This study, “Still muddling through: Local sustainability leaders and energy efficiency in rental units,” was published in Energy Research & Social Science. It looks at how local governments across the country grapple with this widespread challenge.
More than 90% of renters in the United States pay at least a portion of their own energy bills, with approximately three-quarters paying the full cost. But this causes tension between the renters who want to save money on their bills and landlords who are the ones responsible for making most energy efficiency upgrades.
“Renters don’t own the building, so they can’t put in insulation, they can’t put in better appliances, and so they have a hard time controlling energy usage or costs. And the people who have the power and the money to make energy efficiency upgrades – the landlords – they don’t reap the financial benefit,” said George Homsy, associate professor and director of environmental studies at Binghamton University.
As a result, landlords often do not make these upgrades, and renters are quite literally left out in the cold. Renters can make small improvements on their own, such as putting sheets of plastic over windows, but these often have only a superficial impact on reducing bills or warming up chilly units.
To examine this issue, the Binghamton researchers conducted one of the first-ever studies to explore this challenge from the perspective of local government sustainability leaders across the United States. The team interviewed 59 municipal and county government officials, focusing on the policies and projects different jurisdictions have to promote greater energy efficiency in rental units.
Based on these interviews, the researchers identified several initiatives that these communities offer to increase efficiency. However, most of these efforts were likely to help only a small percentage of rental units in a jurisdiction. Among the factors contributing to these issues, the researchers mention landlord reluctance to make even basic upgrades, poor rental housing stock, hesitancy among renters to participate, and program design issues. (For example, some programs restrict support to rental units in public housing or buildings focused on low-income families).
The researchers did highlight some promising strategies that a few jurisdictions are experimenting with to improve rental unit efficiency, such as incentive zoning, partnering with nonprofits to reach vulnerable populations, and incorporating energy efficiency into rental licensing programs.
“You can institute a rental licensing program, or take one that’s already in place, and add energy conservation requirements to it,” said Homsy. Many communities have rental licensing programs that require inspections of units every few years to ensure they comply with code. “This has worked well in one of the communities we studied. Landlords in this jurisdiction have to improve the energy efficiency of their buildings as part of the rental licensing process, but they can do it in a way that is easiest for them. The flexibility can bring landlords along. The program has ultimately improved the energy efficiency of thousands of units.”
Courtesy of Binghamton University
