Multifamily Will Benefit From Better Fee Transparency

• Free the fees: By unbundling amenity fees, the multifamily industry can save money and provide the kind of transparency that modern consumers want.

• Big beautiful affordable housing: Hidden inside the new budget reconciliation law are expansions to Low Income Housing Tax Credits and Opportunity Zones.

• Think big, grid small: Oregon just released a framework for building microgrids that could become a playbook for other states to support energy resilience.

• Upcoming webinar: Mixed-use projects promise vibrant, walkable neighborhoods—but what does it really take to make them work? Sign up

Perspectives

Multifamily Will Benefit From Better Fee Transparency

Multifamily residents don’t just want more amenities—they want more control over how they pay for and access them. As property managers search for ways to increase ancillary revenue, the most successful strategies aren’t about bundling more into the rent, but about offering flexible, opt-in experiences powered by better technology. Personalized amenity management is emerging as a win-win: residents avoid unwanted fees, and operators unlock new revenue streams without triggering backlash.

Historically, amenity access in multifamily has been treated as either a marketing perk or an administrative headache. Storage lockers, premium parking, furnished units—these offerings often required manual sign-ups, in-person coordination, or inconsistent pricing. But as expectations shift toward on-demand everything, outdated leasing workflows and opaque availability are becoming friction points. At the same time, rent growth is slowing and operators are under pressure to find other ways to boost NOI.

With the right digital tools, amenity leasing can be transformed into a seamless, self-service experience. Smart pricing platforms can adjust rates based on demand, digital portals can show real-time availability, and centralized systems can reduce compliance risk. More importantly, this shift enables communities to meet residents where they are—offering flexibility, transparency, and choice. In a competitive rental market, that might be the most valuable amenity of all.

Overheard

A Surprise Win for Affordable Housing in The One Big Beautiful Bill

Trump’s signature legislation, known as The One Big Beautiful Bill, covers a wide range of priorities. Among its lesser-known provisions is a significant expansion of financial incentives aimed at supporting subsidized housing. The bill increases allocations for the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, extends timelines for Opportunity Zone benefits, and enhances the New Markets Tax Credit. Taken together, these changes could help enable the development of more than a million affordable housing units over the next decade—potentially more than some entire federal programs have produced in recent years.

While this doesn’t amount to a complete overhaul of the nation’s affordable housing strategy, it marks a notable shift. By directing more resources into longstanding programs like LIHTC, lawmakers opted to scale up familiar tools rather than create new ones. Even the revised Opportunity Zone provisions—once seen as a driver of gentrification—now include rural set-asides and longer deferral windows that may broaden their appeal for mission-driven investment. Some developers and nonprofit advocates estimate these changes could result in as many as 1.2 million new units.

As always, implementation will play a key role in determining impact. But for housing developers and agencies, this legislation introduces meaningful new resources that could shape the next decade of affordable housing development.

Oregon’s New Microgrid Framework Could Become A Blueprint For Energy Resilience

Oregon has become the first state in the nation to pass a comprehensive microgrid framework, setting a new precedent for energy resilience in the face of extreme weather, wildfire threats, and rising electricity demand. Two bills — HB 2065 and HB 2066 — recently cleared the state legislature with broad bipartisan support and are expected to be signed by Governor Tina Kotek.

The new laws create a clear regulatory pathway for deploying community and private microgrids, which are small-scale power systems that can operate independently from the main grid during outages. 

By allowing third-party experts to assess grid connections and requiring utilities to make transparent, safety-based decisions on microgrid proposals, HB 2065 aims to reduce bottlenecks that have historically stifled local energy projects. HB 2066 goes further, empowering local governments to create designated “microgrid zones” and enabling community ownership, a model rarely seen in the U.S.

Advocates say the legislation could serve as a blueprint for other Western states facing similar challenges in energy reliability and affordability. Dylan Kruse of Sustainable Northwest calls it “the most ambitious microgrid legislation in the nation,” emphasizing its potential to transform energy independence and resilience for critical facilities, from hospitals to data centers. Implementation will be closely watched as Oregon pioneers what may become the next chapter in distributed energy innovation.

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Propmodo Daily is written and edited by Franco Faraudo with contributions from readers like you and the Propmodo team.

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