Bridgewater's energy-efficiency pilot program going unused by landlords

About five months after the Town of Bridgewater launched a pilot program offering incentives to make energy-efficient upgrades to their buildings, no landlords have taken up the offer.

The town's pilot program, which launched in December, works side-by-side with Efficiency Nova Scotia's Multifamily Housing Program, which provides up to 80 per cent in rebates for energy-efficiency upgrades.

Bridgewater's pilot program then offers landlords with buildings of four-to-six units financing at an interest rate of two per cent for any outstanding costs. Financing is capped at 15 per cent of the assessed value of the property.

Leon de Vreede, senior policy and program planner with Energize Bridgewater, said upgrades like improving insulation and installing heat pumps would lower energy bills and reduce energy poverty in the town, which affects 38 per cent of residents. 

However, de Vreede said that because landlords don't often shoulder the costs of high power bills, many aren't motivated to participate in home-upgrading programs.

Annette Hubley, a landlord in Bridgewater, said another reason why some landlords aren't interested in the program is that it requires them to keep units affordable for 12 years.

"We would probably not take advantage of some of the programs because of the commitment and the rules around affordable housing," she said. "We try to stay within the marketplace [somewhere] in the middle."

To qualify as affordable housing, rent needs to be at or below the current rental rates in the area, which in Bridgewater, is $711 for a one-bedroom apartment with no utilities.

Not all units in a building need to meet this requirement, but at least four, or 30 percent of the total number of units.

Robert Dykes, a former landlord and member of the town's advisory committee, said some landlords may kick energy efficiency down the road when it requires them to commit to a lower cost, especially if they don't have to pay the energy bill at the end of the month.

"When you can't pay your taxes at the end of the year because you have no profit, [home improvements] become secondary," he said 

Dykes said that for landlords who do pay energy bills, making the transition to more energy-efficient infrastructure should be a no-brainer, especially since the rebates and financing covers most, if not all, of the costs. 

He said, for example, when he installed 24 heat pumps in a building he used to own, it slashed the power bill by 20 per cent.

Dykes said even if there are no immediate benefits to energy efficiency from a financial perspective, landlords should take advantage of the resources offered to them because it helps them in the long-run. 

"It raises the quality of the building, it raises the quality of service you can offer your tenants and eventually, the sale price of your building will increase," he said. 

Still, de Vreede said the fact that Bridgewater has low vacancy rates and a lot of demand means landlords don't have to make improvements to compete in the housing market.

He said while landlords may have little incentive to upgrade their buildings, the tenants living in them have high stakes on the matter as they face high energy bills. 

That's why de Vreede asks tenants to talk to their landlords and even meet with the town's energy navigator, whose job is to connect people with the energy-efficiency resources that match their needs.