The Wu administration is focusing on how to wean Boston’s vast inventory of aging apartments off fossil fuels. But with electricity costs sky-high, landlord groups are wary. iStock illustration
After enacting new regulations designed to limit large commercial buildings’ carbon emissions and fossil fuels, the Wu administration is focusing on how to wean Boston’s vast inventory of aging homes off fossil fuels.
The city’s draft climate action plan, released this month, studies ways to cushion property owners’ costs for green energy retrofits.
“If we can’t pay for this, it won’t happen,” said Hessann Farooqi, president of the Boston Climate Action Network. “The specific funding and financing strategies look different depending upon the topic, but climate action is good for the economy. It creates jobs and raises the standard of living for our residents.”
The dilemma: How to encourage homeowners and small landlords to update buildings with equipment such as electric heat pumps, without adding big cost burdens that further strain affordability?
A 2024 Boston Foundation report determined that costs of decarbonizing small and medium-sized buildings ranges from $21,000 to $58,000 per unit, even taking Mass Save and federal incentives into account. Decarbonizing Boston’s roughly 70,000 residential buildings that are under 20,000 square feet could cost nearly $16 billion, the report concluded.
One potential major funding source is emerging from the city’s Building Emissions Reduction Disclosure Ordinance, which took effect this year and applies to commercial buildings that are at least 20,000 square feet and residential buildings with 15 or more units.
Landlords that are unable to immediately meet the ordinance’s goals for reducing carbon emissions may submit an alternative compliance payment to the city. In turn, the Equitable Emissions Investment Fund will collect payments and distribute payments to offset the cost of carbon abatement projects.
The ordinance gives priority to projects located in environmental justice communities, low-income affordable housing and areas with high displacement risks.
Portal for Heat Pump Projects
And this fall, the city will launch the Boston Energy Saver, a partnership with utilities Eversource and National Grid and the existing Mass Save program. It sets a goal of installing 5,000 heat pumps by 2027, starting with buildings heated with oil or electric resistance systems.
The program will include an online portal enabling owners of residential buildings with fewer than 15 units – or commercial and nonprofit spaces under 20,000 square feet –to apply for Mass Save incentives and receive information about financing.
Another city program, the HomeWorks Green initiative, provides no-interest loans for repairs of small residential buildings, subject to income qualifications.
A new program launching this fall in Boston will seek to accelerate installation of heat pumps in smaller residential and commercial properties. iStock photo
Last updated in 2019, the climate action plan sets policy goals for buildings, the transportation network, the energy grid, flood defenses and open space. It also responds to a public survey’s finding that extreme heat is the top concern of residents, with strategies to expand the tree canopy and expand access to cooling centers.
The report also sets a goal of reducing embodied carbon in developments, reflecting the heavy fossil fuels associated with production of building materials such as steel and concrete. As part of Boston’s net zero carbon zoning code that took effect July 1, developers are required to include information in large and mid-sized projects. The new plan recommends the city provide technical assistance during buildings during reconstruction to salvage materials for reuse.
A final draft will be released this fall, followed by a public comment period and release of the final version in 2026.
Steve Adams
Landlords Wary of Future Regs
The plan does not contain specific new regulations, which could be proposed following its adoption. But one local landlord group, Boston-based Small Property Owners Association, is wary of additional cost and regulatory burdens on residential properties that could emerge from the plan’s recommendations.
“With electricity prices soaring in Massachusetts absolutely out of control, going to all-electric is really expensive to accomplish, and there’s a back order on a lot of the equipment,” SPOA President Allison Drescher said. “It’s expensive to make these transactions.”
Building retrofits may clash with historical district regulations, and the additional costs associated with building retrofits may prompt more mom-and-pop landlords to sell properties, Drescher said.
“We are hearing the smaller owners are exiting the space. The overall market – the financial constraints, the regulatory constraints – are mounting,” Drescher said.
Another nonprofit group that represents apartment owners, MassLandlords, isn’t lobbying against the climate action plan at this time, Executive Director Douglas Quattrochi said. But it’s wary of the recommendation for a residential building scorecard on energy sustainability, Executive Director Doug Quattrochi said in an email.
“What renter truly has any choice in this housing crisis?” Quattrochi said.
