This paper was published as part of the 2024 ACEEE Summer Study conference.
Decarbonizing residential building stock is crucial to mitigating climate change. However, local and national decarbonization policies can potentially create unintended harms for tenants, including unsustainable rent raises and unnecessary or illegal evictions. These policies must be designed and implemented carefully to protect renters, who are more likely than homeowners to be from Black, Brown, and low-income groups that already disproportionately bear the negative effects of climate change. Not doing so will exacerbate the housing crisis while driving more Americans into homelessness. This Summer Study paper offers recommendations for tenant protection in building decarbonization policies.
This policy brief serves as a starting point for jurisdictions to initiate discussions with housing and community stakeholders in their BPS policy development process.
