OU has a program to encourage landlords to improve their units’ efficiency: http://www.ohio.edu/sustainability/greenhouseproject.htm. I wonder whether these units really become more attractive to tenants, though. It seems like rent is the deciding factor for most people, and even seeing utility savings is not as big a deal for tenants as lower rent.
Split incentives and rental housing
There’s not much incentive to improve energy efficiency in rental units. If the tenant pays for the utilities, the landlord has no motivation to weatherize and replace windows; and if the landlord pays, why should the tenant turn down the thermostat? We own rental properties around Xavier University, and for the past few years we’ve been wrestling with this conundrum. We have done a lot–high-efficiency furnaces in nearly all our places, new windows in most, weather-stripping–but there’s always more to do. I created this blog to share ideas on how to “green” rental properties and what incentives can convince landlords and tenants to increase efficiency. I’ll post some links and model programs soon.
The Green Landlord 