If you own a home in Berkeley, you will not be allowed to sell it until you spend tens of thousands of dollars. You must bring your home into the “green zone”” even if the purchaser wants the house as is.
“It may soon be required for outgoing or incoming owners of single-family homes and other smaller buildings to install emissions-efficient upgrades when a property is sold, such as swapping out a gas furnace for a heat pump HVAC system or installing solar panels with a battery storage system.
Changes to the city’s Building Emissions Saving Ordinance, or BESO, would require that buildings with one to four units have a certain number of emissions-resiliency “credits” at the time of sale, or that the previous or new owner, or both together, make a deposit with the city while the new owner installs any necessary upgrades. The Berkeley City Council passed a first reading of the ordinance changes Feb. 11, and it is scheduled to return for a second vote March 25.”
This will lower the value of homes, make them harder to sell—and force people to keep homes they do not want.
Buying or selling a home in Berkeley? If it’s not energy-efficient, it will cost you
Making some climate-friendly upgrades to cut back on emissions, like replacing your gas furnace with a heat pump or adding solar panels, will likely soon be required when a home changes hands in Berkeley.
by Alex N. Gecan. Berkelyside, 4/17/25 https://www.berkeleyside.org/2025/04/17/berkeley-city-council-proposed-beso-amendments?utm_source=Berkeleyside+newsletters&utm_campaign=d3e47a6714-RSS_DAILY_BRIEFING&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_8582aac18f-6348643cf5-323112229&goal=0_aad4b5ee64-d3e47a6714-323112229&mc_cid=d3e47a6714&mc_eid=b83149c3e5
Emissions-saving upgrades, such as solar panels or heat pump appliances, may soon be required on small buildings undergoing sales in Berkeley.
Update, April 17: Berkeley’s new emissions requirements on smaller residential buildings up for sale have become law.
The City Council gave final approval Tuesday to edits to the city’s Building Emissions Saving Ordinance, requiring that buildings with one to four units have a certain number of emissions-resiliency “credits” at the time of sale, or that the previous or new owner, or both together, make a deposit with the city while the new owner installs any necessary upgrades.
The version the council ultimately voted on included a series of revisions to the escrow deposits the new regulations require, setting the amount at $5,000, (rather than $7,000) to be split by buyer and seller.
The new rules will take effect Jan. 1, 2026, for one- and two-unit residential buildings and two years later for three- and four-unit buildings.
Original story, Feb. 18: It may soon be required for outgoing or incoming owners of single-family homes and other smaller buildings to install emissions-efficient upgrades when a property is sold, such as swapping out a gas furnace for a heat pump HVAC system or installing solar panels with a battery storage system.
Changes to the city’s Building Emissions Saving Ordinance, or BESO, would require that buildings with one to four units have a certain number of emissions-resiliency “credits” at the time of sale, or that the previous or new owner, or both together, make a deposit with the city while the new owner installs any necessary upgrades. The Berkeley City Council passed a first reading of the ordinance changes Feb. 11, and it is scheduled to return for a second vote March 25.
“Currently, BESO relies on building owners to voluntarily complete energy upgrades to decrease their building’s emissions,” Planning Director Jordan Klein wrote to the City Council ahead of the Feb. 11 meeting. “However, only 2-3% of building owners are known to have completed upgrades under BESO’s voluntary model.”
Building sellers are required to get a “home energy score” assessment from an assessor registered with the city.
The proposed ordinance changes are meant to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Berkeley and help the city meet its climate goals, specifically reducing emissions 60.5% from 2018 levels by 2030 and acknowledging the ongoing climate emergency while also adding new jobs in electrification. Berkeley adopted an earlier version of BESO roughly 10 years ago requiring regular assessments at larger buildings, and assessments when smaller ones are sold.
“By providing valuable information on energy saving opportunities as well as access to incentive and financing programs, the goal of BESO was to on-ramp building owners to local energy efficiency and electrification rebate programs,” Klein wrote to the council.
Proponents touted the environmental benefits of the proposal, but critics said it does not account for hidden costs associated with the upgrades.
The buildings in question would now have to hit six credits at least five years before or three years after the sale date. Some upgrades deliver the full six credits on their own: installing a heat pump water heater or HVAC system, solar panels with storage or smart panels or replacing older-fashioned “knob and tube” wiring. A number of other upgrades would provide fewer credits. Partial credit is available, so for example, if you do two credits’ worth of upgrades in that five-year period, you only need to upgrade for four more.
Over a dozen speakers spoke on the proposed changes, most in support but a few opposed. One speaker sang “It’s time to upgrade the B-E-S-O” to the tune of the Village People’s “YMCA.”
Environment and Climate Commission member Alison LaBonte suggested that while the upgrades may cost homeowners in the short run, they could end up saving them costly repairs, such as to a malfunctioning furnace.
Elisabeth Watson, a Berkeley resident and real estate agent, argued that there would instead be higher associated costs to the upgrades. “Last year I replaced my furnace and my water heater and by the time I’d done the plumbing, the panel and the ductwork that were required to get it done, the total was $50,000.”
An initial proposal called for a $7,000 escrow deposit to be made to the city, to be negotiated by buyer and seller, which planners estimated was roughly the equivalent of the “minimum cost of compliance” after rebates.
A proposed revision, submitted before the meeting by council members Brent Blackaby, Mark Humbert, Rashi Kesarwani and Shoshana O’Keefe, would cut that to $5,000 with an even split. The council voted in favor of the lower rate, and asked the City Attorney’s Office to study the 50-50 split, among other tweaks. The city refunds the money if the upgrades are completed. Otherwise it is moved to a standalone fund aimed at reducing emissions in low-income homes.
City ordinance already requires energy assessments when buildings are sold, but owners have the latitude to ignore the city’s recommendations without defaulting on deposits.
Berkeley is practicing what it preaches. Homeowners should have left earlier.