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Are you publicly advertising your home for sale in Portland? Most homes listed in Portland will require a Home Energy Score (HES) and Report in all advertisements. Follow these simple steps to get yours when you sell your home.
Do you need a Home Energy Score?
Learn more from these three simple questions.
Most homes advertised in Portland will require a Home Energy Score at the time they are listed for sale.
1: Is the home being publicly advertised for sale?
If you are publicly listing or advertising your home for sale in any manner – such as through online listings, posters, yard signs, print publications, or the RMLS – you will need to acquire a Home Energy Score and Report before you list it.
If you are selling your home privately between two parties and the home is never publicly advertised for sale, then the requirements do NOT apply.
2: Is the home within the boundaries of the City of Portland?
While any home seller can get a Home Energy Score, this policy and requirement only applies to homes within Portland's jurisdictional boundary. Not all homes with a Portland mailing address are within the jurisdictional boundary of the City of Portland.
To confirm whether your home is within the Portland jurisdictional boundary, enter the address at portlandmaps.com and find the "Jurisdiction" field. If the jurisdiction is indicated as "Portland," then the home seller must follow the requirements.
If the jurisdiction is "unincorporated" or another city, then it is not subject to the ordinance.
The county listed does not matter. There are homes in both Clackamas and Washington Counties that fall within the jurisdictional boundary of Portland. It's always a good idea to look up any Portland address to confirm proceeding with an assessment.
The City of Milwaukie also has Home Energy Score requirements, and you can find information about those requirements on their website.
Does the home qualify for any exceptions or exemptions?
Exceptions
Mobile homes, manufactured homes and floating homes cannot be scored and therefore are not required to get a Home Energy Score. Detached additional dwelling units (ADUs) also do not require scoring, provided the main home does receive a score.
Condos, townhomes and duplexes:
- Homes that are in a stacked configuration with other units above or below them cannot be scored at this time.
- Townhome style condominiums or other side-by-side shared wall configurations can be scored and therefore are required to obtain a Home Energy Score.
- ADUs within the same structure as the main home are to be scored under one assessment.
3. Is your home exempt or excluded?
You may qualify for an exemption under certain forms of financial distress or it is condemned, uninhabitable or hazardous to enter.
Get your Home Energy Score and Report
Check the Green Building Registry for an existing Home Energy Report
If your home has previously been listed for sale at some point between 2018 and present, it's possible it may already have a Home Energy Score and Report. Visit the Green Building Registry and search the home's address to see if there is an existing Score and Report.
They can be reused for up to eight years from the date of the original Assessment if no changes have been made to the home. If you have made any improvements to the home that are evaluated as part of a Home Energy Assessment, you are required to get a new Score and Report.
Finding a Home Energy Score is easy. Once an assessment is completed, the Score and Report are available to view in the Green Building Registry at any time.
Enter the property address and search for the home's profile. Find Home Energy Score information by clicking on "HES" to expand. The unique URL for the Home Energy Report will appear at the bottom of the window.
You can copy and paste this into any listing service. Click on "Download Report" to download and print a copy of the Report.
Click the link at the bottom of the Green Building Registry Home Energy Score page to download the report. Use the direct link to the PDF in advertising the home for sale.
If you have made improvements that might increase your homes score or it's not listed in the Green Building Registry, follow these quick steps to get your score:
Step 1: Schedule a Home Energy Assessment
Contact an authorized Home Energy Assessor to get a Home Energy Score and Report before listing or otherwise announcing that your home is for sale.
Home Energy Assessors are independent service providers. There are many options and we recommend calling more than one to find cost and scheduling options that meet your needs.
Step 2: Prepare for the Home Energy Assessment
The Home Energy Assessment is a streamlined and simple process. The Home Energy Assessor will need to access your home for about 45 minutes to an hour, including attic and crawl spaces. Clear any items blocking access to these areas in advance. It can also be helpful to provide your Assessor with any documentation of insulation or professional air sealing work done on your home. You do not need to be present for the Assessment.
During the assessment
More than 70 pieces of home information are collected during an energy assessment. Information about a home's envelope (foundation, insulation, walls, windows) and its heating, cooling and hot water systems will be entered into the modeling software.
The Assessor does not collect information about non-permanent house features like lighting, home electronics and appliances or how residents operate the home. The scoring methodology instead use assumptions about standard operating conditions for these features to allow easy comparison between homes. For more information on what to expect during an assessment, check out the video below:
After the assessment
Once the on-site assessment is complete, the Home Energy Assessor will need a little bit of additional time to enter the data points into a computer model to generate the Report. You can ask your Assessor about their estimated turnaround time when you schedule your appointment. If you are working with a real estate professional, make sure they also receive a link to the Report to help you include it in any advertisements for the home.
Step 3: Receive the Home Energy Score and Report
Once the assessor has finalized the the Home Energy Score and Report, they will email it to you and it will also be available immediately on the Green Building Registry by searching for your home's address.
Step 4: Display the Home Energy Score
Include the Home Energy Score and Report in any listing or public advertisements for the home as well as on-site during showings and open houses.
Your Home Energy Score and Report must be publicly disclosed in advertisements, whether you are working with a real estate professional or selling a home yourself.
Working with a real estate professional
Working with a listing agent can be helpful in completing the Home Energy Score process. However, the home seller is ultimately responsible for compliance with the ordinance. We recommend that you personally confirm that the steps below have been completed.
Advertisements
Include the Home Energy Score and the online link to the Home Energy Report in any advertising for the home, whether advertising online, in a publication or on a sign posted at the house. For listing agents, there is an automated process which makes it easy to add the Score and Report to the RMLS listing for your home.
Reports in the home
You will need to place printed copies of your Report in the home where prospective buyers will see it. Confirm that your real estate representative will do this for you as part of coordinating home showings and open houses. Place them in an accessible and central location such as on the kitchen counter or dining room table.
For Sale by Owner
Advertisements
Include the Score and the online link to the Report in any advertising for the home, whether online, in a publication or on a sign posted at the house, Your Assessor will provide you with an online link to your Report. If you need to locate your Score and Report, you can also find it online by searching for the home's address in the Green Building Registry. Copy the numerical Score and the online link provided for the Report and insert it into this statement:
[Home Energy Score = {your score}. HES Report at {your Report web link}]
Resources to improve your market value
Home Energy Score references
Project resources
Do-It-Yourself
Assistance for income-qualified sellers
The City of Portland provides assistance for low-income home sellers. If your household income is at or below 80% of Portland's Area Median Income (AMI), you may be eligible for a free Home Energy Score.
If you're not sure if you qualify, you can use the Portland Housing Bureau's AMI calculator, and enter your household's size and total annual income.
For further questions or to schedule an income-qualified free Home Energy Score assessment, please contact Community Energy Project (CEP):
Call: 971-544-8710
Email: hes@communityenergyproject.org
Please note that if you schedule online, CEP will contact you prior to your appointment to confirm eligibility. If they are not able to reach you, the appointment may be delayed.