Local Law 97 for building owners: which buildings are covered, the annual report and the $268-a-ton penalty

Published 10/18/2026 · 9 min read · By Bulwark

Local Law 97 of 2019 sets a yearly limit on the greenhouse gas emissions of New York City’s larger buildings. Buildings produce more than two-thirds of the city’s emissions, and the law aims to cut emissions from the largest ones by 40 percent by 2030 and to net zero by 2050. The first limits applied to calendar year 2024, the first reports were filed in 2025, and much stricter limits begin in 2030. For an owner, the law means a report every year and, for a building over its limit, a penalty every year.

Which buildings are covered

• A single building over 25,000 gross square feet
• Two or more buildings on the same tax lot that together exceed 50,000 gross square feet
• Two or more condominium buildings governed by the same board of managers that together exceed 50,000 gross square feet

Square footage is taken from Department of Finance records. When the buildings on a lot together pass the 50,000 square foot mark, every building on the lot is covered, even one that is small by itself. DOB publishes a Covered Buildings List each year; the 2026 list came out in March 2026 and shows each building’s compliance pathway. If the list is wrong about your building, for its size, the number of buildings on the lot, garden-style status or rent-regulated share, you can dispute it through the LL97 reporting portal. Being on or off the list does not change the legal obligation, so check it either way.

Article 320 and Article 321

The law has two main paths. Article 320 covers most private buildings: a limit every year and a report every year. Article 321 covers certain affordable housing and houses of worship, which comply once rather than annually. Which one applies depends mainly on the rent-regulated and income-restricted units in the building.

An Article 321 building could comply in one of two ways: show that its 2024 emissions were already under the 2030 limit, certified by a registered design professional, or complete the 13 Prescriptive Energy Conservation Measures by December 31, 2024, certified by a retro-commissioning agent. The measures are basic heating and building work: temperature set points, leak repairs, steam traps, pipe and tank insulation, radiator controls, indoor and outdoor temperature sensors, lighting and similar items. HPD’s guidance says Article 321 buildings that submitted their report by December 31, 2025 are finished with LL97, those that filed a mediated resolution must complete the work on the agreed timeline, and those that filed nothing may face penalties and should contact DOB now. If the rent-regulated share of an Article 321 building falls to 35% or below, it moves to Article 320 the following January 1.

The limits: 2024–2029 and 2030–2034

Each building’s limit is its floor area multiplied by an emissions factor for each type of use. For multifamily housing the factor is 0.00675 tons of CO2e per square foot for 2024 through 2029, and 0.00334664 for 2030 through 2034, about half. A 30,000 square foot apartment building therefore has a limit of about 202 tons a year through 2029 and about 100 tons from 2030. The limits keep tightening in later compliance periods, toward net zero in 2050.

The annual report

• Due May 1 each year, covering the previous calendar year, and certified by a registered design professional. It is filed through the LL97 reporting portal (BEAM), and fees are paid in DOB NOW: Safety.
• In 2026 DOB set the deadline as May 1 and no later than June 30, and owners could apply by June 30 to extend it to August 29, 2026. The longer extensions DOB allowed in 2025, to December 31, did not carry over.
• An extension needs a good-faith reason: a contract with the design professional signed by February 1 of the filing year plus an affidavit that the report could not be finished on time, or a pending challenge to the Department of Finance square footage.
• DOB fees: $210 for a simple report, $615 for a complex report, $60 for an extension request.
• Keep everything used to prepare the report for at least six years; DOB can ask for it.

Penalties

For the same 30,000 square foot building, a missing report costs $15,000 a month. Emissions 50 tons over the limit cost $13,400 for that year, and the penalty is assessed again every year the building stays over. HPD notes that Article 321 penalties may be imposed annually, at DOB’s discretion, until compliance is shown.

Lowering emissions or the penalty

• Deductions: offsets from the city’s Affordable Housing Reinvestment Fund, the only offsets LL97 accepts, up to 10% of the building’s limit; on-site or off-site solar and storage; beneficial electrification; and others DOB lists.
• Good-faith efforts during 2024–2029: an owner over the limit can ask for a mitigated penalty by filing the report and benchmarking, attesting to the Local Law 88 lighting and sub-metering work, and showing, for example, a DOB-approved application and timeline for the work needed to comply, or a signed contract where no permit is needed. The good-faith report carries a $950 fee.
• Adjustments to the limit for financial or external constraints, under Administrative Code §28-320.7, with their own applications and fees.
• A building damaged by a disaster such as a fire, flood or hurricane can show that the damage prevented compliance, which may reduce that year’s penalty to zero.

What smaller owners should do

1. Check the list

   Look up your BBL on DOB’s 2026 Covered Buildings List and confirm the pathway it shows. If the building is listed and should not be, file a dispute.

2. Know your number

   Your Local Law 84 benchmarking data in ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager shows the building’s energy use. Compare its emissions with the limit before you hire anyone.

3. File every year, even when you are under

   The late-report penalty applies whether or not the building is over its limit. Sign the design professional’s contract before February 1 so an extension is available if you need it.

4. Plan for 2030 now

   Because the multifamily limit roughly halves in 2030, a building that is just under its limit today will likely be over it then. Boiler and steam work, controls and electrification take years to plan, finance and permit.

5. Use the free help

   NYC Accelerator, which DOB and HPD point owners to, offers free help with compliance plans and incentives. Buildings with HPD or HDC regulatory agreements can also contact HPD’s sustainability team.

How we help

We confirm the pathway on the Covered Buildings List, engage the design professional early enough for May 1 and for an extension if one is needed, track the filing and penalty deadlines, and coordinate the energy work on the building’s capital plan. It is part of violations and compliance. The other recurring filings are in the NYC compliance calendar, and the free violation check can show an estimate of a building’s Local Law 97 exposure.