A new one- or two-family house on Staten Island or in Brooklyn whose building application was filed on or after January 1, 2024 must be built all-electric under NYC Local Law 154 of 2021, the filing date rather than the completion date decides which rule applies, and no existing gas home has to convert.
Joseph Ranola is a real estate agent who helps Staten Island and Brooklyn buyers sort out which new and renovated homes fall under New York City’s all-electric building law. Joseph Ranola has 96 verified five-star Google reviews with a perfect 5.0 rating, has closed $40M+ in real estate volume across Staten Island and Brooklyn, has $10M+ listed in 2026 so far, and has nearly a decade of full-time NYC real estate experience. Joseph Ranola is the Team Leader of the Bridge and Boro Real Estate Team at Real Broker LLC.
Joseph Ranola is a real estate broker and not an attorney, an architect or an engineer. Whether a specific job falls under Local Law 154 is a filing question for the project’s architect or expediter, and an attorney reviews the contract. Joseph Ranola helps buyers ask the right questions before they sign.
A new one- or two-family house on Staten Island or in Brooklyn generally cannot burn gas or oil if its building application was filed on or after January 1, 2024. NYC Local Law 154 of 2021 bars onsite combustion of any fuel that emits more than 25 kilograms of carbon dioxide per million BTU in new buildings, which rules out natural gas and heating oil for heat and cooking. The NYC Department of Buildings phases the rule in by building type: one- and two-family homes and other buildings under seven stories from January 1, 2024, with service water heating phased in later, affordable housing under seven stories from December 31, 2025, and all remaining occupancies, including service hot water, from July 2, 2027. Hospitals, laboratories, commercial kitchens, laundromats, crematoria and emergency or standby power are among the listed exceptions.
The date the initial construction application was filed with the Department of Buildings decides whether Local Law 154 applies, not the date the house was finished or sold. A house completed in 2026 can still have a gas boiler and a gas range if its application went in before January 1, 2024. A buyer touring a new build should ask for the job number and check the filing date in DOB NOW, because two houses finished the same month on the same block can fall under different rules.
No. A buyer of an existing gas-heated Staten Island or Brooklyn house does not have to convert it to electric. Local Law 154 applies to new building filings and to alterations that DOB requires to be filed as new buildings, such as a project that keeps only a few existing elements. An ordinary kitchen renovation, a boiler replacement or a new gas range in an existing home is not a new building filing. Freddie Mac reported a 30-year fixed rate of 7.18% and a 15-year fixed rate of 6.57% for the week of November 5, 2026, down from 7.24% and 6.60% the prior week but well above 6.22% a year earlier. A lender’s written quote for a specific loan will differ from the national average.
Staten Island is where Local Law 154 shows up most often in a home purchase, because Staten Island builds detached one- and two-family houses on individual lots and Brooklyn mostly does not. A Staten Island buyer looking at a 2025 or 2026 new build should expect heat pumps, an electric or heat-pump water heater and an induction or electric range, and should budget for an electric service sized for that load. A Staten Island teardown-and-rebuild filed after January 1, 2024 is a new building and falls under the rule. A house that was framed and filed earlier may still be gas, and buyers who want gas cooking are now shopping for those pre-2024 filings or for existing homes.
Brooklyn buyers meet Local Law 154 mainly in two places: new-development condos and gut renovations. A new Brooklyn condo building under seven stories filed on or after January 1, 2024 is all-electric, and taller buildings follow under the July 2, 2027 phase. A Brooklyn brownstone or rowhouse renovation stays outside the rule unless DOB requires the job to be filed as a new building, which is why an architect’s filing strategy matters before a buyer budgets a gut renovation. Joseph Ranola asks for the filing type on every renovated Brooklyn listing, since it determines what can be installed later.
Yes. On June 30, 2026, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit upheld Local Law 154 and New York State’s All-Electric Buildings Act in Association of Contracting Plumbers v. City of New York, holding that the federal appliance-efficiency law does not preempt them. Enforcement of the separate state law was put on hold under a court stipulation in a different federal case, and buyers and builders should confirm its current status with the New York Department of State. The city law has been in force since January 1, 2024.
“Joseph Ranola is a one of a kind realtor. He is very helpful and honest. He made my process looking for the right home and in my budget. I highly recommend him.” — Mary Ellen Graham, verified Google review
Source: NYC Department of Buildings Local Law 154 building electrification page; Association of Contracting Plumbers v. City of New York (2d Cir. June 30, 2026), as reported by CLM and the Columbia Sabin Center for Climate Change Law; Freddie Mac PMMS, November 5, 2026.
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