Shannon Van Hoesen, Sierra Club, shannon.vanhoesen@sierraclub.org
Rithika Ramamurthy, Climate and Community Institute, rramamurthy@climateandcommunity.org
Washington, DC - A new policy primer, released today by Sierra Club and Climate and Community Institute, lays out why and how decision-makers at the local, state, and federal level can prioritize tenant protections as efforts to decarbonize buildings gain momentum. From rent and eviction protections to strongly enforced habitability standards, the primer explains a suite of complementary policies and provides existing examples of each as a framework for similar legislation.
Decarbonization efforts are necessary because our homes are fueling the climate crisis– contributing nearly one-fifth of the United States’ greenhouse gas emissions. Yet, the 144 million tenants in the United States, who are disproportionately low-income and BIPOC, have little to no control over the quality or condition of their housing leaving them to deal with the brunt of both the housing and climate crises.
“Tenants are being left behind by climate policies that prioritize homeowners and make the rent continue to skyrocket. A commitment to environmental and climate justice requires a commitment to tenant justice. Tenant protections offer a path out of these challenges – a path toward decarbonization of the rental housing stock that is more equitable, efficient, and resilient,” said Ruthy Gourevitch, Housing and Communities Director of Climate and Community Institute, a climate and economy policy think tank.
Of the 144 million renters in the country, 40% of rental housing is on the frontlines of the climate crisis, and low-income tenants disproportionately experience rent increases or evictions after disasters. This will be something the country will have to grapple with in real time as the southeast deals with historic, devastating hurricane clean up. Tenant protection policies can help address climate justice in the face of increasing climate disasters.
“Thanks to efforts at the state and federal level, the United States is taking necessary strides to make our homes and buildings greener, cleaner, and more climate-resilient. We want to make sure that tenants are not victims of this progress, left to deal with unhealthy conditions or unscrupulous landlords,” said Amneh Minkara, Deputy Director of Sierra Club’s Building Electrification campaign. “This policy primer lays out straightforward, commonsense policies that can be adopted at all levels of government to give everyone a fair shot at clean, safe, affordable housing.”
Tenant protection policies are important to ensure that tenants are not burdened with higher utility bills from inefficient and dangerous conditions; tenants do not face unfair evictions for asserting their right to cleaner, greener conditions; and tenants are not faced with unfair rent increases or evictions when their landlords make clean energy and resilience upgrades.
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About the Climate and Community Institute
The Climate and Community Institute (CCI) is a progressive climate and economy think tank. Our growing staff and network of over 60 academic and expert fellows creates and mobilizes cutting-edge research at the nexus of inequality and the climate crisis. We fight for a transformational agenda that will rapidly and equitably decarbonize the economy by focusing on material benefits for working people. We work with movements and progressive policy makers to pass new policy, effectively implement legislation, shift narratives, and deepen coalitions.
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.