HUD Allots $837M to Improve Housing Quality for Underserved Communities

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has announced the availability of new funding through the Green and Resilient Retrofit Program (GRRP) to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve the energy and water efficiency and climate resilience of HUD-assisted multifamily properties serving low-income residents.

HUD Secretary Marcia L. Fudge will make this announcement today in Center Line, Michigan alongside Senior Advisor to the President for Clean Energy Innovation and Implementation John Podesta.

The Inflation Reduction Act provided HUD with $837.5 million in grant and loan subsidy funding and $4 billion in loan commitment authority for this new program. The law also includes $42.5 million for a new HUD initiative launching later this summer to collect and assess energy and water usage data from HUD-assisted multifamily housing properties to better target opportunities to save energy and water, cut costs, and reduce emissions.

This announcement is part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda to rebuild the economy from the bottom up and the middle out.

“Under the leadership of President Biden, HUD is committed to building a more equitable and sustainable housing system and making necessary investments to reduce the impacts of climate change and improve the lives of people across America,” said HUD Secretary Marcia L. Fudge. “The launch of the Green and Resilient Retrofit Program today will ensure low-income individuals and families have better access to healthy, energy efficient, and resilient homes.”

“Lower-income communities are often the last to obtain access to state-of-the-art efficiency, resilience, and clean energy technologies. The Green and Resilient Retrofit Program will change this by providing communities with an opportunity to lead the multifamily sector in retrofitting homes to make them safer and more sustainable for the future,” said HUD Assistant Secretary for Housing Julia Gordon.

“HUD’s new investment from the Inflation Reduction Act shows that clean energy is for everyone. This funding will bring the cost savings and health benefits of clean energy to families in HUD-assisted multifamily housing,” said John Podesta, Senior Advisor to the President for Clean Energy Innovation and Implementation. “Today’s announcement is part of a larger set of actions that the White House is announcing today on housing and climate because we know that building our clean energy economy and providing quality, affordable housing for American families go hand-in-hand.”

Building owners will be able to invest in technologies, such as solar panels, heat pumps, wind-resistant roofing, insulation, 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.

The program’s implementing notice and Notices of Funding Opportunity (NOFOs) released today detail a range of grant and loan funding options for multifamily housing owners with varying levels of expertise with green retrofits.

GRRP is the first HUD program that simultaneously invests in energy and water efficiency, greenhouse gas emissions reductions, clean-energy generation, and climate resilience strategies in multifamily housing. In doing so, it tackles the climate crisis and reduces costs for households.

To read the full release, click here.