Condo & Apartment Energy Audits and EWRB

Energy audits and benchmarking for condos and apartment buildings

Multi-unit residential buildings are the largest group reporting under Ontario's Energy and Water Reporting and Benchmarking (EWRB) rule: 3,306 of 6,740 buildings in the 2024 provincial data. Most of them can cut energy use with controls, ventilation, envelope and plant upgrades, often financed by incentives, City loans or better mortgage terms.

For condo boards, property managers and rental owners who need reporting done, a capital plan that holds up, and every incentive the building qualifies for.

Reviewed by Adam Polakow, Managing Director · Checked October 27, 2026

How Ontario's multi-unit residential buildings compare

From the province's 2024 EWRB data, weather-normalized site energy use for multi-unit residential buildings of 50,000 sq ft and up:

Region	Buildings	Median (ekWh/ft²)
City of Toronto	1,486	22.8
Peel Region	225	22.3
Hamilton	54	20.3
York Region	133	20.0
Ottawa	298	19.1
Durham Region	45	16.1
Halton Region	147	16.0
Waterloo Region	95	15.0
All Ontario	2,926	20.4

A building at the 75th percentile (25.2 ekWh/ft²) uses about 19% more energy than the median. Full method and other building types: Ontario building energy benchmarks.

What boards and owners have to do

Report every year

Buildings of 50,000 sq ft and up report to Ontario by July 1. Toronto buildings also report to the City by July 2. Check your building.

Verify every five years

At 100,000 sq ft and up, reported data must be verified. How verification works.

Toronto from 2027

Toronto buildings of 10,000 to 49,999 sq ft first report to the City by July 2, 2027.

Plan capital

Ontario condominium corporations update their reserve fund study at least every three years. That is the moment to decide which replacements should be upgrades.

Where the savings usually are

Make-up air and corridor ventilation, often the largest gas load in a high-rise
Boilers and domestic hot water: condensing equipment, controls and recirculation
Garage exhaust and lighting controls, often among the fastest paybacks
Building automation: schedules, set points and outdoor reset
Envelope: windows, balcony doors and air sealing at recladding time
Heat pumps for fuel switching as plant reaches end of life

How the work is paid for

Program	For
Enbridge Gas Custom Retrofit	Gas savings: up to $0.40/m³, 75% of upgrade cost, $100,000 per project; multi-unit residential buildings qualify
Save on Energy Retrofit Program	Electricity savings: lighting, motors, controls, HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning)
Toronto Energy Retrofit Loans	Up to 100% financing for condo common areas and rental buildings in Toronto, up to 30 years
CMHC MLI Select	Better insured mortgage terms for rental buildings of 5+ units that cut energy use

What we do for multi-unit residential buildings

Benchmark the building against Ontario peers, free.
File EWRB and Toronto reports, and prepare for verification.
Audit at Level 1 or Level 2, aligned with your reserve fund study.
Fund the work: incentives pre-approved, loans and mortgage points documented.

Common questions

Do condominium corporations have to report under EWRB?

Yes, if the building is 50,000 sq ft or larger. Multi-unit residential buildings report energy and water use by July 1 each year, and Toronto buildings also report to the City by July 2.

How does an energy audit fit with our reserve fund study?

Ontario condominium corporations update their reserve fund study at least every three years. An energy audit identifies which planned replacements should be upgraded to more efficient equipment, and which incentives can help pay for them.

Can energy upgrades help a rental building's financing?

CMHC MLI Select awards points for energy efficiency. Enough points can unlock longer amortization and higher loan-to-value on insured mortgages for rental buildings of five or more units.

How does our building compare with others?

In Ontario's 2024 reported data, the median multi-unit residential building used about 20.4 ekWh per sq ft (0.79 GJ/m²) a year, weather-normalized. See our Ontario benchmarks for your region.