Ensuring Compliance With Sprinkler Laws In NYC

Every lawyer that negotiates New York City office leases, whether on behalf of the landlord or the tenant, needs to be aware of Local Law 26/04. This article explores four key issues presented by Local Law 26/04 and how each party to a lease can consider negotiating these issues.

Before getting into these issues, however, it is necessary to understand the law. Local Law 26/04 requires, among other things, all owners of buildings 100 feet or greater to install sprinklers on all floors of the building by no later than July 1, 2019. Landlords should already be aware of this requirement since this local law requires landlords to submit interim reports to the Department of Buildings advising of the level of progress and implementation plans towards satisfying the sprinkler requirement by July 1, 2019. Even with that knowledge, though, landlords often rely on form leases that may not be updated to address this sprinkler requirement, so landlords’ counsel need to be mindful. Likewise, tenants’ counsel need to be savvy of where issues and costs arising out of this requirement may be lurking in a typical lease.