Survey of State Tenant Protection Policies for the Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) - November 2018

Sep 16, 2026

Survey of state tenant-protection policies for the Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) developed to improve energy efficiency for low-income households while safeguarding tenant health, safety, and economic benefits. It explains how multifamily weatherization can create financial incentives for landlords to raise rents or evict tenants, potentially eroding program goals. The report outlines federal statutory and DOE regulatory requirements governing tenant protections and reviews how 25 states implement these obligations through varying rules and procedures.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLetters

FormatPDF

Pages33

Reading Time12 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Federal Statutory and Regulatory WAP Tenant-Protection Requirements

State-Level Implementation and Policy Variations

Purpose and Scope of the Survey

SURVEY OF STATE TENANT PROTECTION POLICIES FOR THE WEATHERIZATION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (WAP) November 2018 Lisa Sitkin and James Grow, National Housing Law Project Introduction In 1976, the Congress established the Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) in order “to increase the energy efficiency of dwellings owned or occupied by low-income persons, reduce their total residential energy expenditures, and improve their health and safety ”1 WAP funds are overseen by the Department of Energy, and administration of the program is handled by states and their sub-grantees at the local level. WAP funds can be used to subsidize energy efficiency improvements to single-family residences (owner-occupied and rental) as well as to rental units in multifamily properties.2 WAP has provided substantial benefits to low-income tenants across the country through improvements to their rental units—such as better insulation and more efficient appliances—that can reduce tenants’ energy bills and improve their living conditions. In the multifamily context, however, such improvements can also result in financial benefits to property owners that may erode the benefits to the low-income tenants who are the program’s intended beneficiaries. A landlord might, for example, try to institute rent increases on improved units or possibly evict tenants in those units in order to rent the units to new tenants at higher prices. WAP improvements and accompanying repairs can also increase an owner’s equity in a property, increasing the likelihood that an owner might sell to a new owner who may in turn raise rents orevict tenants to bring in higher rents. When tenants are paying some or all oftheir energy bills as part of their rent, potential savings on those bills can be siphoned off by such rent increases. In order to safeguard WAP ’s benefits to low-income tenants, the statute authorizing WAP imposes some basic requirements on states administering WAP funds.3 Regulations and program notices from DOE provide some additional guidance regarding compliance with these requirements.4 However, the WAP statute and regulations give the individual states broad discretion over the specific measures they employ to meet the statutory requirement of ensuring that WAP benefits “accrue primarily to the low-income tenants residing in such units.”5 As a result, state-level WAP rules implementing these tenant-protection requirements vary widely. 1 42 U. S.C. § 6861(b) (2018) . 2 Although the program has always permitted use of WAP funds for improvements to multifamily properties, DOE, states and local agencies have placed more emphasis on the multifamily sector in recent years. See Weatherization Program Notice (WPN) 16-5 (May 5, 2016) at 11 [hereinafter “WPN 16-5”] . 3 42 U. S.C. § 6863(b)(5) and (b)(6) (2018) . 4 10 C.F.R. § 440 .22(b),(c) and (d) (2018); see also, [https://www.energy.gov/eere/wipo/weatherization-program](https://www.energy.gov/eere/wipo/weatherization-program)guidance. 5 42 U. S.C. § 6863(b)(5)(A) (2018) . As WAP and similar government and utility-funded programs aimed at increasing energy efficiency in multifamily properties expand around the country, the need for robust and enforceable tenant protections is also growing. The following survey examines WAP tenant protection policies in 25 states 6 in order to provide a working inventory oftenant protection measures available to policymakers and program administrators when government or public utility funds are used to subsidize energy efficiency improvements in multifamily rental properties. The discussion below also highlights state WAP policies that are likely to provide the strongest protections to tenants, identifies concerns about certain other policies, and sets forth a series of questions for further research and analysis, including questions aimed at determining how to strike the appropriate balance between safeguarding tenant benefits and maintaining owner participation. Dis

FAQs

Why was the Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) established?

WAP was established to increase energy efficiency in dwellings for low-income households, reduce residential energy expenditures, and improve health and safety.

How can WAP improvements affect tenants in multifamily properties?

Improvements may reduce tenants’ energy bills, but they can also lead landlords to raise rents or evict tenants so units can be re-let at higher prices.

What core tenant-protection requirements does the WAP statute impose?

For rental units, benefits must accrue primarily to low-income tenants; rent increases after weatherization are generally restricted unless demonstrably related to matters other than the work performed; tenant complaint and owner demonstration procedures are required; and undue or excessive enhancement of dwelling value must be avoided.

Sep 16, 2026

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