Key takeaways
- The Building Energy Efficiency Rating Label must be posted near each public entrance between October 1 and October 31, 2026. That window is open now and closes this month.
- The Energy Efficiency Report under Local Law 87 is due December 31, 2026 for owners required to comply this year.
- The Department has stated plainly that last year's extensions do not carry over: "Deadline extensions issued by service notice in 2025 do not apply to filing year 2026."
- Filing fees for several of these laws are now paid in DOB NOW: Safety, which catches owners who budgeted for a free filing.
In this article
Sustainability compliance in New York is five laws with five different clocks, and the one most often missed is the cheapest to satisfy: a label on a wall.
What is open right now
Under Local Law 33 of 2018, the Building Energy Efficiency Rating Label must be posted near each public entrance, and the Department gives a window rather than a date. Owners must post it "starting October 1 and no later than October 31, 2026." The requirement sits at 1 RCNY §103-06(l)(2).
A week remains. The label is produced from the benchmarking data already filed, so there is nothing to compute — only to print, post, and keep posted.
The rest of the 2026 calendar
The Department set the year out in a reminder notice dated February 27, 2026: Deadlines for Sustainability Laws in 2026.
| Law | What is due | 2026 deadline |
|---|---|---|
| Local Law 84 of 2009, benchmarking | Energy and water benchmarking | May 1, 2026 |
| Local Law 33 of 2018, grades | Post the rating label | October 1 to October 31, 2026 |
| Local Law 97 of 2019, emissions | Compliance report | May 1, no later than June 30, 2026 |
| Local Law 88 of 2009, lighting and submeters | Compliance report, where not yet demonstrated | May 1, 2026 |
| Local Law 87 of 2009, audits and retro-commissioning | Energy Efficiency Report | December 31, 2026 |
The code references behind them are §28-309.3 for benchmarking, §28-320.6.2 and 1 RCNY §103-14(g)(2) for emissions, 1 RCNY §103-18 for lighting and submeters, and §28-308.2 for the energy audit report.
Two details that cost people money
Extensions did not carry over. The Department's sentence is unambiguous: extensions issued by service notice in 2025 do not apply to filing year 2026. An owner who relied on last year's grace and assumed the same would happen is simply late.
Several filings now carry a fee, paid through DOB NOW: Safety. Local Law 88 submissions in 2026 require filing fees, and the emissions law's filing, extension and adjustment payments go through the same place.
On emissions, the Department also described an extension route for this year: owners could apply by June 30 to move the deadline to August 29, and professional attestation was not required to make the request. That window has closed, but it is worth knowing the mechanism exists for next year.
What to do this week
- Walk the entrances. Every public entrance needs the label where it can be seen. A label sitting in the management office satisfies nothing.
- Check the grade is the current one. The label is reissued from the benchmarking data each year; an old label is not a posted label.
- Diary December 31 for the Energy Efficiency Report if your building is in this year's audit cycle.
- Check whether a filing fee is outstanding on anything submitted this year, since several of these now require payment in DOB NOW: Safety.
- Do not plan around an extension. The Department has said this year's deadlines stand on their own.
Two of these laws have articles of their own: the 2026 covered buildings list for Local Law 97 and which energy code applies to a new filing.
Frequently asked questions
Where exactly does the label go?
Near each public entrance, where it can be seen. The requirement is in 1 RCNY §103-06(l)(2).
We posted last year's label and never took it down. Is that compliant?
The label is issued from the current year's data. Posting an outdated label is not the same as posting this year's.
Can we still get an extension for the emissions report?
For 2026 the application window ran to June 30, moving the deadline to August 29. Both have passed. The route exists for future years.
Do extensions granted in 2025 help us in 2026?
No. The Department states that extensions issued by service notice in 2025 do not apply to filing year 2026.
Where can I read the notice?
It is on the Department's service updates page, and the link is in the second section of this article.
Conclusion
Four of this year's five deadlines have passed. The one still open is the simplest and the most visible: a label by the door, up before the thirty-first. After that the next thing on the calendar is the audit report at the end of December, which is not a week's work. Check both this week.
Written by the engineers and laboratory technicians of Metric Consulting and Inspection, a Class 1 special inspection agency with a DOB-licensed concrete testing laboratory in Hicksville, New York, serving NYC construction since 2003.