Tier 2 compliance is due July 1, 2027·8 months away·Only 6.7% of covered buildings had complied as of September 2026Start your assessment →
Menu
HomeThe RequirementThe IncentiveWhy UsOngoing ComplianceFAQResourcesContact
(206) 371-0795Request an assessment

Home / The Incentive

The State pays for a filing done right

The Legislature set aside $150 million to pay Tier 2 owners who complete their compliance package. The base payment is 30 cents per square foot of eligible floor area. It is paid only on a filing the Washington State Department of Commerce accepts, it is drawn down first-come, first-served, and you apply for it as part of the compliance submission, not separately. The Department of Commerce tells owners to submit compliance and incentive applications by July 1, 2027, and once the money is gone, it’s gone. Buildings that haven’t filed by then also become subject to penalties.

BuildingEligible areaBase incentive
Neighborhood office building25,000 sq ft$7,500
Retail center35,000 sq ft$10,500
Largest nonresidential Tier 2 building50,000 sq ft$15,000
Apartment building80,000 sq ft$24,000
Large multifamily property200,000 sq ft$60,000

"Eligible area" excludes parking, unconditioned and semi-conditioned space, which is one of several places an application goes wrong. The Department of Commerce reports typical awards of $6,000 to $15,000 per building.

Where applications fail

  • Floor area claimed on the assessor's figure rather than the standard's definition, triggering a correction and a return to the back of the review queue.
  • Benchmarking records with gaps, estimated reads or the wrong meters, which the Department of Commerce will not accept.
  • Plans and programs written in a format the reporting tools do not take.
  • Missing owner signatures where a building has more than one owner of record, or a management company without portal "shared access."
  • Enhanced multifamily applications submitted without the rent schedule and the signed agreement the Department of Commerce requires.
  • Timing. The incentive is paid by the utility from a capped State tax credit. The Department of Commerce has stated that payments can be partial if a utility's credit is exhausted in a period. The earlier you file, the smaller that risk.

Multifamily: the enhanced incentive

Multifamily owners who rent to residential tenants and sign the Department of Commerce's Anti-Displacement Agreement can have their full cost of compliance covered, up to 75 cents per square foot. The agreement carries obligations through the 2032 cycle, including provisions that follow a sale of the building and a repayment clause. It makes sense for some owners and not for others. We review it with every multifamily client before recommending either track.

How our fee works

No upfront cost. We’re paid only when the State pays you. Our fee is a fixed percentage of the base incentive, quoted in writing before you engage us, with volume pricing for portfolios. Because the fee comes out of the State payment, the owner retains the majority of the incentive and is compliant for the cycle. For multifamily owners on the enhanced track, compliance is typically reimbursed in full.

The line is already forming. The Department of Commerce expects about 15,000 applications before the July 2027 deadline and processes them in the order received. Complete filings get through on the first pass. Incomplete ones go back to the end of the line.

Request a written estimate for a specific building: eligible area, expected incentive, and our fee.