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Multifamily Climate Resilience Finance Working Group

Welcome to the Multifamily Climate Resilience Finance Working Group!

Broadly defined, resilience is the capacity of individuals, communities, institutions, businesses, and systems to survive, adapt, and grow no matter what kinds of chronic stresses and acute shocks they experience.  

Recognizing the need to work within and toward this broader conception of resilience, our working group focuses specifically on climate resilience in the multifamily affordable housing sector. For a multifamily housing property, climate resilience is the ability of a building to remain functional or recover quickly after a major disruption. Resilience involves planning and preparation for before, during, and after an event. 

Collectively, we know that natural hazards and other impacts from climate change put a strain on all households and communities, but disproportionately affects low income people and people of color, who may be more burdened by shocks and take longer to recover. Many of these individuals are tenants in multifamily housing.

Additionally, we know that as climate change continues to increase the frequency and severity of  extreme weather events, those with financial interests in real estate ignore at their peril the potential financial consequences of climate change on their portfolios.  

Together, we are working toward solutions for how the multifamily sector make a strategic shift from reactive recovery after disasters toward proactive resilience before disaster strikes. 

You can read our October 2019 discussion brief, Why Multifamily Housing Lenders Must Manage Climate Risks, and How to Start, here

And in June 2020, we released our working paper, Identifying, Valuing, and Financing Climate Resilience in Multifamily Affordable Housing.

In this working paper, we explore the following questions.

  • What are the challenges to enhancing the climate resilience of multifamily affordable housing? 
  • How are opportunities to enhance the climate resilience of a specific property identified?
  • Once identified, what is needed to fund resilience projects?
  • What resilience dividends (i.e. financial value) can housing owners unlock by enhancing resilience in multifamily affordable housing, even without additional incentives?
  • What kinds of incentives could lenders, insurers, and the government offer to housing owners that would accelerate investment in resilient multifamily affordable housing?
  • What is the role of building codes, certifications, and disclosures in driving resilience upgrades?

Are you working on climate resilience in multifamily housing? Do you have ideas for or experience with identifying, valuing, and financing climate resilience in this important sector?  

Join us by participating in our online forum!

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