Dear Condominium Unit Owner or Resident in Washington, DC:
If you live in a residential condominium in Washington, DC, please read this. DC’s green laws may be well-intentioned, but they are in urgent need of right-sizing in order to avoid imposing significant financial strain on DC residents who live in condominiums. The District of Columbia's Building Energy Performance Standards (BEPS) mandate strict energy conservation goals by the end of 2026, but they have left many condominium and cooperative associations in a difficult situation. The current BEPS laws impose unrealistic timelines and penalties on community associations, which is likely to lead to financial strain, insolvency, and increased housing costs, especially in lower-income areas.
A volunteer-based trade association called Community Associations Institute (CAI) has a Legislative Action Committee (DC LAC) which has been studying this issue. The DC LAC has proposed recommendations to amend the existing BEPS policies to make them more fair and practical.
But the voice of DC residents is the most powerful for DC Council. We urge DC residents to communicate to DC Council about this issue. The DC Council and the Department of Energy and Environment (DOEE) must address these issues now to prevent the severe financial impacts on DC residents who live in condominiums and cooperative associations. This petition urges DC Council to consider DC residents and the financial impact of these laws.
Please sign our petition and join us in urging the Council to reconsider BEPS implementation before it causes long-term harm to our communities.
Dear Members of the District of Columbia Council,
We, the residents, board members, and property managers of community associations in Washington, DC, urge the Council to reevaluate the current Building Energy Performance Standards (BEPS) policies. While we fully support efforts to make DC more energy-efficient, the BEPS regulations, as they stand, place an unfair burden on condominium and cooperative associations. The requirements are difficult or impossible for many of our buildings to meet, and the penalties for non-compliance threaten to devastate our communities financially.
BEPS mandates are particularly harmful to older and lower-income multifamily buildings, which already face significant challenges in upgrading infrastructure. Additionally, exempting single-family homes from these energy efficiency standards creates an unfair advantage for more affluent homeowners, while community associations, which house many of DC's middle and lower-income residents, bear the brunt of these regulations.
We ask that the Council adopt the policy recommendations put forth by the DC Legislative Action Committee (DC LAC), which include creating compliance pathways for older buildings, reducing penalties, and providing financial incentives for energy efficiency projects. By doing so, we can make the BEPS program fairer and more practical, ensuring that all DC residents are part of the solution without putting undue financial strain on community associations. We believe these changes are crucial for protecting the financial stability and housing affordability of thousands of DC residents.
Please, reconsider the BEPS regulations to better reflect the needs and realities of our communities.