New York gas ban for new homes, what the law actually requires
New York passed the first statewide law banning gas in new homes and other new buildings, commonly called the all electric buildings act, though the statute itself never actually uses that name. Codified in the state energy conservation construction code, the rule bans installing equipment that burns a fossil fuel, gas stoves, gas furnaces and gas water heaters among them, inside a new building. The law sets 2 start dates. Buildings up to 7 stories tall had to comply starting December 31, 2025. Every larger building, including a new commercial or industrial building over 100,000 square feet, follows a later date, December 31, 2028. A building that qualifies for an exemption, such as a hospital or a laundromat, must still be built electrification ready, meaning its wiring already carries enough capacity to add electric heating equipment later.
The court order that paused the New York gas ban on new homes
On November 12, 2025, the state agreed to a court ordered stipulation suspending enforcement of the all electric requirement while a federal appeal is pending, according to the New York State Builders Association, a plaintiff in the case. That agreement came 49 days before the first compliance date would have arrived, a gap this article calculated from the suspension date and the law own December 31, 2025 deadline. The lawsuit, brought by the builders association with the National Association of Home Builders and the National Propane Gas Association, argues a federal energy law preempts New York own ability to set the rule. A federal judge rejected that argument in July 2025, and the case now sits before the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, where the Department of Justice backed the plaintiffs in August 2025. No ruling has been reported as of September 2026.
This count runs from the November 12, 2025 suspension date to each date written into the law itself, a calculation made for this article, not a figure either source states directly.
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| Buildings 7 stories or fewer | 49 |
| Taller or larger buildings | 1,145 |
What building all electric is said to cost, and what it can save
The builders association puts a price on compliance. Michael Fazio, its executive director, told Congress in September 2026 that fully electrifying a new home can add more than 15,000 dollars to construction costs in colder climates, a figure describing the association own members rather than an independent study. Two estimates point the other way. A 2024 New York state report found the payback period for an all electric home runs 10 years or less, and that a household saves about 5,000 dollars over 30 years. A 2025 study by the think tank Switchbox put the savings at 12,050 dollars over 15 years, once mortgage payments, gas hookup costs, fuel costs and the loss of federal electrification incentives are counted. Fazio argues families should be free to choose their own equipment.
Families should be able to choose the energy sources and appliances that best fit their homes and budgets.
Michael Fazio, executive director of the New York State Builders Association. Source 3.
The grid argument behind New York gas ban for new homes
Before the suspension, 19 Democratic state assemblymembers signed a letter asking Governor Hochul to pause the mandate, warning the electric grid could not handle full electrification. Michael Lenoff, senior attorney at Earthjustice, countered that worry directly, pointing to the grid operator own reliability estimate for the future.
Procuring resources when industry-standard reliability metrics indicate the system is already overprotected risks gold-plating the system at consumers' expense.
Michael Lenoff, senior attorney at Earthjustice. Source 4.
The New York Independent System Operator projects about one blackout every 20 years by 2034, twice as reliable as the industry standard of one blackout every 10 years.
The grid operator figure is a 2034 projection cited by an Earthjustice attorney rebutting a claim that the grid could not handle full electrification.
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| New York grid operator, 2034 projection | 20 |
| Industry standard reliability | 10 |
What this means right now for anyone building or buying in New York
For a builder or a buyer in New York today, the practical fact is that neither compliance date is being enforced. The builders association describes the suspension as accomplishing nearly everything a formal grandfathering provision would have, covering every project already underway. Supporters of the original law reject calls to weaken it further. Michael Hernandez, New York policy director at Rewiring America, dismissed the delay push.
This is purely a political maneuver.
Michael Hernandez, New York policy director at Rewiring America. Source 4.