Free tool
Local Law 97 penalty calculator for NYC buildings
Enter a building's floor area by use and a year of energy to see its emissions limit, its emissions under the law's coefficients and the yearly penalty, for 2024 to 2029 and from 2030.
Or start from a real building's filing:
Estimated penalty a year, 2030 to 2034
$0
Enter the floor area and at least one fuel.
An estimate with the law's coefficients and limits, not the building's Local Law 97 report. A registered design professional files that report, and it can count renewable energy credits, solar and storage deductions and, for 2024 and 2025, the law's occupancy group limits where higher. Confirm with your engineer or energy consultant.
How the penalty is figured
- The limit. Each use's gross floor area times its limit per square foot for the period, added up.
- The emissions. Each fuel's use in the calendar year times its coefficient: grid electricity in kWh, every other fuel in kBtu.
- The penalty. Tons over the limit times $268, every year the building is over.
- 2030. Lower limits for every type, and lower coefficients for grid electricity and district steam.
Sources: Department of Buildings rule 1 RCNY 103-14 (limits by property type, 2030 coefficients, the $268 penalty, reporting) and Administrative Code 28-320.3.1.1 (as the Department lists the 2024 coefficients), checked 2026-10-04. Not legal or engineering advice.
Emissions limits by property type
Kilograms of CO2e per square foot a year, for the most common types in the city's filings. The calculator has all 60.
| Property type | 2024 to 2029 | 2030 to 2034 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Office | 7.58 | 2.69 | -65% |
| Retail Store | 7.58 | 2.10 | -72% |
| Restaurant | 11.81 | 4.04 | -66% |
| Financial Office | 8.46 | 3.70 | -56% |
| Medical Office | 10.74 | 2.91 | -73% |
| Non-Refrigerated Warehouse | 4.26 | 0.88 | -79% |
| Manufacturing/Industrial Plant | 7.58 | 1.42 | -81% |
| Hotel | 9.87 | 3.85 | -61% |
| Data Center | 23.81 | 14.79 | -38% |
| Self-Storage Facility | 4.26 | 0.61 | -86% |
| Supermarket/Grocery Store | 23.81 | 6.76 | -72% |
| Fitness Center/Health Club/Gym | 9.87 | 3.95 | -60% |
| Laboratory | 23.81 | 26.03 | +9% |
Emissions coefficients
Metric tons of CO2e per unit of energy.
| Fuel | 2024 to 2029 | 2030 to 2034 |
|---|---|---|
| Grid electricity per kWh | 0.000288962 | 0.000145 |
| Natural gas per kBtu | 0.00005311 | 0.00005311 |
| District steam per kBtu | 0.00004493 | 0.0000432 |
| Fuel oil No. 2 per kBtu | 0.00007421 | 0.00007421 |
| Fuel oil No. 4 per kBtu | 0.00007529 | 0.00007529 |
| Diesel per kBtu | 0.00007421 | 0.00007421 |
| Fuel oil No. 1 per kBtu | 0.0000735 | 0.0000735 |
| Kerosene per kBtu | 0.00007769 | 0.00007769 |
| Propane per kBtu | 0.00006425 | 0.00006425 |
What the filings show
We ran the owners' own 2022 to 2024 energy benchmarking filings for 1,191 commercial buildings on Leasemark through the same math. 58 are over the 2024 to 2029 limit, an estimated $11,606,000 a year in penalties together. At the same energy use, 675 (57%) would be over from 2030, an estimated $52,667,000 a year.
Largest estimated penalties, 2024 to 2029
- 388 Greenwich Street$2,904,000 a year
- Western Union Building, 56 Hudson Street$2,011,000 a year
- 781 East 133rd Street$1,126,000 a year
- 25-70 Whitestone Expressway$1,027,000 a year
- 46-05 56th Road$404,000 a year
- 212 3rd Street$341,000 a year
- 400 Walnut Avenue$339,000 a year
- 731 Fifth Avenue$268,000 a year
Estimates from benchmarking filings, not the buildings' Local Law 97 reports, which can count credits and deductions. Buildings whose filing mixes in housing, uses an unassigned property type or looks implausible are left out, as are tax exempt lots. Every building page shows its own estimate.
Questions
How much is the Local Law 97 penalty?
$268 for every metric ton of CO2e a building emits over its limit, for each year it is over. A building 1,000 tons over its limit owes about $268,000 for that year. Separately, an owner who has not filed the annual report within 60 days of the May 1 deadline owes the building's gross floor area times $0.50 for each month it is late, counted from May 1, for up to 12 months.
Which buildings does Local Law 97 cover?
A building over 25,000 gross square feet, and every building on a tax lot whose buildings add up to more than 50,000 gross square feet, by the Department of Finance's figures. The Department of Buildings publishes the Covered Buildings List. Rent regulated housing, city owned buildings and some other properties follow Article 321 of the law instead, which sets required measures rather than an emissions limit.
How is a building's emissions limit calculated?
Each part of the building is assigned an Energy Star Portfolio Manager property type, and each type has a limit per square foot. The building's limit is the sum of each use's floor area times its limit. An office is allowed 7.58 kg of CO2e per square foot a year from 2024 to 2029 and 2.69 kg from 2030 to 2034, so a 100,000 square foot office building may emit 758 tons a year now and 269 tons from 2030.
How are a building's emissions counted?
Each fuel's yearly use is multiplied by its coefficient in the law: grid electricity per kWh, and natural gas, district steam and fuel oil per kBtu. From 2030 the coefficients for grid electricity and district steam drop, because the grid is expected to get cleaner, so an all electric building's counted emissions fall by about half with no change in use, while gas and oil stay the same.
What changes in 2030?
The limits drop sharply: the office limit falls about 65%. In the 1,191 filings we estimated, 58 buildings are over the 2024 to 2029 limit and 675 would be over from 2030 at the same energy use.
When is the Local Law 97 report due?
By May 1 each year, for the previous calendar year. The first report, for 2024, was due May 1, 2025. A registered design professional certifies it. An owner whose professional could not finish in time can apply for an extension within 60 days of May 1.
Can the penalty be reduced?
For 2024 to 2029, the Department of Buildings rule allows a reduced penalty for owners who show good faith efforts, which means filing the report and benchmarking, attesting to the lighting upgrades and tenant submeters other local laws require, and at least one further step, such as a decarbonization plan certified by a registered design professional filed by May 1, 2025. A building damaged in a disaster can show the event prevented compliance. The building's report can also count renewable energy credits and certain solar and storage deductions.