It was announced on Tuesday that A2’s Office of Sustainability and Innovations has reached the 500 mark of housing units, meeting its Green Rental Housing Ordinance – this means that the units have been verified to meet safety, environmentally sustainability, emissions standards; creating a housing situation that is designed to save residents money in the process of lowering their carbon footprint.
Green Rental Housing Ordinance
“The ordinance passed in 2025, but the date that people actually needed to meet the ordinance was in 2026,” Joe Lange, the Senior Energy Analyst at A2’s Office of Sustainability and Innovations, said. “While the materials are due at the time of the rental housing inspection, we do give people a 60 day grace period to get everything in; so naturally, as people are just starting things out, most people skew towards the end of that grace period. During that time, we’re doing a lot of outreach with the landlords, so they know everything that’s happening, helping clarifying some misconceptions, and making sure that they’ve got everything on the right track to get there and get all of their stuff into compliance. Early on, that takes a lot more work than we’re hoping it will later on, and once people start getting familiar with it, it starts going a lot more smoothly.”
The City itself sent out inspections for rental housing units – which comprise around 55% of Ann Arbor’s overall home count – to see what met the standards and what didn’t. If the apartment met the criteria, it was approved, and if it doesn’t, the relevant contractors are brought in on a sub-contracted basis, to make improvements.
“Tenants deserve well maintained, energy efficient homes. Ann Arbor’s Green Rental Housing Ordinance improves tenant comfort, health, and affordability,” Mayor Chris Taylor, who is running for reelection, told Current in an emailed statement. “I’m excited that we’ve reached this milestone and look forward to additional improvements for our residents.”…