New York, NY According to the New York City Department of Buildings, (DOB) due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, the 2020 Benchmarking (Local Laws 84/09 and 133/16) compliance deadline for the 2019 calendar year has been granted a 90-day extension. Building owners will not be issued penalty fees if the benchmarking report is submitted to the city by the new deadline of August 1st, 2020.
Large Buildings (over 50,000 s/f)
New York City’s Benchmarking Law (LL84/09) requires owners of individual buildings larger than 50,000 s/f, or groups of buildings on a single lot larger than 100,000 s/f, to annually measure their energy and water consumption in a process called benchmarking. Water, electricity, gas, and fuel or steam usage are collected and tracked by the city to help owners use less energy and save money.
Mid-Sized Buildings (between 25,000 and 50,000 s/f)
In 2016, NYC passed Local Law 133/16, which expands the list of buildings required to benchmark to include buildings 25,000 to 50,000 s/f in size.
To submit benchmarking reports, owners need to register with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and enter utilities data from January 1st to December 31st of the previous year into the EPA’s Energy Star Portfolio Manager.
Building owners who did not submit a benchmarking report by May 1st, 2020 will receive a reminder by the DOB as a notice of non-submission, but will not be subjected to violation fees. Properties on the covered buildings list that do not submit a benchmarking report by the new deadline will receive a Notice of Violation from the DOB and be fined $500. Continued failure to benchmark will result in a $500 penalty each quarter, up to $2,000 per year.