The Case for City-led Housing Retrofits in New York City

In New York City, policy discussions about housing affordability tend to focus on rent freezes, land-use reform, and public investment in new affordable housing. Yet housing affordability also hinges on housing quality. NYC’s affordable housing stock is among the oldest in the nation and on a downward trajectory of physical deterioration. Inefficient energy systems, high insurance rates, and frequent emergency repairs increase these aging building’s operating costs, which are ultimately passed on to residents. Building retrofits—the renovation of building structures and systems to make them more well-functioning, energy-efficient, and climate ready—can make housing more affordable while also improving quality of life.

Despite these many benefits, building owners often hesitate to initiate comprehensive retrofits due to a lack of capacity, labor shortages, and high costs. To address such challenges, this brief proposes a program in which the City of New York uses public procurement to scale the delivery of residential retrofits. By achieving cost compression unattainable by single households or buildings, this program will yield benefits for residents, building owners, contractors, and workers, while also reducing citywide building emissions and preparing residential buildings for future climate risks.