Thurston Co. wants to require homeowners to get an energy score before they sell
Homeowners will have to get their home scored for energy efficiency before listing it for sale under a proposed Thurston County ordinance.
The Board of County Commissioners held a public hearing on the proposed “Home Energy Score” (HES) ordinance on Tuesday but did not vote on it, citing a need for further legal counsel.
If approved, homeowners would be able to compare home energy costs of multiple home listings. However, the county estimates homeowners will have to pay about $150-300 for each HES assessment. The idea for this policy was initially included in the Thurston Climate Mitigation Plan, a regional framework to reduce local greenhouse gas emissions. The board adopted the plan and declared a climate emergency in 2021.
Under the current proposal, people looking to buy a home would be able to review a HES assessment that rates the home’s overall energy efficiency from 1-10, per the county’s website. The assessment would also include estimates for the home’s annual energy costs and a list of recommended upgrades that will lower energy bills.
A HES assessment must be conducted by a certified home energy score assessor, according to the proposal. The county says this process should take about an hour and covers over 40 data points, including a home’s age, size, stories, foundation, windows, insulation, heating and cooling systems and water heating systems.
The ordinance does not require homeowners to make any home improvements.
A similar statewide proposal, House Bill 1015, stalled in 2025 but has been reintroduced in the 2026 legislative session.
What did the public commenters have to say?
Realtors largely split with residents on the proposed policy during the Tuesday public hearing.
Dawn Baker, president of the Thurston County Realtors Association, asked the board to pause consideration of the proposed HES ordinances.
“We support energy efficiency, we support informed consumers, and we support policies that help on homeowners reduce costs over time, but we do not support implementing a new requirement at the time of listing without fully understanding its impacts,” Baker said.
Baker said the association still has unanswered questions about several factors, such as housing affordability, transaction timing and delays, enforcement and liability, administrative capacity and potential complications with state law.
“This is not a small policy change,” Baker said. “It is a structural change to how every home is brought to market, and one in which our association members were not meaningfully engaged during the development process.”
She said her association never supported the current proposal but stands ready to work with the county to reach a solution.
TJ Johnson, a Thurston County resident and property owner, encouraged the board to approve the HES ordinance, especially in light of the Trump administration rejecting climate change.
“Federal action is gone for the foreseeable future,” Johnson said. “So what that means is local jurisdictions, counties, cities and states, need to step up and fill the void in leadership, and that’s exactly what this ordinance does.”
Johnson said he has sold several homes and the cost of the HES assessment pales in comparison to the costs home sellers already face.
“I also happen to believe that markets work best when both the buyer and the seller have complete information, and that’s what this ordinance does,” Johnson said. “It gives both parties information to make rational decisions.”
Jessie Simmons, director of government affairs for Olympia Master Builders, contended there is no evidence the home energy score would lead to “measurable, statistically significant” increases in retrofits or energy savings across a jurisdiction’s housing stock.
“What matters for real energy savings is whether homeowners act on the information,” Simmons said. “That depends on incentives, finance options, contractor availability and personal priorities.”
Mandatory home energy rating policies have been implemented in communities across the country, including nearby Portland, Oregon, according to a 2025 report from American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy.
Mandatory home energy rating programs have been shown to increase the sale price of efficient homes as well as increase the number of home retrofits, according to the report. Mortgage default rates also tended to be lower for higher rated homes.
Thurston County estimates the HES policy will result in a range of 243–649 annual home retrofits. That represents up to $360,000 in “total energy cost savings” and 670 tons of “CO2 emissions reduced per year,” per the county website.
Natasha Hays, president of Restoring Earth Connections, supported the proposed ordinance. She said she bought a home two years ago and wishes she could have reviewed an HES assessment.
“I was ignorant at that time,” Hays said. “I have been quite unhappy with some of the things that I have discovered since I have been in the home and have made a number of changes. I probably would have offered less for the house, had I known, and they probably would have taken it.”
How did the county develop the ordinance here?
Ashley Arai, the county’s Community Planning and Economic director, said the proposal has been in the works for a while.
“This local Home Energy Score policy has been under consideration by government and community groups for several years as a priority strategy to both reduce energy use and greenhouse gas emissions from existing residential buildings,” Arai said.
The Thurston Climate Mitigation Collaborative (TCMC) Executive Committee included the development of an HES disclosure policy among a selection of adopted regional initiatives in 2023, according to county documents.
In 2024, the board approved an interlocal agreement with the cities of Olympia, Lacey and Tumwater to support the development of the HES ordinance as a “regionally coordinated initiative” of TCMC, per the documents.
This past December, the board approved an amended Thurston County Comprehensive Plan that includes new climate actions, such as the development of the HES policy.
Arai said the county reached out to residents and organizations across the county at the board’s direction on Dec. 10, 2025. Since then, over 250 people have submitted comments to a web survey, she said.
The cities of Olympia, Lacey and Tumwater are also considering their own HES policies, according to the county website. On Tuesday, Arai said the county is only aware of upcoming work sessions on the matter in Olympia and Tumwater.
What happens next?
If approved, the county’s ordinance would take effect one year after the adoption date. Within that year, the county would work with city partners to develop a regional HES program, Arai said.
“The primary tasks during this year would include developing a private sector workforce, also referred to as Certified Home Energy Score assessors,” Arai said.
Arai clarified that these assessors would not be employees of Thurston County and would be separately certified.
The county also intends to conduct outreach to real estate agents as well as finalize any implementation and monitoring processes before the ordinance takes effect, Arai said.
The board previously expected to vote on the proposed ordinance at the conclusion of the public comment period. During an earlier meeting, Clerk of the Board Amy Davis informed the board that staff recommended holding off on the vote.
Commissioner Tye Menser said the county’s legal team wanted to give the board some advice before the vote. County Manager Leonard Hernandez said that advice would be scheduled for Wednesday. It’s unclear what that advice was specifically about.
The board met with a county attorney on Wednesday during a closed-door executive session. After the session concluded, Menser said the board had many follow-up questions and that another executive session would follow.
Editor’s note: This article has been updated with additional information about the board’s meeting with a county attorney.
This story was originally published February 18, 2026 at 12:00 PM.
