HUD Announces First Wave of Inflation Reduction Act Funding to Support Energy Efficiency and Climate Resilience in Multifamily Assisted Housing Properties
Approximately $18 million awarded today under the Green and Resilient Retrofit Program will support upgrades that advance energy efficiency and climate resilience in rental homes for low-income families.
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) today announced it has awarded approximately $18 million in grant funding and loan commitments under the Green and Resilient Retrofit Program (GRRP) to owners of properties participating in HUD-Assisted Multifamily Housing programs. Funded under President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, GRRP is the first HUD program to simultaneously invest in energy efficiency, energy generation, and climate resilience strategies in multifamily housing. Investments under the program will be made in affordable housing communities serving low-income families in accordance with the Biden-Harris Administration's Justice 40 goals. Today’s awards will help fund upgrades for 28 multifamily properties containing more than 3,400 HUD-Assisted Multifamily rental homes for low-income families, seniors, and persons with disabilities.
“As a part of this country’s largest investment in climate resiliency in a generation, HUD is building a more equitable and sustainable housing system. This first wave of funding will invest in properties by making resiliency upgrades like adding solar panels, updating heating and cooling, and replacing windows,” said HUD Secretary Marcia L. Fudge. “The Green and Resilient Retrofit Program advances our work to ensure low-income individuals and families have better access to healthy, energy efficient, and resilient homes.”
These investments will help combat the climate crisis and support equitable economic development in American communities. The funding enables building owners to invest in a range of technologies, such as geothermal energy systems, heat pumps, wind- and fire-resistant roofing, low embodied carbon materials, and other measures, that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and make properties healthier and safer for residents in the face of more severe weather and a changing climate. This is the first round of GRRP awards to be released, with additional rounds to be awarded throughout 2023 and 2024.
“HUD is committed to building resilient communities and reducing costs, including lowering the cost of gas and electric bills for the families we assist. We also have an obligation to address the effects of climate change,” said HUD Deputy Secretary Adrianne Todman. “HUD’s new Green and Resilient Retrofit Program does just that.”
“Today’s awards represent this Administration’s real and ongoing commitment to address climate change and improve the lives of low-income families by making their homes safer and more sustainable,” said Assistant Secretary for Housing and Federal Housing Commissioner Julia Gordon. “GRRP is a significant investment in communities that typically do not receive this type of assistance yet are often the most adversely affected by climate change.”
Owners of properties participating in HUD’s Multifamily Section 8 Project-Based Rental Assistance, Section 202 Supportive Housing for Low-Income Elderly, and Section 811 Supportive Housing for Low-Income Persons with Disabilities programs received grant or loan funding commitments today under the GRRP’s “Elements” award category.
Elements awards provide funding for property owners to include climate resilience and energy and water efficiency improvements at properties that are already in the process of a development or rehabilitation transaction. Upgrades financed under the Elements category will support a range of improvements, such as installation of heat-wave resilient cool roofs and fire-resistant roofs, on-site solar power systems, energy efficient windows, and similar upgrades.