Low-Income Weatherization Program Multifamily: Impact Report 2023

Updated in 2023 and published in collaboration with the Association for Energy Affordability, this Impact Report presents the latest findings on the climate and community benefits delivered by the Cap-and-Trade-funded Low-Income Weatherization Program (LIWP) Multifamily since its launch in 2016. 


The Pathway Forward for Electrifying Multifamily Affordable Rental Housing

Affordable housing providers are faced with the challenge of providing safe and comfortable housing for low-income families while also being mindful of their impact on the environment. California policymakers have embraced electrification as a promising solution for reducing carbon emissions and improving energy efficiency in buildings, which are associated with Read More


Findings from the Los Angeles Affordable Housing Decarbonization Summit

The 2023 Los Angeles Affordable Housing Decarbonization Summit (February 18th, 2023), marked a milestone in the city’s efforts towards sustainable and energy-efficient affordable housing. Organized and hosted by the California Housing Partnership (the Partnership) and the Southern California Association of Non-Profit Housing (SCANPH), this event brought together key stakeholders from Read More


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California’s Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities (AHSC) Program: Six Years of Investments | Impact Report: Rounds 1 – 6

The California Housing Partnership (the Partnership) has released a new policy brief co-authored with Enterprise Community Partners documenting the substantial community and economic benefits made possible by the Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities (AHSC) program. According to the report, the AHSC program has already brought about 15,324 new affordable homes and reduced 4.4 million metric Read More


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California’s Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities (AHSC) Program | Impact Summary: Rounds 1 – 6

To date, the Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities (AHSC) program has invested $2.5 billion in 164 catalytic developments across California that integrate housing and transportation with community infrastructure and amenities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) and support sustainable, connected, vibrant neighborhoods.


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Affordable Housing Building Decarbonization Summit II Findings

The California Housing Partnership organized the second Affordable Housing Building Decarbonization Summit (Summit II) in the fall of 2021. Participants working in affordable housing development and management discussed the practical challenges and public policy implications of electrifying new and existing affordable housing buildings as California works towards reaching its climate goals.


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Facilitating Building Decarbonization through Utility Allowances

One of the most pressing challenges in electrifying multifamily housing is the issue of split incentives for housing providers. Although housing providers want to prioritize the health, comfort and safety of residents by transitioning to all electric buildings, they encounter many difficulties trying to finance electrification. This report describes how utility allowance Read More


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PHA Schedule Data for UA Report | March 2022

Public Housing Authority (PHA) Schedule Data – matrix for “Facilitating Building Decarbonization through Utility Allowances” March 2022 report.


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Prioritizing California’s Affordable Housing in the Transition Towards Equitable Building Decarbonization | Summit Report 2021

Numerous cities and jurisdictions have passed local building energy codes, or “reach” codes that require new construction to be all or near electric to decarbonize or remove fossil fuels from buildings and electrify end uses. For these policies to be equitable, local governments and the state must acknowledge the added complexities, workforce limitations, costs Read More


LIWP Multifamily Policy Brief CHPC 2021Mar

California’s Cap-and-Trade-Funded Low-Income Weatherization Program Multifamily: Impact Report

Updated in March 2021 and published in collaboration with the Association for Energy Affordability, this Impact Report presents new findings on the climate and community benefits delivered by the Cap-and-Trade-funded Low-Income Weatherization Program (LIWP) Multifamily since its launch in 2016. 


LIWP 2020 Case Study: Florence Avenue Villas, Century Housing

LIWP works to leverage incentive programs and deliver deeper savings for residents and property owner at Florence Avenue Villas 


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California’s Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities (AHSC) Program: Five Years of Investments | Impact Report: Rounds 1 – 5

The past year has underscored the urgency of many of the goals that guide the Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities (AHSC) program. To date, AHSC has invested more than $1.6 billion in 127 catalytic developments across California that integrate housing and transportation with community infrastructure and amenities to reduce greenhouse gas Read More


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SOMAH Property Owner Series: Funding for Major LIHTC Rehabilitation Projects

How multifamily affordable housing owners with eligible major rehabilitation projects going through the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) 4% and 9% programs can utilize SOMAH’s solar incentives and free technical assistance to help reduce operating costs and make the transition to all-electric buildings.


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Path Forward: Getting to Zero Carbon Equitably – SEEC Virtual Forum Presentation

Presentation at 11th Annual Statewide Energy Efficiency Virtual Forum – Promising Solutions for a Clean Energy Future: One Vision, Many Policy Paths to Local Decarbonization. 


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Clean Energy for Healthy Affordable Housing, Bay Area – Presentation

Bay Area-specific clean energy policies and programs for existing multifamily affordable housing properties and how Bay Area developers and organizations apply these policies and programs in order to build healthier communities and lower operating costs.


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Path Forward: Getting to Zero Carbon Equitably – Presentation

Presented at an NPH Brown Bag | Discusses the need to electrify under the 2019 Title 24 Energy Code requirements and reviews residential developments that utilize all-electric packages and available funding opportunities. California has set ambitious goals to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that are dependent on a new generation Read More


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SOMAH Property Owner Series: Program Overview – Presentation

An overview of the Solar on Multifamily Affordable Housing (SOMAH) incentive program and the resources available to participating property owners. SOMAH can cover up to 100% of solar panel installation costs, securing direct financial benefits for affordable housing owners/operators and tenants.


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Crossover: Testing Solutions and Assessing Savings for Water and Energy in Low-Income Multifamily Affordable Housing

Water-Energy Nexus: Crossover in plumbing systems typically occurs when valves fail or leak and water mixes between a building’s hot and cold water pipes. Increased energy bills, high water use, and resident discomfort can result. This report summarizes crossover information for multifamily building owners and presents targeted cold water bypass investigation Read More


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SOMAH Property Owner Series: Energy Efficiency Benefits and Resources – Presentation

Solar on Multifamily Affordable Housing (SOMAH) is a statewide program that provides financial incentives for installing solar or photovoltaic energy systems on multifamily affordable housing throughout California.


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Clean Energy Funding Resources for COVID-19 Response

High-level overview of major clean energy programs available in Southern California for portfolios of existing multifamily affordable housing properties, with a focus on reducing operating costs and tenants’ bills.


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Building Decarbonization: Opportunities and Challenges of Buildings Sectors – Presentation

Input on the Building Decarbonization Assessment required by Assembly Bill (AB) 3232 (Friedman, Chapter 373, Statutes of 2018) presented at the California Energy Commission (CEC)’s public workshop to discuss the opportunities and challenges to decarbonizing residential and commercial buildings.


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SOMAH Presentation: 2020 Program Overview

Solar on Multifamily Affordable Housing (SOMAH) program overview for multifamily affordable housing owners. 


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SOMAH Property Owner Series: Upfront Technical Assistance – Presentation

Information for property owners and managers interested in installing solar photovoltaics (PV) to lower operating costs and reduce utility bills through the Solar on Multifamily Affordable Housing incentive program.


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LA’s Green New Deal and Building Decarbonization: What’s Ahead for Affordable Housing? – Presentation

On February 10, 2020, Mayor Garcetti signed an Executive Directive to advance LA’s Green New Deal and outlined action steps to zero out the City’s main sources of harmful emissions, including by buildings. As part of this effort, the City committed to a stakeholder process to gather input and develop Read More


California’s Cap-and-Trade-Funded Low-Income Weatherization Program Multifamily: Impact Report

(UPDATED JAN 2020) Published in collaboration with the Association for Energy Affordability, this Impact Report presents new findings on the climate and community benefits delivered by the Cap-and-Trade-funded Low-Income Weatherization Program (LIWP) Multifamily since its launch in 2016. 


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Creating Affordable Homes and Sustainable Communities: How AHSC Addresses California’s Most Pressing Challenges | Impact Report: Rounds 1 – 4

The State of California created the Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities program (AHSC) in 2014 in recognition of the critical role that housing and transportation play furthering the State’s climate goals.


Affordable Housing & Sustainable Communities Program Update: Round 4

On June 21, the California Strategic Growth Council (SGC) announced the results of Round 4 of the Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities (AHSC) program, awarding $402 million to 25 greenhouse gas (GHG) reducing affordable housing developments across California.


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AFFORDABLE HOMES FIRST: Advancing a Green New Deal for Los Angeles Renters

Los Angeles, which has made great strides in creating a clean energy economy, could be reducing energy use and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions on a scale in line with meeting the Paris Climate Agreement targets if it more effectively made energy-efficiency programs available for low-income residents of multifamily buildings. 


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California’s Cap-and-Trade-Funded Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities (AHSC) Program | Impact Report: Rounds 1 – 3

The Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities (AHSC) policy brief – co-authored by the California Housing Partnership and Enterprise Community Partners – examines the climate and community benefits of AHSC developments through the program’s first three funding rounds. To date, the program has awarded $701 million to 77 location-efficient developments across Read More


Changes to AHSC Program Revealed by Latest Awards

On June 28, the Strategic Growth Council (SGC) announced $257 million in Round 3 Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities (AHSC) awards to 19 developments, primarily in disadvantaged communities across the state. These developments will create 1,950 new affordable homes for low-income Californians and introduce new transportation infrastructure that will increase Read More


Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities (AHSC) Program Brief | Impact Report: Rounds 1 – 2

The Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities (AHSC) program brief – coauthored by the California Housing Partnership Corporation, Enterprise Community Partners and TransForm – examines the climate and community benefits of AHSC developments, which are funded by California’s Cap-and-Trade program.


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Financing Energy Savings Through On-Bill Repayment

In 2016, the California Housing Partnership partnered with Stewards of Affordable Housing for the Future and Community Corp of Santa Monica to test On-Bill Repayment (OBR) financing for energy and water efficiency improvements in five properties in Santa Monica. This case study describes the challenges and lessons learned during that test.


Location Matters: Affordable Housing and VMT Reduction in San Diego County

Conducted by the Center for Neighborhood Technology (CNT) and co-authored by the California Housing Partnership Corporation, the report prepared for the San Diego Housing Federation (SDHF) is based on a statewide study released in 2015 that finds location-efficient affordable housing is an effective climate strategy.


$1 Billion Plan to Provide Integrated Solar Energy to Low-Income Renters is First in Nation

San Francisco, CA ‒ On August 3rd, California’s leading low-income, environmental, and affordable housing groups submitted a proposed plan to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to spend up to $1 billion in Cap-and-Trade funding for solar energy systems to benefit low-income renters. This is the first such plan in the nation and Read More


Nonprofit Solar Stakeholders Coalition AB 693 Implementation Proposal

The Nonprofit Solar Stakeholders Coalition submitted a joint proposal to the California Public Utilities Commission for implementing last year’s Assembly Bill 693, which authorized the use of utility Cap-and-Trade auction revenue to fund solar energy systems on affordable multifamily rental properties in California. The Coalition includes the California Housing Partnership, California Environmental Read More


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Closing the California Clean Energy Divide: Reducing Electric Bills in Affordable Multifamily Rental Housing with Solar+Storage

This economic analysis indicates that pairing solar PV with battery storage systems can deliver significant electricity bill savings for California affordable housing residents and property owners. Battery storage is emerging as an effective new strategy for reducing electricity costs for affordable multifamily rental housing in California. Battery storage systems not Read More


An Affordable Housing Owner’s Guide to Utility Allowances

Produced in partnership with the National Housing Law Project, this guide provides owners of affordable rental housing a roadmap for navigating the challenges of utility allowance adjustments. It provides an overview of federal program requirements as well as tips for considering utility allowance adjustments as part of an energy efficiency financing strategy. 


Income, Location Efficiency, and VMT: Affordable Housing as a Climate Strategy

This paper combines detailed travel-survey, transit-service, and land-use data to estimate a model for predicting the role of income and location efficiency in reducing household vehicle-miles traveled (VMT). The research then applies this model to census data collected in the most transit-rich areas of California. The research finds strong justification Read More


Energy Efficiency Program Matrix

Matrix of Utility Multifamily Energy Efficiency & Renewable Incentive Programs in California


Mutual Housing California Achieves Zero Net Energy in Woodland | GREEN Case Study

When Mutual Housing at Spring Lake opened its doors, the 62-unit apartment development became the first multifamily affordable rental development in the nation to receive the U.S. Department of Energy’s Zero Energy Ready Homes certification. Zero Net Energy (ZNE) buildings produce as much energy as they use through the integration of energy Read More


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Preservation of Affordable Homes Near Transit Toolkit

This toolkit outlines how community-based organizations and advocates for equitable transit-oriented development can work together with local jurisdictions to assess the risk of losing existing affordable homes both a property and a neighborhood level, and to take concrete steps to reduce the negative impacts of transit oriented development on existing Read More


Executive Summary: Why Creating and Preserving Affordable Homes Near Transit Is a Highly Effective Climate Protection Strategy

California is currently debating how to invest greenhouse gas (GHG) cap-and-trade auction proceeds so that they result in real, quantifiable and verifiable greenhouse gas reductions. A new analysis of data from Caltrans’ California Household Travel Survey (CHTS) completed in February 2013 shows that a well-designed program to put more affordable Read More


Why Creating and Preserving Affordable Homes Near Transit Is a Highly Effective Climate Protection Strategy

California is currently debating how to invest greenhouse gas (GHG) cap-and trade auction proceeds so that they result in real, quantifiable and verifiable greenhouse gas reductions. A new analysis of data from Caltrans’ California Household Travel Survey (CHTS) completed in February 2013 shows that a well-designed program to put more affordable homes Read More


Preserving Affordable Housing Near Transit in Fremont | Summary and Recommendations

This memo summarizes the policy, data, and spatial analysis that Reconnecting America (RA) and the California Housing Partnership Corporation (CHPC) completed for the City of Fremont with the goal of helping the City of Fremont identify highest-priority affordable housing preservation areas near transit stations as well as the most effective Read More


Preserving Affordable Housing Near Transit in San Jose | Summary and Recommendations

This memo summarizes the policy, data and spatial analysis that Reconnecting America (RA) and the California Housing Partnership Corporation (CHPC) completed for the City of San Jose, with the aim of identifying the affordable housing reservation need near transit in San Jose. The memo also includes a set of recommendations Read More


Greening City Gardens | Demonstration Project

This report describes a new approach to financing energy efficiency retrofits at affordable multifamily rental properties in California. The California Housing Partnership Corporation (CHPC) and Stewards of Affordable Housing for the Future (SAHF) worked with LINC Housing (LINC) on a whole-building retrofit project to demonstrate how common barriers to financing energy Read More


SAHA Creates a Model for Achieving Verified Energy Savings | Case Study

Berkeley-based nonprofit affordable housing owner Satellite Affordable Housing Associates (SAHA) is using sophisticated tools to track energy and water performance at Merritt Crossing Senior Apartments, leading to clearly quantifiable energy savings.  These results can lead to improvements not only in the operations of the property but also in how future energy Read More


Why Cap-and-Trade Auction Proceeds Should Fund Affordable Homes Near Transit | White Paper

Affordable TOD Has an Important Role in Reducing GHG Transportation-related greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions account for 38% of California’s total. Because transportation needs are driven in large part by where people can afford to live, housing affordability affects the sector’s emissions. The Sustainable Communities Strategy (SCS) planning process required by Read More


Building and Preserving Affordable Homes Near Transit

CHPC initiated this report in order to assess existing research on the role of preservation and development of affordable housing in transit-­-oriented corridors as a greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction strategy for California. As a result of our extensive review of existing literature, we have found three important trends : 1) Read More


Barriers to Weatherizing California

This study examines various approaches undertaken by the California Department of Community Services and Development (CSD) to make energy efficiency improvements to low income rental multifamily dwellings (MFDs).


Improving California’s Multifamily Buildings: Opportunities and Recommendations for Green Retrofit and Rehab Programs

In California, the single-family home weatherization and whole-house performance sector is very active, with many programs already in place and new ones that began rolling out in the fall of 2010. While these programs have the potential to achieve impressive energy savings, their approaches do not neatly carry over into Read More