Passive House spreads fastest where policymakers and practitioners work together: that was the finding of our 2019 Policy Resource Guide, and it still shapes our work. Incentives and research make the case for it; codes in six states, the District of Columbia, and British Columbia accept it; and advocacy brings it to more places. Here’s where Passive House stands in each, and how to help.
Policy: Incentives and certification · Our policy research · Talks and recordings
Codes: Energy codes · How codes handle certification · Zoning and land use · Canada · What’s changing
Advocacy: Lessons from Minneapolis · Code language · Training for advocates
Policy
Policy pays for Passive House and builds the case for it: incentives for certified buildings and for training, the certification they rely on, and our research on which policies work.
Incentives and certification
- Building Financial Incentives: Utilities, housing finance agencies, and lenders across the United States write certification to the Passive House Institute (PHI) standard into their programs. Eleven utility and public programs pay incentives for certified buildings, 14 state housing finance agencies recognize it in their tax-credit plans, and Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and two C-PACE programs recognize it in lending.
- Training Financial Incentives: PHN and 13 sponsors in seven states help pay for Passive House training. State, city, and utility programs pay from part of the course fee to all of it, and PHN takes money off its CPHD course for students, educators, veterans, nonprofit and public employees, and others, and for firms that enroll several people.
- Certification: how a building is certified to the PHI standard, the proof of performance that codes, funders, and lenders across the United States accept.
Our policy research
Every PHN report, newest first; all reports, including others’, are on the Reports page.
| Year | Report | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Energy Standards Comparison Study, Task 2: Multifamily Residential BuildingsRead online | How Passive House lowers energy use in multifamily buildings across climate zones 1 to 7. |
| 2023 | Energy Standards Comparison Study, Task 1: Methodology and Modeling ParametersRead onlineDownload PDF | The method for comparing Passive House with the codes and standards in use across the US, with RDH Building Science. |
| Stepping Up to Passive: Policies We WantRead onlineDownload PDF | Four steps for adopting Passive House codes, so market confidence, professional skill, and the product supply chain are in place before baseline codes change. | |
| Safe at HomeRead onlineDownload PDF | How all-electric multifamily Passive House buildings deliver climate resilience, with cost analysis showing they can be built at or near the cost of conventional buildings. | |
| 2022 | Policy That WorksRead onlineDownload PDF | Which Passive House policies are in place across North America, how they work, and which succeed. |
| 2021 | Is Cost the Barrier to Passive House Performance?Read onlineDownload PDF | First costs for sixteen multifamily buildings, by Bronwyn Barry. |
| 2019 | Policy Resource GuideRead onlineDownload PDF | Experts on the programs that have done most to accelerate Passive House adoption. |
Talks and recordings
Policy Videos collects our conference and webinar sessions on policy, from Vancouver and New York State to electrification and building performance standards. More are in the Video Library, under Codes & Policy.
Codes
Codes in six states and the District of Columbia accept certification to the Passive House Institute (PHI) standard as a way to comply, and Massachusetts requires Passive House for large multifamily buildings in 60 municipalities. Two cities and one state use it in zoning, and in Canada, British Columbia names PHI in its building code.
Energy codes
The Massachusetts Specialized Code requires Passive House for large multifamily buildings. The other codes accept PHI certification as a way to comply.
| Where | Code | What PHI certification does |
|---|---|---|
| Massachusetts | Specialized Opt-in Code, 225 CMR 23 §C407.3 | Passive House is the required path for new multifamily over 12,000 sf; PHI certification meets it. Adopted by 60 municipalities (June 2026). |
| Stretch Code §C401.2.2; low-rise residential §R405 | A compliance path for any building, in 242 municipalities, with no thermal-bridge backstop calculation. | |
| Colorado | Denver Green Code §401.6.2, §701.7.2 | PHI certification meets the Green Code’s energy chapter, residential and commercial. |
| Boulder County BuildSmart | Homes over 3,000 sf must certify to one of four programs; Passive House is one (from July 2026). | |
| Illinois | Residential and Commercial Stretch Energy Codes | PHI-certified buildings are deemed to comply. In force for state-funded projects since January 2025 and open to any municipality. |
| New York | NYStretch-2020 §R408 | A residential path through PHI’s Low Energy Building Standard, adopted by at least 40 communities, New York City among them. |
| City and Town of Ithaca Energy Code Supplements | Design to PHI Passive House Classic meets the local supplement. | |
| Rhode Island | Residential Stretch Code §4.8.2 | An alternative path in the voluntary stretch code used for public projects. |
| Washington | State Energy Code §R407.3; Seattle Energy Code | A residential path through a PHI Low Energy Building certificate. |
| Washington, DC | DC Construction Codes §101.10.6.5, §101.10.7.7 | A net-zero path: PHI certification plus on-site solar, commercial and residential. |
How codes handle certification
| Where | At permit | At occupancy, or after |
|---|---|---|
| Massachusetts §C407.3.2.2 | A PHPP compliance report, the PHI-accredited Certifier’s statement that it matches the plans, and registration; or the Certifier’s design-stage assurance letter. | An as-built PHPP report with airtightness and ventilation test results and a consultant’s statement; or the final certification letter. If final certification fails, a near-Passive House path (§C407.3.2.3) still allows occupancy. |
| Denver §401.6.2 | Signed intent letter from a PHI-accredited certifier. | PHI final report before the certificate of occupancy. |
| Illinois stretch codes | Certification, plus the code’s mandatory provisions (and, for homes, an enclosure at least at 2009 IECC levels). | Certification. |
| Ithaca; Cambridge | Design to the criteria, documented by a certifier’s pre-certification letter (Ithaca) or PHPP results and a certified consultant (Cambridge). | Certification isn’t required. Cambridge requires on-site quality assurance by a trained verifier. |
| Washington §R407.3 | Statement from the Certifier. | PHI Low Energy Building certificate before the certificate of occupancy. |
| Washington, DC | Design to the PHI program, with on-site solar. | Evidence of PHI certification within 18 months of the certificate of occupancy. |
Zoning and land use
| Where | Ordinance or law | What PHI certification does |
|---|---|---|
| Cambridge, MA | Zoning Ordinance Art. 22 §§22.20–22.25 | The PHI Passive House program is one of the rating systems that meet the green building requirement for projects of 25,000 sf or more. |
| Somerville, MA | Master Planned Development overlay; Net Zero Ready density bonus | All-electric buildings certifiable to PHI meet the overlay’s sustainability requirement. With LEED Platinum, they also earn a lower lot area per unit: 875 sf, against 1,125–1,500 sf. |
| Washington | 2SHB 1183 (Chapter 139, Laws of 2025) | For buildings meeting passive house requirements: up to 8 in. of added wall insulation outside setbacks, floor area measured inside the walls, 8 in. of added height, no façade modulation, and, with exceptions, no parking minimums. |
Canada
| Where | Code or by-law | What PHI certification does |
|---|---|---|
| British Columbia | BC Building Code 2024 9.36.6.3(3), 10.2.3.3(3) | Deemed to comply at the top Step Code steps, modeled in the PHPP by a PHI-approved designer. |
| Vancouver | Zoning By-law §10.33 | Defines a zero emission building by PHI certification: up to 19% of floor area excluded, with height and yard relief, through 2030. |
| Building By-law; large buildings; Higher Buildings Policy | A compliance path for buildings of every size, and accepted for added height. | |
| Other BC cities | Richmond; New Westminster; Saanich | Richmond, 10% more floor area and the permit fee refunded; New Westminster, added density and height; Saanich, the certificate as energy label. |
| Toronto | Toronto Green Standard v4; development charge refund | Meets the Tier 2 and 3 energy measures, which earn a partial development charge refund. |
What’s changing
California’s AB 368 directs the Energy Commission to evaluate a Passive House path for Title 24 and report by July 1, 2028.
Advocacy
No one can move a mountain alone. Talk with your neighbors, coworkers, elected officials, and local equity and sustainability allies: comfortable, affordable, healthy, all-electric Passive House buildings support a renewable-energy future that benefits everyone. Here is what helps make the case.
Three reports to put in front of policymakers, in Our policy research: Stepping Up to Passive: Policies We Want, Safe at Home, and Policy That Works.
Making the case to one industry: Hospitality resources sets out Passive House for hotels, with three that have done it.
Getting political: lessons from Minneapolis
The Minneapolis City Council seemed set to encourage Passive House buildings, until an abrupt turn left advocates scrambling. Passive House Minnesota sounded the call, and local, regional, and national voices helped rally support. Tim Eian of TE Studio tells how local politics met global policy goals, and shares ten lessons for getting political.
Code language to start from
Showing policymakers the Passive House codes other places have adopted is one of the surest ways to move a code forward. Codes, above, sets out each code and ordinance that recognizes PHI certification, with links to the adopted language.
For a plan to get there, Climate Action California’s two-step legislative agenda for high-performance building standards in California is a useful model for any state.
Training for advocates
Courses and sessions on policy, codes, and standards, for policymakers, code officials, and advocates, and open to anyone: Training for advocates. New to Passive House? Start with the free, one-hour Introduction to Passive House.
Working on Passive House policy where you are, or know of a code or program that recognizes PHI certification and isn’t listed here? Tell us at info@passivehousenetwork.org.
Checked October 2026. Terms change yearly; check the linked source before relying on a figure.
