The City of Vancouver has launched the Rental Apartment Retrofit Accelerator (RARA) program to help future-proof existing rental buildings. The new pilot program aims to make the city’s aging residential buildings more resilient to the impacts of climate change, while improving energy efficiency, increasing indoor comfort and decreasing emissions with minimal impacts to tenants.

“Collaborating with other levels of government and partners is key to making housing more resilient to extreme weather events,” said Mayor Ken Sim. “By upgrading our existing rental buildings, we’re prioritizing safety, health and comfort while making Vancouver’s housing stock more energy efficient.”

Funded by the City in partnership with CleanBC and BCHydro, and administered through LandlordBC, the RARA program has $3.5 million in grant funds available for owners of market rental buildings to undertake critical energy retrofit upgrades, including building electrification and fuel-switching using new heat pump technology. Findings from the pilot program will inform future investment in Vancouver’s existing rental stock.

“As the leader in the rental housing sector in BC, LandlordBC is continuing to support both research and practical programs that accelerate building decarbonization and improve the rental housing stock,” said David Hutniak, Chief Executive Officer of LandlordBC. “This program is designed to help us learn how to retrofit apartments to reduce carbon pollution and to provide better, more efficient, and more comfortable homes for residents.”

Anticipated benefits

• Retrofitting and electrifying Vancouver’s existing buildings with air source heat pumps will add cooling and create healthier, more comfortable and safer living spaces during extreme heat and forest fire smoke events.
• Upgrading space heating, water heating and ventilation to low carbon and more energy efficient versions will improve comfort and may reduce operational costs.
• Assisting building owners with the tools to plan for other building retrofits and monitoring ongoing energy consumption will support future upgrades.
• Technical and administrative support along with clear expectations for landlords to effectively retrofit buildings will minimize impacts on residents and maintain stable tenancies.

“Renovating our existing buildings presents a significant opportunity for climate action, along with many health benefits for residents,” said Sean Pander, Green and Resilient Building Manager. “This program not only supports our goal of cutting carbon pollution from Vancouver’s buildings in half by 2030, compared to 2007 levels, it also makes funds available for necessary upgrades to protect residents from extreme weather and smoke events. We see this pilot as a springboard to a program which serves the retrofit needs of typical rental buildings and their occupants.”

Building owners with market rental apartments located in Vancouver are eligible to apply to the pilot program. Click in the link to learn more about the program and eligibility requirements.