Prioritize Rental Housing to Equitably Meet California's Emissions Reduction Targets
Abstract
California’s building sector accounts for 25% of all emissions in the State of California, making building decarbonization a crucial
component of the state’s plan to achieve net zero emissions by 2045. Within this sector, rental housing poses a unique set of challenges.
Gas appliances in rental buildings generate both indoor and outdoor pollution, contributing to health issues such as asthma and lung disease. This pollution burden is carried disproportionately by low-income Californians. Compounding this effect, nearly half (44%) of Californians live in rental housing and are unable to take direct advantage of the state’s incentives to electrify the housing sector. Responsibility for housing electrification resides with property owners, alongside the cities and air quality management districts who regulate their rental businesses. Recent efforts by the Bay Area Air District, the South Coast AQMD, and the City of Berkeley to establish gas appliance bans and/or energy efficiency requirements have faced significant challenges in court.
To address these challenges and proceed with statewide electrification of the rental housing sector, we propose that the state prioritize rental housing in its funding, outreach, and inter-agency coordination on building decarbonization. Prioritizing rental properties will more effectively serve the state’s goals of energy equity, public health, and the rapid decarbonization of California’s housing sector.
Authorship
This brief was prepared by Katy Vigil-McClanahan ([email protected])
The views, opinions and recommendations expressed in this policy brief are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Graduate Program of Environmental Policy and Management at UC Davis.