In 2019 New York City enacted Local Law 97, which monitors the amount of power that the buildings in the city use and even fines landlords for overuse. The law is being fazed in this year, and fines are scheduled to be issued as soon as next year. When the law was created, many in the real estate industry worried that it would be too hard for many buildings to comply with the new standards, but a new report by the Department of Buildings shows that only 11 percent of the city’s buildings over 25,000 square feet are not on track to meet the requirements.
This news shows just how resilient the city’s real estate industry is, landlords in the city are finding ways to fund upgrades to their building systems that are helping lower energy use. But it is also a testament to the programs that the city has to help the transition. Rather than just threatening building owners with fines, NYC also created a number of agencies like NYSERDA to help property managers find vendors and finance projects. The success of Local Law 97 will likely reverberate around the country as other cities are looking for ways to hit their climate targets. Going forward, we will likely see more cities following NYC’s playbook by enacting laws like LL97 and supporting landlords with similar programs.