In Case You Missed It: Better Buildings = Better Affordable Housing

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3 min read

After an exhausting season of conference planning and advocacy, I took   advantage of the summer Congressional recess to take a short vacation and recharge my batteries.

While some people like vacations full of action and activities, I favor a lazy afternoon on the beach with a good book. Unfortunately, in my haste to leave Washington I took the wrong bag of reading materials. Instead of light beach fare I ventured to the shore with trade magazines, research reports, news clippings, and industry journals. Nonetheless, I made the best of the situation to catch up on some new developments, program changes, interesting technology, and business opportunities.

Much of what I found most interesting focused on the green space. Perhaps that’s because National Housing & Rehabilitation Association will launch a major initiative in September focused on energy efficiency in affordable housing [Stay tuned!].

One item that particularly piqued my interest is a new initiative that is part of the White House’s recently announced Climate Action Plan. This is an expansion of the Obama Administration’s Better Buildings Challenge to Multifamily Residential Buildings, which will be rolled out this fall. The Better Buildings Challenge presents a very interesting opportunity for NH&RA members to “green” their affordable housing properties.

Energy efficiency measures represent one of the biggest untapped opportunities for NH&RA members and an important tool for maintaining and preserving the nation’s existing affordable housing portfolio. While utility prices have somewhat stabilized since the renaissance of new natural gas and oil plays across the U.S., energy and water consumption remains one of the biggest controllable expenses at affordable housing properties and a significant burden on the already strained budget at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Approximately $6 billion – nearly 15% of HUD’s budget – is spent annually on energy costs in HUD-assisted housing. Reducing this bill would free up considerable federal dollars for more productive uses.

Under the Better Buildings Challenge, multifamily owners who pledge to cut energy usage in their portfolios by 20 percent within ten years will find new opportunities open to them. The Challenge will build and expand successful interagency partnerships between HUD, the Department of Energy, and other federal agencies to further promote and reward energy efficiency in buildings, through technical assistance, aligned incentives, and scalable new models and tools to facilitate and finance energy retrofits.

Look for HUD and other federal agencies to roll out new policies over the next few months that break down current regulatory barriers which have deterred energy improvements to older affordable housing properties.

With summer nearing an end and colder weather approaching (at least in parts of the country), energy efficiency is definitely front of mind, and we will be keeping you apprised of new developments as they occur.

Oh, and by the way, after returning home from the beach I dug into that summer novel, and am feeling refreshed already.

Thom Amdur is Associate Publisher of Tax Credit Advisor and Executive Director of National Housing & Rehabilitation Association