NYC Benchmark Filing

Rejected LL84 report: why the City flagged it and how to fix it

Updated October 16, 2026. Based on the NYC DOB's published data-quality labels and benchmarking instructions, linked at the bottom.

Since 2024 the City has been reviewing every submitted LL84 report in its BEAM system and issuing a violation when the data fails its checks, even though a report was filed. On September 25, 2026 the City's public violation data shows about 1,600 of these data-quality violations issued in one batch, far more than in any earlier round. If you filed on time and still got a $500 notice, this is probably why.

Step 1: find the exact reason

The public violation record does not say what was wrong. The reason is in two places:

  • The email the City sent to the building's ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager contact. The DOB page says: If you receive an error message(s) from BEAM_LL97@buildings.nyc.gov, make sure to correct the errors in ESPM as per email(s) sent to you.
  • The City's BEAM portal, where the property's data-quality label is shown to the owner or to a service provider the owner adds.

If you cannot find the email, ask whoever filed the report (a manager, a consultant, a former employee) to search for mail from BEAM_LL97@buildings.nyc.gov.

Step 2: match it to the City's list

The DOB publishes the labels it uses for single-building properties (July 2026). In plain words:

  1. Incorrect number of buildings. A single building must say 1. Several buildings on one lot must be set up as a campus (a parent property with child properties).
  2. Incorrect Site EUI. The energy figure is missing, zero, or out of range. The DOB page says to Make sure that your Energy Use Intensity (EUI) data is realistic; and is no lower than 5 kBtu/sq ft or greater than 1,000 kBtu/sq ft. Usually a missing month, a gap, an overlap, or utility data that never uploaded.
  3. Did not report whole-building energy. The box saying the selected meters account for the building's total energy was not ticked.
  4. Incorrect number of meters. An active meter (often fuel oil or diesel) was left out of the total.
  5. Missing water data. Only for buildings the City requires water for.
  6. Did not report whole-building water. The same tick box, for water.
  7. Ineligible property type. The DOB page says: For buildings with a single use, the ESPM property types Other and Mixed Use are not acceptable as a valid primary property type.

The City also checks that the 10-digit BBL and 7-digit BIN match the Covered Buildings List exactly (Failure to accurately input the correct BBL and BIN information may result in a violation), that gross floor area is not zero, and that the property-use floor areas add up to the total.

Step 3: fix it in Portfolio Manager and keep the share

Reasons 1, 3, 4, 6 and 7 are settings: they take minutes once you know which one it is. Reasons 2 and 5 need data: a whole-building energy data request to Con Edison or National Grid, fuel-oil delivery records entered by hand, or water data from DEP. Those can take days to weeks to arrive.

After the fix, run Check for Possible Errors on the property's Summary tab, make sure the property is still shared with the City, and keep the Portfolio Manager confirmation. Data goes to the City nightly. The DOB's violations page says: The Department may issue a Notice of Violation to any building on the Covered Buildings List that has not provided a fully compliant benchmarking report by the May 1 deadline. Its quarterly $500 rule (Failure to benchmark may result in a penalty of $500, issued on a quarterly basis until the benchmarking report is submitted, totaling up to $2000 per year) is written for buildings that have not submitted a report. We have not found a City rule giving a penalty date for rejected reports, so we do not state one.

Does fixing it cancel the violation I already have?

Nothing on the City's pages says so, and we do not promise it. A violation can be challenged in DOB NOW: Safety within 30 days of the notice's postmark, on the specific grounds the City lists; a wrong setting in Portfolio Manager is not one of them. Fixing the report is about stopping the next violation, not erasing this one. See LL84 violation: what to do.

What we do

NYC Benchmark Filing is a private company, not the City. For a rejected report we find the error, fix it and resubmit for a flat $349 when it is a settings problem. If it needs missing utility or water data, or a campus setup, we tell you before any work and quote the larger job ($495). You share the building with us in Portfolio Manager (three short steps); we never ask for your password.

Order a fix Check your building first (free)

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