City Issues Guide for Co-ops and Condos to Comply With Local Law 97

Local Law 97 went into effect at the beginning of this year, and co-ops and condos that are not already in compliance must file their first reports by May 1, 2025. To help boards understand how they can bring their buildings' carbon emissions under the allotted cap, the Department of Buildings (DOB) has released a comprehensive, 98-page "Article 320 Info Guide."

Most co-ops and condos that must comply with Local Law 97 are classified as Article 320 buildings, meaning they are market-rate, 25,000 square feet or larger, and no more than 35% of the units are rent regulated.

In its August newsletter, the law firm Moritt Hock & Hamroff notes that the Article 320 Info Guide is divided into five sections: background, compliance pathways, reporting and extension requests, emissions calculations, deductions, and mediated resolutions.

"There is significant useful information provided on each topic – some of which is brand new, but much of which is consolidated and synthesized from multiple prior releases," the newsletter states. "For example, some buildings may wish to challenge their status as a covered building subject to Local Law 97. In Section II, the compliance pathways section, there is information provided as to how to challenge a designation of a building as subject to Article 320. There is also information regarding certain statutory exceptions and special cases."

DOB will accept deadline extension requests beginning April 1, 2025, a month ahead of the May 1 deadline. There is also a 30-day grace period for filings before any penalties are incurred, so the May 1 annual deadline is effectively a June 30 annual deadline. "After that date, however," the newsletter states, "buildings will incur a $0.50 per square foot penalty for each month that has passed since May 1. Given that all covered buildings are over 25,000 square feet, this means that the penalty for late filings is a minimum of $12,500 per month. Get those filings or extension requests in on time!"

The majority of buildings that fall under Local Law 97 are already in compliance with the 2024 emission caps. However, that percentage is expected to fall sharply when more stringent caps go into effect in 2030 and in future years.

Local Law 97 is the enforcement arm of the city's sweeping Climate Mobilization Act, originally passed in 2019 with the goal of cutting carbon emissions from buildings, which now generate about two-thirds of New York City's overall carbon emissions.