As part of the landmark Inflation Reduction Act, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Office of Multifamily Housing Programs announced a forthcoming initiative to support housing providers with energy and water use benchmarking. The initiative will offer free contractor support to assist with energy and water benchmarking services to HUD multifamily assisted housing properties.

Property owners who opt into the voluntary HUD Energy and Water Benchmarking Initiative when it becomes operational later this year will receive free, personalized support in assessing the efficiency of their buildings.

According to HUD, an energy consultant will be assigned to each property to support the benchmarking process at every stage – from contacting utilities about accessing relevant data to providing portfolio-wide cost and energy savings recommendations based on energy and water usage.

While the program is currently in the final stages of development, HUD encourages housing providers to begin planning for this opportunity, including to save on utility costs or to establish eligibility for energy efficiency programs, such as HUD’s recently-announced Green and Resilient Retrofit Program (GRRP).

LeadingAge strongly supports HUD energy efficiency and climate resilience activities, including to achieve a portfolio-wide reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and to pass health and financial benefits on to residents.

Benefits of Undergoing HUD’s Benchmarking Initiative

Participating in the HUD Energy and Water Benchmarking Initiative may provide owners with the following benefits:

Identifying the greatest opportunity for energy and water savings in your buildings. HUD has shared examples of two multifamily properties – Colony Plaza in MO and Court Tower Apartments in NJ – that achieved thousands in cost savings by implementing energy saving measures at their properties.

Establishing eligibility or preparing you to make use of federal, state, and utility energy efficiency programs, including:

• The Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund
• HUD’s Multifamily Green and Resilient Retrofit Program

Supporting compliance with local ordinances as localities across the country are trending towards requiring this data from multifamily properties.

• Click here to see a list of state and local policies requiring benchmarking

For more information about HUD’s forthcoming benchmarking program, click here, enter an email address, and select “Benchmarking Program” check box under “Multifamily Headquarters News.”

For further questions about the GRRP Benchmarking Initiative, contact MFBenchmarking@HUD.gov.