Mirroring recent trends in other real estate sectors, the multifamily housing sector is subject to an increasing number of rules and regulations related to energy-performance benchmarking and disclosure.

The goal of these new rules is to enable transparent building energy-performance information to drive energy efficiency improvements in multifamily housing that lower energy bills for residents; contribute to greater local housing affordability; and create new jobs and services related to energy efficiency.

Many multifamily owners and operators have never benchmarked the energy performance of their buildings, while other parties – including state, local, and federal policymakers, tenants, utilities, and lenders – have little or no access to building energy-performance information that can help shape real estate decisions or inform the development of policies, incentives, and financial vehicles to advance energy efficiency.

This critical shortage of information about building energy performance has prevented property markets from valuing energy efficiency and severely undermined both public and private efforts to increase the energy efficiency of multifamily housing.

This report is intended to serve as a guide for policymakers and multifamily stakeholders on benchmarking and disclosure rules and regulations. It provides an introduction to the multifamily housing sector, followed by a thorough review of existing benchmarking and disclosure policies and an assessment of continuing policy challenges and opportunities.

Read the full report.

Read the executive summary.

Read the press release.

Watch the video.

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