Local Law 84

Local Law 84 provides building owners and potential buyers a better understanding of a building’s energy and water consumption, enabling the market to shift towards increasingly efficient, high-performing buildings.

The NYC Benchmarking Law requires owners of buildings with more than 25,000 square feet to submit annual energy and water consumption data by May 1st of every year. Once you have submitted a satisfactory report by the deadline, there is no additional responsibility until the following year. If you do not submit a report by May 1, you may aim for the next quarterly deadline of August 1. Subsequent deadlines are November 1 and February 1 of the following year.

The NYC Department of Buildings (DOB) is authorized to issue violations for any property on the Covered Buildings list that has not provided a benchmarking report by the May 1 deadline. Failure to benchmark will result in a violation and a penalty of $500. Continued failure to benchmark by subsequent deadlines of August 1, November 1, and February 1 will result in additional violations on a quarterly basis and a penalty of $500 per quarter with a maximum of $2,000 per year.

Efficient Energy Compliance will measure the subject property’s energy and water use utilizing the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) online benchmarking tool, Energy Star Portfolio Manager, and will electronically submit the measured usage data to New York City. In order to obtain whole building energy consumption data for benchmarking, building owners will need to obtain residential or non-residential tenant consumption data in addition to their base building data. If your property(ies) is/are not master-metered or you do not have whole building energy consumption data, the way to acquire this information is to request it from utility companies.

Additionally, beginning in 2020 letter grades “A, B, C, D, and F” corresponding to building energy performance must be posted at the main entrance of all buildings subject to Local Law 84. These letter grades will correspond directly to the energy data submitted through the benchmarking process. Please refer to Local Law 95 services section of the website for additional information on the requirements and how EEC can support you with compliance.