Questions · BenchFile

Question 1

What is Local Law 84?

Accepted Answer

NYC Local Law 84 requires owners of covered buildings to file an annual energy and water benchmarking report through ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager by May 1. A building is covered if it exceeds 25,000 gross sq ft — or if two or more buildings on the same tax lot, or under the same condominium board, together exceed 100,000. The city republishes the NYC benchmarking covered buildings list each year, and a building can sit on it in error. Miss the deadline and the city issues a violation that fines you $500 every quarter.

Question 2

How much is the penalty?

Accepted Answer

$500 per violation, issued quarterly until the report is submitted, up to $2,000 a year — and the cycle starts again each year you stay non-compliant. Because an LL84 violation recurs every quarter, the figure on your first notice is rarely the figure now owed: the cost to cure an LL84 benchmarking violation is the accrued penalty plus whoever files the report. We clear the current violation and keep you filed so it stops.

Question 3

Do I need an engineer or architect to file it?

Accepted Answer

No. NYC requires no professional certification to benchmark, and the rules on who can file LL84 benchmarking are wider than most owners expect: the owner may assign any representative to do it. Filing it yourself is a real option, and the free NYC Sustainability Help Center will walk you through it. What you get from us is that somebody other than you owns the deadline every year.

Question 4

How do you file it?

Accepted Answer

We file the overdue report through ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager. Most utilities upload whole-building energy and water data into the account automatically once access is authorised; if your property is flagged for water reporting, that data is requested from DEP separately. We handle both.

Question 5

What do I have to do?

Accepted Answer

Almost nothing: authorise the utility data release, and pay the accrued penalty in your own DOB NOW account. We handle the filing and every yearly renewal.

Question 6

What if the violation is a mistake?

Accepted Answer

If your building isn't actually covered, was already benchmarked on time, or was demolished, we file a challenge with the city instead of curing it. The city gives you 30 days from the violation postmark, so this is the one thing worth moving on quickly.

Question 7

I just bought the building — is the old owner’s violation mine?

Accepted Answer

Possibly not. A subsequent bona fide purchaser can challenge a violation for a year they did not own the property, with a copy of the deed and a notarized affidavit showing no relationship to the prior owner. Same 30-day window from the postmark.

Question 8

I also got an energy-grade label violation — is that the same thing?

Accepted Answer

No. The energy-grade label is Local Law 33, a separate duty on a separate clock: LL84 is the annual benchmarking report due 1 May, and the label is the letter grade you print and display near each public entrance in October. Clearing one does nothing for the other. The benchmarking violation reissues at $500 a quarter; the label violation is a single $1,250 penalty, and it is challenged through a different route. If you are holding both, LL84 vs LL33 sets the two deadlines, the two penalties and the two challenge routes side by side.

Question 9

How do I start?

Accepted Answer

Check your building above or reach out. We'll confirm your violation, send an engagement, and take it from there. If you would rather size up the Local Law 84 compliance consulting market first, we publish what every firm we could find charges — including the ones that publish no price at all.