NYC Local Law 88 Compliance Guide

What Is Local Law 88?

Local Law 88 of 2009 is part of New York City's Greener, Greater Buildings Plan, a package of legislation designed to reduce energy consumption in the city's largest buildings. Specifically, Local Law 88 requires owners of large commercial buildings to install submeters on tenant spaces and upgrade lighting systems to meet current energy code standards.

The submetering requirement ensures that commercial tenants are billed for their actual electricity usage rather than having costs absorbed by the building or divided by estimated formulas. The law's goal is straightforward: when tenants see their actual consumption, they use less energy.

Who Needs to Comply?

Local Law 88 applies to buildings that meet all of the following criteria:

• The building is over 25,000 gross square feet
• The building has one or more commercial tenant spaces over 5,000 square feet that are separately metered by the utility (or could be submetered)
• The building is classified as a City Building (city-owned) or is covered by the NYC Benchmarking Law (Local Law 84)

In practice, this covers most mid-size to large office buildings, retail properties, and mixed-use commercial buildings in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and throughout the five boroughs.

Common Building Types That Must Comply

• Office buildings with commercial tenants
• Retail and mixed-use properties
• Medical and professional office buildings
• Industrial and warehouse spaces with tenant buildouts
• City-owned buildings and facilities

Exemptions

Buildings under 25,000 square feet are not covered. Residential-only buildings have separate requirements under other local laws. Tenant spaces under 5,000 square feet within otherwise covered buildings may be exempt from the submetering requirement, though the lighting upgrade requirements still apply.

What Does Compliance Require?

Local Law 88 has two main components for building owners:

1. Submetering

Install electrical submeters on all commercial tenant spaces over 5,000 square feet. The meters must be capable of measuring the tenant's actual electricity consumption, and the building owner must bill tenants based on actual usage at the applicable utility rate.

This means not just installing meters but also implementing a billing system that:

• Reads meters at regular intervals (typically monthly)
• Applies current Con Edison rate schedules to calculate charges
• Generates invoices documenting consumption and rates
• Maintains records for audit and compliance purposes

2. Lighting Upgrades

Upgrade lighting systems in the building to comply with the current NYC Energy Conservation Code. This typically means replacing older fluorescent fixtures with LED lighting and installing occupancy sensors and daylight controls. While important, this article focuses on the submetering requirements.

Compliance Deadline

The compliance deadline for Local Law 88 is January 1, 2025. Building owners were required to have both submeters installed and lighting upgrades completed by this date. If your building has not yet complied, you should take action immediately to avoid penalties.

Penalties for Non-Compliance

The NYC Department of Buildings (DOB) enforces Local Law 88. Penalties include:

• Civil penalties for failure to file required compliance reports
• Violations that appear on the building's public record and can affect insurance, financing, and property transactions
• Increased enforcement scrutiny — buildings that fail to comply may be flagged for additional inspections
• Financial impact on property transactions — non-compliance is a red flag during due diligence for buyers and lenders

Beyond the direct penalties, non-compliance means you're leaving money on the table. Every month without submetering is a month of unrecovered utility costs that should be billed to tenants.

How to Achieve Compliance

If your building needs to comply with Local Law 88's submetering requirements, here are the steps:

1. Assess your building's meter infrastructure. Walk your electrical rooms with your building engineer. Many NYC commercial buildings already have submeters installed from previous tenant buildouts. Document what's in place and what's missing.
2. Install submeters where needed. Work with a licensed electrician to install meters on any unmetered tenant spaces over 5,000 sq ft. Modern submeters are compact and non-invasive — installation typically doesn't require shutting down power to existing tenants.
3. Set up a billing system. This is where most building owners get stuck. You need a system that reads meters, applies current Con Edison rates, generates invoices, and maintains audit records. Learn more about how submetering billing works.
4. Begin monthly billing. Start reading meters and invoicing tenants on a regular monthly cycle. Keep records of all readings, rates, and invoices for compliance documentation.
5. File compliance documentation with the DOB as required. Your billing records serve as evidence of compliance with the submetering mandate.

How SimpleSubMeter Helps with Local Law 88 Compliance

SimpleSubMeter was built specifically for NYC building owners navigating Local Law 88. Here's how the platform helps:

• Automated Con Edison rate tracking. The platform fetches and applies current utility rates automatically, so you never bill tenants at outdated rates.
• Audit-ready invoices. Every invoice includes a complete audit trail linking charges to the exact rate source document used. If the DOB or a tenant asks for documentation, it's already there.
• Tenant portal. Tenants can view their invoices, check usage history, and verify billing calculations online — reducing disputes and building trust.
• No long-term contracts. You can start billing in a day if you already have meters installed. No setup fees, no lock-in.

Schedule a demo to see how SimpleSubMeter simplifies Local Law 88 compliance.