Income Qualified Rental Program

Energy efficient upgrades for income-qualified Tacoma renters

Introduce electrification upgrades to your home and improve comfort at no cost to tenants or landlords

Puget Sound Energy is partnering with Tacoma Power to provide free electrification opportunities to make these improvements easy and accessible. Qualified renters can get both energy-boosting upgrades and electrify their home’s space heating at no upfront cost to them or their landlord.

If you’re a renter or property owner in Tacoma, you may qualify for free or low-cost weatherization upgrades through Tacoma Power. These upgrades can reduce energy consumption and make your home more comfortable—especially during winter and summer weather events.

Get started by submitting your landlord’s information so Tacoma Power can reach out directly, or learn more on their program page.

Renters, get started by connecting us with your landlord

Submit your landlord’s information, and Tacoma Power will reach out to give them guidance on how to take advantage of these free upgrades.

What upgrades might be available?

The homes and units approved for this program could receive no or low-cost upgrades such as:

duct sealing

Insulation

duct sealing

Duct sealing

Packaged terminal heat pumps

HVAC system (central heat pump or ductless heat pump)

water heating

Heat pump water heater

window icon

Single-pane window replacement with double-pane windows

smart temp

Smart thermostat

Actual upgrades depend on Tacoma Power’s assessment of each property, but they’re designed to eliminate natural gas use, reduce energy use and lower carbon emissions while improving tenant comfort.

Who is eligible?

Eligibility for Tacoma Power's income‑qualified rental property incentives depend on both tenant qualifications and rental property criteria. Full details are available on the Tacoma Power program page.

Rental property requirements

The rental property may be eligible if:

There are four or less units per building (or it’s a single-family home)
It is served by Tacoma Power for electricity
'It is served by Tacoma Power for electricity and/or is currently using PSE natural gas for home or water heating

Tenant requirements

You may qualify if:

You rent a single-family home or small multifamily rental (up to four units) in Tacoma.
You have Tacoma Power electricity service and PSE gas service with the utility account in your name.
Your household meets Tacoma Power’s income‑qualified guidelines.

How the program works

Tacoma Power manages this program, and their team guides landlords through the various stages, while PSE specifically conducts the electrification portion. Here’s a simplified look at how the process works.

Program steps
Confirm eligibility
Start by ensuring that the renter and property meet the eligibility requirements. If you’re not sure, you only need to submit your landlord’s information for Tacoma Power to move forward.

Connect with Tacoma Power
Once your landlord is connected with Tacoma Power, the staff will walk them through next steps, including how they’ll verify tenant income qualifications.

Energy audit
Tacoma Power performs an energy audit and provides a list of recommended, eligible upgrades for the property.

Get contractor bids
Your landlord selects at least three contractors from Tacoma Power and PSE’s dual participating contractors list to submit bids for the upgrades.

Submit electrification materials
PSE reviews contractor bids for electrification once they’re submitted and selects the contractor(s).

Approval and contractor selection
If approved, your landlord will receive approval letter with steps to schedule installs.

Electrification closeout
After your electrification equipment has been installed and your previous natural gas equipment is removed or decommissioned, your contractor will submit their application for payment directly to PSE.

Weatherization from Tacoma Power
Tacoma Power will approve owner selected bid and draft loan documents based on cost caps. If applicable Tacoma Power will send a notice to proceed.

Weatherization closeout
The weatherization project wraps up with submission of contractor invoices to Tacoma Power, install verification and then pay Trade Ally directly.

Enjoy a more efficient home
Upgrades are complete—and tenants can enjoy zero-cost improvements for a more comfortable, energy-efficient home.

Start the process by submitting your landlord’s information here.

Forgivable loan for landlords

For non-electrification offerings (full costs covered), Tacoma Power offers a forgivable loan to help you pay for upgrades to your rental property. Forgivable loans may cover up to 100% of the project installation costs within cost caps.

5‑year forgivable loan
Landlords may qualify for a 5‑year forgivable loan to cover single pane window upgrades, which requires keeping the unit affordable throughout the loan period. This option includes:

Keeping annual rent increases below 6% for the duration of the five-year loan

Reporting rental rates to Tacoma Power annually

Maintain home or units as a rentals for the term of the loan

Qualifying insulation upgrades are free!

If the property is sold, a portion of the loan is repaid based on how many years are left on the loan term.

Ready to get started?

This is the first step towards free energy-efficient upgrades in your home that improve comfort and help lower carbon emissions. Puget Sound Energy is excited to be partnering with Tacoma Power to expand access to and awareness of these free improvements.

Renters are empowered to kickstart this process by sharing the opportunity with their landlord or submitting their landlord’s information for Tacoma Power to get in touch.

Submit your landlord’s information to get started

Questions? Get in touch with an Energy Advisor.