In a major win for NYC, building owners can now buy LL97 offsets that support electrification in the city’s affordable housing.
Original publication by Urban Green Council • April 30, 2025
New York City just added a powerful new tool to its climate action toolkit, and it’s a win for building owners, affordable housing and the planet alike.
With the official launch of the new Affordable Housing Reinvestment Fund (AHRF) Offsets Program, building owners can now reduce Local Law 97 emissions by purchasing verified greenhouse gas (GHG) offsets. Even better? The money from these offsets will fund real improvements in affordable housing across the city.
Highlights
- LL97 AHRF offsets are available for up to 10 percent of a building’s annual GHG limit.
- Building owners can buy offsets only through the Affordable Housing Reinvestment Fund Offsets Program administered by NYCEEC.
- Offsets cost $268 per tonne of CO2e and will pay for equivalent carbon reductions in affordable housing through HPD’s REDi program.
- AHRF offsets are uniquely crafted to drive local benefits.
What is the AHRF Offsets Program?
The Affordable Housing Reinvestment Fund (AHRF) Offsets Program is a new and creative way to maximize LL97 benefits for NYC residents and building owners.
Under the AHRF program, a building owner can purchase AHRF offsets to reduce a building’s emissions for LL97 compliance, up to a maximum of 10 percent of that building’s annual GHG limit. The money from those offset purchases flows to the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development’s (HPD) Resilient and Equitable Decarbonization Initiative (REDi) to fund equivalent carbon savings through deep efficiency and electrification retrofits in qualifying affordable housing in New York City.
The AHRF was developed by the NYC Department of Buildings (DOB), HPD and the Mayor’s Office of Climate and Environmental Justice (MOCEJ). The program and offset purchases are administered by the New York City Energy Efficiency Corporation (NYCEEC).
Benefits of the AHRF Offsets Program
- Unlocks electrification in affordable housing
- Gives sensible flexibility to building owners for last-mile LL97 compliance
- Ensures LL97 dollars are invested in NYC buildings — not fines or less beneficial offsets — creating local jobs and improving air quality
How does the program work?
A building owner whose building has GHG emissions over its LL97 limit for a given year will take a few straightforward steps:
- Determine how many offsets to purchase. DOB’s LL97 reporting portal has a calculator to show the maximum number allowed for a given building and the amount needed to get into compliance.
- Submit a purchase application. Owners can complete an AHRF Offset Purchase Application through NYCEEC’s AHRF website and, after NYCEEC approval, pay the purchase invoice.
- Confirm the offset purchase. Offsets will be automatically applied to a building’s annual emissions in the LL97 reporting portal within 10 business days.
Emissions reductions from all offsets will be tracked in a public registry on NYCEEC’s website.
Every AHRF offset supports HPD’s REDi program and will fund one tonne of GHG reduction based on the deemed savings of individual retrofit projects (accounting for factors like a building’s current fuel, size and unit size).
An offset like no other
GHG offsets typically come from far-flung projects, like solar farms or trees planted in other states or countries. By contrast, AHRF offsets are a smart, local and uniquely beneficial kind of offset.
AHRF offsets exhibit core environmental integrity principles, like being real and quantifiable, permanent, additional, and verifiable. But most importantly, they are hyper-local, channeling much-needed funds to improve efficiency and replace fossil fuel systems in affordable housing in the five boroughs.
That means LL97 dollars are invested in NYC buildings—not fines or less beneficial offsets—and help drive local jobs, cleaner air and healthier homes for NYC residents.
Urban Green’s role
The Affordable Housing Reinvestment Fund has been a long-time priority for Urban Green. We incubated the concept in our 80×50 Buildings Partnership, a convening of experts and stakeholders that helped shape LL97. And we worked with partners for more than three years to advance the idea through the LL97 Advisory Board process and support its development and implementation. We congratulate the teams at DOB, HPD, MOCEJ and NYCEEC on this major achievement to strengthen LL97 and further NYC’s climate progress.
For full details on LL97 offsets and the Affordable Housing Reinvestment Fund, see the Article 320 Information Guide on NYC DOB’s LL97 website, and a recent Urban Green webinar. Offsets are now available for purchase for LL97 compliance on NYCEEC’s website.
Related resources
LL97 Offsets: The Affordable Housing Reinvestment Fund
Come learn how you can use AHRF offsets for LL97 compliance!
Local Law 97
NYC’s groundbreaking climate legislation sets carbon emissions caps for large buildings that began in 2024.
The 80×50 Buildings Partnership
First convened by Urban Green in November 2017, the Partnership set out to develop recommendations for New York City on the design of a policy to reduce building energy use. This work was instrumental in the passage of Local Law 97 in 2019.