As of January 1, 2022, office building owners who have not filed a sprinkler report, certifying that sprinklers were installed in the building where required under Local Law 26 of 2004, will be subject to civil penalties.

The civil penalties are as follows:

• Failure to File – $5,000 per year beginning January 1, 2022, ending on the filing date of an acceptable report.
• Late Filing – In addition to the above penalty, $1,000 per month, beginning February 1, 2022, and ending on the filing date of an acceptable report.

A Refresher on LL26/04

Local Law 26 of 04 established retroactive sprinkler requirements for high-rise office buildings 100 feet tall or greater in height in the wake of 9/11. Any existing building of this size that converts to an Office use also falls under this law.

Eligible buildings needed to install or upgrade to a full automatic sprinkler system that met current code requirements and submit a final report by July 1, 2019. (For a full breakdown of LL26, see our previous article).

With mounting monthly fees for a late filing and all the project delays that can be caused by outstanding violations, this is one building owners will want to get on as soon as possible.

How to Resolve

These violations can be dismissed by submitting an acceptable report and proof of payment.

You will need to submit the filing itself to the Department of Buildings at NYCDOBLL26@buildings.nyc.gov.

You may also challenge the penalty by submitting proof of compliance or proof that the building is not required to comply with LL26 to the same email address.

For further assistance with code compliance and resolving violations, contact the Outsource Consultants team today.

Resources

• Service Update
• Sprinkler Compliance Report FAQs
• Decoder – “Running Through Sprinklers”