Sustainability & Me

Green Rental Housing

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​​​​​​Thank you for y​​our help!​​​

​​The first public comment period on the policy recommendations for the proposed Green Rental Housing program has closed. Thank you for submitting your responses! We are using your input to revise the first draft and we'll continue conversations with you for future iterations of the policy before it proceeds. Stay tuned for updates or contact Zach or Joe with any questions.

​​​​Watch a recording of the 3/9/22 policy recommendation presentation here​.

Read the Green Rental Ho​​​​us​​ing​ FAQ​.​​​

Reso​​u​​rces

While the GRH program may still be in development​, we have already begun working on the resource hub that will be made available to both tenants and landlords to continue making Ann Arbor rental housing as safe, healthy, comfortable, and energy efficient as possible. 

For Landlords:

Find Rebates on Efficient Commercial Building Equipment​
Michigan Save​s - Michigan's "green bank" for energy efficiency financing
Lean and Green MI​ (PACE administrator)


​​Did you know...

  • 67% of Ann Arbor'​s greenhouse gas emissions come from buildings? 
  • 55% of Ann Arbor’s housing stock are rental units?​ 
  • The median year built for Ann Arbor rentals is 1964?
  • There were no energy efficiency requirements in MI prior to 1977?
When it comes to building-sourced carbon emissions, rental housing represents a substantial opportunity to reduce Ann Arbor’s overall carbon emissions. That’s why a Green Rental Housing program was included in the A2ZERO plan to achieve a just transition to carbon neutrality by 2030, adopted by Council in 2020. The Office of Sustainability & Innovations (OSI) has been working to develop a Green Rental Housing program that would best suit Ann Arbor’s needs, community, and unique renter population.

Summary of Policy Rec​​o​mmendations

​The draft Green Rental Housing policy is a multi-faceted approach to standardize market expectations for the quality of rental units. Each approach centers the health, safety, comfort, and energy efficiency of rentals. To learn more about each policy component, pl​ease read the Summary of Policy Recommendatio​ns and the Prescriptive Checklist Draft (both documents are currently under revision; update forthcoming):

Summary of Policy Recommendations.pdf​​​

Prescriptive Checklist Draft.pdf​**

​​**The items and point values reflected on this DRAFT are under revision​​​​​​​​​​​​​​. ​ 


About

The goal of the Green Rental Housing ​program is to promote safe, healthy, comfortable, and efficient rentals in Ann Arbor. The program includes a set of policy recommendations formulated by a task force of tenant, landlord, and low-income housing representatives, led by the Office of Sustainability & Innovations. The task force saw presentations from RMI, ACEEE, and the USDN, reviewed best practices and policies from other cities, and discussed their own ideas about sustainability in Ann Arbor. The resulting policy recommendations are the product of these discussions about how to incorporate sustainability into rental housing in Ann Arbor.

Interact

Since the passing of A2ZERO, the OSI has been hard at work to put together a Green Rental Housing program.  The OSI held two public presentations on the p​olicy recommendations - you can watch the recording of the 3/9/22 presentation.

Let us know how we can help you! We're putting together a resource hub for tenants and landlords. Send your ideas and suggestions for the types of resources you'd like to see to [email protected] 


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Office of Sustainability & Innovations (OSI)
301 E. Huron St.
Ann Arbor 
[email protected]
 
OSI Manager 

Dr. Missy Stults
[email protected] 

Staff Directory​​​

​Engagement Specialist
Zach Waas Smith
[email protected]​.org​

Energy Coordinator
Joe Lange
[email protected]​.org​