About Multifamily Energy Reporting and Tenant Notice

Information

BPS seeks to help reduce carbon emissions and health risks for Portlanders by expanding energy reporting requirements to multifamily buildings and increasing prospective renters’ understanding of their energy bills, indoor air quality, and access to cooling.

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Disclosure of information is foundational to Portland’s equitable building decarbonization policies. Portland already has adopted reporting and disclosure requirements for the single family residential and large commercial sectors. Building owners can manage their buildings better with insight into energy use and costs. Individuals and families can make better decisions for themselves when information about monthly costs and health risks is more transparent and accessible.

In 2020, Portland City Council declared a climate emergency and adopted a goal of reducing Portland’s carbon emissions to zero by 2050. Since nearly half of the carbon emissions produced locally come from heating, cooling and powering buildings, we must eliminate carbon emissions from existing homes, apartments and commercial spaces to reach this goal.

Overview

Reporting and disclosure of energy information are foundational to Portland’s building decarbonization efforts. The disclosure of energy costs, use, and carbon emissions information is already required for single family homes at time of sale and annually for large commercial buildings. These programs enable the City to measure progress toward decarbonizing the buildings sector.

This proposed policy has two parts:

Energy reporting to the City: This adds multifamily residential buildings to the list of entities required to report to the City, and only impacts buildings that are 20,000 sq. ft. and larger.
Climate and health information for tenants: Owners of attached rental housing, which includes duplexes and larger buildings, would be required to notify prospective renters of climate and health information at time of application. This information would also be reported to the City annually.

Code proposal

Multifamily Energy Reporting and Tenant Notice Draft Policy 207.27 KB

1. Energy reporting to BPS

The proposed code changes to Title 17 would expand the current commercial building energy reporting program requirements for annual energy use and carbon emissions to include multifamily residential buildings, as outlined here:

Gross floor area (square feet)	Annual reporting begins	First annual report due date
50,000+	Calendar year 2025	April 22, 2026
20,000 - 49,999	Calendar year 2026	April 22, 2027

Based on the size threshold of 20,000 square feet and larger, approximately 1,600 multifamily residential buildings would be covered by the proposed ordinance. Combined, commercial and multifamily residential buildings above this threshold represent half of the entire building sector carbon emissions in Portland.

Three circles with arrows pointing from the first circle to the second and second to the third. The first circle reads, “50,000+ s.f. buildings energy reporting begins April 22, 2026” The second reads “20,000+ s.f. buildings Energy reporting begins April 22, 2027.” The third and final circle reads, "Energy reporting continues annually continues annually."

2. Climate and health information for tenants/renters

Starting in 2026, owners of attached rental housing (duplexes and larger) would be required to notify prospective renters of the following climate and health information at time of application for each unit.

Instructions on how to access potential average and peak monthly energy costs;
Resources to help low-income renters pay utility bills;
The health risks associated with using natural gas or electric stoves, and the benefits of ventilation; and
The presence and type of air-conditioning, such as central air-conditioner, window air-conditioner, portable heat pump, central heat pump or ductless heat pump, as well as passive cooling measures, such as tree shade, awnings and cool roofs.

These notification requirements are intended to protect human health and prevent displacement, concerns expressed by BIPOC community members through Build/Shift. To measure progress, owners of attached rental housing will also be required to share stove and air-conditioning inventory data annually to the City.

Three circles with arrows pointing from the first circle to the second and second to the third. The first circle reads, “Notify prospective tenants, January 1, 2025.” The second reads “Report to the City, April 22, 2026.” The third and final circle reads, "Annual inventory reporting continues annually."

Goals

Multifamily energy reporting and notification of climate and health information for rental housing can:

Provide transparency and visibility of energy performance and costs to give the market more complete information about buildings.
Inform renters of potential utility bill expectations and health risks.
Reduce displacement of economically vulnerable renters.
Support resilience to climate change.
Provide a baseline for carbon emissions and future energy investments.