9 as amended by LL77/2023; DOB Adjustments Service Notice 4/9/2021). The original 2021 application deadlines for §28-320.8 and §28-320.9 were extended by Local Law 77 of 2023 to January 1, 2025 (DOB Service Notice 7/21/2023); DOB states both windows are now closed (DOB LL97 page).
How are LL97 emissions and the emissions limit calculated?
Each fuel's annual use is multiplied by a fixed coefficient — for 2024–2029, grid electricity 0.000288962 tCO2e per kWh, natural gas 0.00005311 per kBtu, #2 fuel oil 0.00007421, #4 fuel oil 0.00007529 and district steam 0.00004493 per kBtu (NYC Admin Code §28-320.3.1.1; DOB Calculating Building Emissions guide (6/26/2024)). The limit is the sum, across the building's ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager property types, of gross floor area times that type's emissions factor — 0.00675 tCO2e/sf for Multifamily Housing and 0.00758 for Office in 2024–2029 — and the penalty is (annual emissions − limit) × $268; the registered design professional determines gross floor area, which is not the Department of Finance's square footage (1 RCNY §103-14(c)(3)(i); DOB Calculating Building Emissions guide (6/26/2024), slides 12–13 and 15). The statute lists limits by occupancy group (group B is 0.00846, which the rule assigns to the ESPM type Financial Office), while the rule assigns Office 0.00758 (NYC Admin Code §28-320.3.1; 1 RCNY §103-14(c)(3)(i)). For the CY2024 and CY2025 reports only, an owner could elect the statutory occupancy-group limit (§28-320.3.1, e.g. Group B 0.00846) where it exceeded the ESPM property-type factor (e.g. Office 0.00758), without mixing methods in one report; from the CY2026 report onward the ESPM factors in 1 RCNY §103-14(c)(3) govern (1 RCNY §103-14(c)(3)(ii); DOB Service Notice 2/7/2023).
What changes in 2030?
The limits drop sharply. Under the rule's 2030–2034 table the Multifamily Housing factor falls from 0.00675 to 0.003346640 tCO2e/sf and Office from 0.00758 to 0.002690852, with Hotel at 0.003850668 and K-12 School at 0.002230588, and further tables follow for 2035–2039 and 2040–2049 (1 RCNY §103-14(c)(3)(iii)); the statute's occupancy-group limits fall in step, R-2 from 0.00675 to 0.00407 (NYC Admin Code §28-320.3.2). The electricity coefficient also drops from 0.000288962 to 0.000145 tCO2e per kWh — with an owner's option to calculate utility electricity on a time-of-use basis — district steam falls from 0.00004493 to 0.0000432 per kBtu, and natural gas stays at 0.00005311 (1 RCNY §103-14(d)(3)(ii); DOB Calculating Building Emissions guide (6/26/2024), slide 29). DOB's schedule then takes electricity to 0.0000866886 for 2035–2039 and zero for 2040–2050 (DOB Calculating Building Emissions guide (6/26/2024), slide 29).
Who has to certify the LL97 report?
An Article 320 report must be certified by a registered design professional (NYC Admin Code §28-320.3.7), and almost all Article 320 pathways require one; the RDP certifies the floor-area measurements, the limit-versus-emissions comparison and any deduction calculations (DOB Article 320 Info Guide §I). The Article 321 prescriptive-measures report is prepared and certified by a retro-commissioning agent, and an RDP qualifies as one (NYC Admin Code §28-321.3.2; DOB Article 321 Filing Guide). Knowingly making a material false statement in a filing is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $500,000, imprisonment of up to 30 days, or both (NYC Admin Code §28-320.6.3).
How do I file, and what is DOB's BEAM portal?
LL97 reporting runs on three systems: DOB NOW: Safety for fee payments, ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager for the energy data, and BEAM for the filing tickets themselves (DOB Processing FAQs (Apr 2026) Q9; DOB Service Notice 2/27/2026). BEAM, at nyc.beam-portal.org, opened on March 3, 2025, and owners, owner representatives, RDPs and retro-commissioning agents can all file there (DOB Service Notice 3/3/2025). The filing fees are $210 for a simple Article 320 report, $615 for a complex one with deductions or alternative coefficients, and $210 for an Article 321 report, and not-for-profit educational, charitable and religious owners and government owners are fee-exempt (1 RCNY §101-03; DOB Processing FAQs (Apr 2026) Q10, Q12, Q17, Q22). The BEAM tickets you will meet are 01 CBL Disputes, 03 Extension Request, 04 Building Emissions Limit & RDP Attestation, 05 Article 321 Compliance Report, 06 Deductions and Alternatives, 08 Penalty Mitigation and 17 Notice of Deficiency response (DOB Processing FAQs (Apr 2026) BEAM Q3, Q12; DOB Enforcement of Article 320 presentation (Feb 2026)).
How are co-ops and condos treated under LL97?
The covered-building definition is a floor-area test; the ownership-specific provisions we have verified are three. Two or more condominium buildings governed by the same board of managers are aggregated if together they exceed 50,000 gross square feet (NYC Admin Code §28-320.1); a condominium files a single report covering all units, submitted by the board of managers (1 RCNY §103-14(b)(2); DOB Article 320 Info Guide §III (Reporting and extension requests, code-language page 16)); and HDFC co-ops fall under Article 321 rather than Article 320 (DOB Article 321 Filing Guide §I(B)). We found no statutory or DOB text that treats a conventional co-op corporation differently from any other building of its size, so a co-op should check its address against the Covered Buildings List and expect the size test to apply.
Can renewable energy credits (RECs) reduce my LL97 emissions?
Only against the emissions attributed to utility-supplied electricity — never against fuel use (1 RCNY §103-14(e)(1)(i); NYC Accelerator LL97 page). Under the statute as amended, the generating resource must be a NYISO capacity resource "located in, or whose output directly sinks into, the zone J load zone" for the reporting year, the RECs must be solely owned and retired by or for the owner, and they must come from the same year as the reporting year (NYC Admin Code §28-320.3.6.1 (as amended by LL77/2023)). Owners who claimed good faith efforts through a decarbonization plan may not claim REC deductions for the 2024–2029 period (1 RCNY §103-14(i)(2)(iv)(a)(6)).
Can I buy carbon offsets to comply with LL97?
For calendar years 2024 through 2029, offsets may reduce a building's emissions by at most 10 percent of its annual limit (NYC Admin Code §28-320.3.6.2; 1 RCNY §103-14(e)(3)(vii)), and the only offsets DOB accepts are Affordable Housing Reinvestment Fund (AHRF) offsets, which fund electrification in affordable housing (DOB LL97 program page; 1 RCNY §103-14(e)(3)(i)). AHRF offsets sold at $268 per ton raised about $1.46 million in the first compliance year (DOB press release 4/22/2026). The statute wrote the 10 percent allowance for 2024–2029 but lets DOB extend date-limited deductions to future compliance periods by rule (NYC Admin Code §28-320.3.6, as amended by LL77/2023), and DOB's rule, amended effective January 19, 2025 to 'clarify that deductions for offsets are available in each compliance period', provides the deduction for each compliance period (1 RCNY §103-14(e)(3); DOB Statement of Basis and Purpose, 1/19/2025) — so under the current rule AHRF offsets remain available for 2030–2034.
Are rent-regulated and affordable buildings deferred?
Buildings with at least one but not more than 35% rent-regulated units may delay compliance with the annual limits until January 1, 2026 and their first report until May 1, 2027 (NYC Admin Code §28-320.3.10.1 (added by LL116/2020 §2); 1 RCNY §103-14(b)(8)(i)). Buildings owned by a Mitchell-Lama limited-profit housing company under Article 2 of the PHFL, or containing at least one unit whose occupancy is income-restricted as a condition of a government loan, grant, tax exemption, tax abatement or conveyance, are exempt from the 2024–2034 limits and reporting and become subject to the annual limits commencing January 1, 2035 (NYC Admin Code §28-320.3.9, as amended by LL147/2019); first report May 1, 2036 (1 RCNY §103-14(b)(8)(ii)–(iii); DOB CBL Matrix, pathway CP2). Buildings with more than 35% rent-regulated units follow Article 321 instead (NYC Admin Code §28-320.1/§28-321.1 as amended by LL116/2020). DOB estimates roughly 30,000 Article 320 and 11,500 Article 321 buildings, with about 4,000 under-35% rent-regulated buildings starting reports in 2027 and about 3,500 income-restricted buildings in 2036 (DOB Enforcement of Article 320 presentation (Feb 2026), slide 8).
