How the Local Law 97 fine works
Local Law 97 gives each covered building a yearly carbon limit. If the building's reported emissions are above the limit, the owner owes $268 for every metric ton of CO2 equivalent (tCO2e) over. The math has three steps:
- Emissions: multiply each fuel by its carbon coefficient and add them up. Electricity is counted per kWh; gas, oil and steam per kBtu.
- Limit: multiply the floor area of each use (Multifamily Housing, Office, Retail Store and so on) by its emissions factor, then add them up.
- Penalty: (emissions − limit) × $268, if emissions are higher.
| Fuel | 2024–2029 | 2030–2034 |
|---|---|---|
| Grid electricity (tCO2e/kWh) | 0.000288962 | 0.000145 |
| Natural gas (tCO2e/kBtu) | 0.00005311 | 0.00005311 |
| No. 2 fuel oil (tCO2e/kBtu) | 0.00007421 | 0.00007421 |
| No. 4 fuel oil (tCO2e/kBtu) | 0.00007529 | 0.00007529 |
| District steam (tCO2e/kBtu) | 0.00004493 | 0.0000432 |
Worked example: a 100-unit apartment building
Take a 100,000 sq ft multifamily building that uses 1,000,000 kWh of grid electricity and 70,000 therms (7,000,000 kBtu) of gas a year.
| 2024–2029 | 2030–2034 | |
|---|---|---|
| Electricity emissions | 289.0 t | 145.0 t |
| Gas emissions | 371.8 t | 371.8 t |
| Total emissions | 660.7 t | 516.8 t |
| Limit (sq ft × factor) | 675.0 t | 334.7 t |
| Over the limit | 0 t | 182.1 t |
| Annual penalty | $0 | $48,804 |
| Per apartment per month | $0 | $40.67 |
The building passes today but would owe about $48,800 a year from 2030 unless it cuts emissions by about 35%. Because gas is the bigger source, that would mean cutting gas use roughly in half, or replacing gas heat with electric equipment, which counts for less as the grid coefficient drops. Try the gas slider in the tool to see the effect.
Deadlines and the late-report penalty
Covered buildings file an annual emissions report by May 1, certified by a registered design professional. DOB says no penalty is issued if the report is filed within 60 days of May 1. After that, the law sets a penalty of the building's gross floor area times $0.50 for each month the report is missing. For a 100,000 sq ft building that is $50,000 a month, often more than the emissions penalty itself.
Edge cases this tool doesn't model
- For 2024 and 2025 only, owners may use the older occupancy-group limits if they are higher than the property-type factor.
- Renewable energy credits, time-of-use electricity, on-site generation and campus systems.
- Property types not in the list. The rule covers about 60 Portfolio Manager types; we include the most common ones.
What to do next
Pull your building's numbers from its LL84 benchmarking filing, then read Local Law 97 compliance: is your building covered? and Local Law 97 for co-op and condo owners. To plan the other filings due this year, use the landlord compliance calendar and the LL87 energy audit year checker.