By Jan. 1, New York State residents may no longer have any appliance or furnace installed that is not powered by electric. In existing homes, you may continue to use your current appliances and furnace, even those who use other fossil fuels like propane, natural gas, or oil at this time. You also may replace those appliances as you wish (fossil-fuels or electric). The changes in the law only affect new construction.

After Jan. 1, permits and applications will not allow for new residential single family homes or low rise buildings to use any non-electric appliance or heating system.

The New York Department of State routinely updates its code every four to five years, according to our Building Department officials. New York State is implementing its Electric Buildings Act to begin Jan. 1, 2026. The law is aiming to reduce New York’s carbon footprint by transitioning all new construction to electric power. There are exemptions for industries like restaurants and factories. The new changes were approved in late July. New York is the first state with this kind of code change.

Commercial building codes have also changed. To review all the code changes (including commercial and residential) by New York State visit here.

To read the new residential building code for NYS 2025 read here.

To read the new fire code for NYS 2025 code visit here.

To read the new energy code for NYS 2025 read here.

The 2025 Uniform Code rule text is here.

You can review the new uniform building codes, energy codes and fire codes here. We are happy to answer any questions you may have. Call 518-893-7432, ext.  306 for Code Enforcement Officer Cory Burda and ext. 305 for Building Inspector and Zoning Administrator Justin Reckner.