NYC Local Laws explained — LL11, LL26, LL84, LL87, LL97, LL126, LL152

NYC's Local Laws are the operational instruction manual for owning, operating, or managing a building in the five boroughs. Each Local Law was passed by the City Council to address a specific problem — facade collapses, boiler explosions, climate change — and each has its own filing cycle, deadlines, qualified-trade requirements, and penalty schedule.

What follows is the working reference for the laws Cornice tracks actively. Reading order: skim the table of contents below to find the law that applies to your building today; come back when a citation lands on your BIN.

Contents

• LL11 (1998) — Facade Inspection Safety Program (FISP)
• LL26 (2004) — Sprinkler retrofit for office buildings
• LL84 (2009) — Annual energy & water benchmarking
• LL87 (2009) — Decennial energy audit & retro-commissioning
• LL97 (2019) — Carbon emissions caps
• LL126 (2021) — Parking structure & parapet inspections
• LL152 (2016) — Quadrennial gas piping inspection
• LL62/91 — Annual boiler inspection
• Elevator inspections (Cat 1 & Cat 5)
• LL1 (2004) — Lead paint hazard reduction
• LL77 (2015) — Cooling tower registration & Legionella testing

LL11 (1998) — Facade Inspection Safety Program (FISP)

Passed after a Barnard student was killed by falling masonry from a Manhattan building in 1979 (and predecessor Local Law 10 of 1980 was broadened in 1998). Requires every NYC building taller than 6 stories to have its exterior walls inspected by a Qualified Exterior Wall Inspector (QEWI) every 5 years, including a close-up inspection from a scaffold drop or similar means.

Cycle

NYC is split into three sub-cycles (A, B, C) based on the last digit of the BIN, each 5 years long, with 2-year filing windows. Your cycle is fixed for the life of the building.

Trade required

A NY-licensed PE or RA with QEWI credentials. The QEWI files the TR6 report electronically via DOB NOW, classifying the building as Safe, Safe With a Repair And Maintenance Program (SWARMP), or Unsafe.

Penalties

• Late filing: $1,000 + $250/month accruing.
• Unsafe finding without sidewalk shed: $1,000/day + DOB referral.
• Failure to complete SWARMP repairs before next cycle: re-classified Unsafe.

LL26 (2004) — Sprinkler retrofit for office buildings

After the World Trade Center disaster, NYC required office buildings over 100 ft tall to have full automatic sprinkler coverage. Compliance deadline was 2019. Buildings without sprinklers face Certificate of Occupancy revocation and cannot lease.

Status

The 2019 deadline has passed. Buildings still out of compliance are now in a perpetual penalty state — most have completed retrofit or filed for an extension under DOB hardship review. Verify your building's status via DOB NOW search by BIN.

LL84 (2009) — Annual energy & water benchmarking

Every building over 25,000 sqft must annually report its energy and water consumption to NYC via the EPA's Portfolio Manager tool. The data is published by DOF in the LL84 Energy & Water Disclosure dataset and becomes the input to your LL97 emissions calculation.

Cycle

Annual filing due May 1 covering the prior calendar year. Data publishes ~6 months after the deadline.

Trade required

Building owner or designated agent. No special license needed, but most large portfolios use a benchmarking consultant — the consolidation of utility data across many tenants is non-trivial.

Penalties

$500 per quarter the filing is late, capped at $2,000/year.

LL87 (2009) — Decennial energy audit & retro-commissioning

Buildings over 50,000 sqft must perform a Level 2 energy audit AND a retro-commissioning study every 10 years. The combined report is the Energy Efficiency Report (EER).

Cycle

Staggered by the last digit of the tax block number. Each building has a specific filing year. Check your due date via DOB NOW search by BIN.

Trade required

ASHRAE Level 2 certified energy auditor + certified retro- commissioning agent. Often the same firm performs both.

Penalties

• Late EER: $3,000 + $1,000/quarter accruing.
• No EER on record after 12 months: OATH referral.

LL97 (2019) — Carbon emissions caps

The big one. LL97 sets greenhouse-gas emissions caps for buildings over 25,000 sqft, with penalties of $268 per metric ton CO₂e over the cap. Caps tighten dramatically in 2030.

Cycle

Annual compliance reports due May 1 starting May 2025 (for 2024 calendar year). Two key periods:

• 2024–2029: First-pass caps. Most NYC buildings are within or close to cap. Few owners face large penalties yet.
• 2030–2034: Caps roughly halve. The portfolio of NYC office and luxury residential buildings that will face six-figure annual penalties without electrification + envelope upgrades is in the thousands.
• 2035–2049: To-be-defined. Expected to align with the 80×50 carbon neutrality target.

Trade required

A registered design professional certifies the annual compliance report. Pre-2030 planning typically involves a sustainability consultant + MEP engineer.

Cornice provides a free LL97 penalty calculator — enter your sqft + occupancy + emissions and get the math instantly. For a deeper exploration of compliance strategy, read the LL97 deep dive.

LL126 (2021) — Parking structure & parapet inspections

Local Law 126 of 2021 introduced two major new observation and inspection requirements for NYC buildings: Periodic Inspection of Parking Structures (PIPS) and Periodic Observation of Building Parapets.

1. Parking Structure Inspections (PIPS)

Triggered by the 2019 Bayfront Parking Garage collapse in Queens. Requires periodic structural inspection of every parking facility in NYC.

• Cycle: 6-year cycle, staggered into three sub-cycles (A, B, C) by Community District.
• Trade required: Qualified Parking Structure Inspector (QPSI) — a NY-licensed PE approved by the DOB.
• Penalties: Late filing is $1,000 + $250/month accruing. A "Hazardous" classification may result in immediate vacate of affected garage levels.

2. Parapet Observations

Requires an annual observation of all building parapets fronting the public right-of-way, regardless of the building's height. This requirement took effect January 1, 2024.

• Cycle: Annual observation and report. The report must be kept on file by the owner for at least 6 years and made available to the DOB upon request.
• Trade required: A "competent person" — can be a PE/RA, but can also be a building superintendent, handyman, or property manager capable of identifying hazards.
• Penalties: Failure to maintain the parapet report can result in DOB violations and civil penalties if requested during a site visit or incident.

LL152 (2016) — Quadrennial gas piping inspection

Passed after the 2014 East Harlem gas explosion and the 2015 East Village explosion. Requires every NYC building (except 1-2 family homes) to have all exposed gas piping in common areas inspected by a Licensed Master Plumber every 4 years.

Cycle

4 years. Staggered by Community District.

Trade required

NYC Licensed Master Plumber with LL152 training.

Penalties

• Late GPS1: $10,000.
• Repeat failure: $25,000 + mandatory accelerated re-inspection cycle.

LL62/91 — Annual boiler inspection

The most-cited compliance item in NYC. Every boiler larger than 350,000 BTU/hr must be inspected annually and the report filed with DOB.

Trade required

Licensed Master Plumber or High-Pressure Boiler Operating Engineer.

Penalties

• Civil penalty after 60 days late.
• ECB summons $1,000–$5,000 if ignored further.

Elevator Inspections (Category 1 & Category 5)

Annual inspection (Category 1) by an approved elevator agency plus a 5-year test cycle (Category 5) with a witness. The inspector files an ELV3 inspection report electronically via DOB NOW.

Trade required

Approved Elevator Agency Director or Inspector.

Penalties

$3,000 for missed annual inspection. Devices may be sealed pending compliance.

LL1 (2004) — Lead paint hazard reduction

Triggered after lead poisoning cases in young children. Every multi-family residential building built before 1960 is presumed to contain lead-based paint, and owners are responsible for continuous inspection and remediation in any apartment occupied by a child under 6.

Cycle

Annual XRF inspection of any unit with a child under 6. Documented in apartment record.

Trade required

EPA-certified lead abatement firm following LL1 work practices.

Penalties

• HPD Class C violation if violation found = 21-day cure window.
• HPD Emergency Repair Program if owner fails to cure: $5,000–$15,000 per unit billed at premium.
• Personal injury suits: $250,000+ typical settlements for lead poisoning.

LL77 (2015) — Cooling tower registration & Legionella testing

Passed after the 2015 Bronx Legionnaires' outbreak that killed 12. Every commercial water-based cooling tower in NYC must be registered with DOHMH, treated continuously, and tested quarterly for Legionella.

Trade required

NY-certified water treatment specialist.

Penalties

• $2,000+ NOV for missed quarterly test.
• $25,000+ if traced to actual outbreak.
• Criminal referral if outbreak causes death.