The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced $279 million in new awards through its Green and Resilient Retrofit Program (GRRP) on October 2, 2024, dramatically expanding sustainability upgrades at affordable housing properties serving some of the nation's most vulnerable residents. The awards will fund energy efficiency, renewable energy, climate resilience, and green building improvements at 46 properties in 23 states and territories, benefiting more than 3,500 rental homes.

The announcement marks the fourth and final round of awards under GRRP's Comprehensive cohort, which targets properties with the highest need for climate resilience and utility efficiency upgrades regardless of prior retrofit experience. With this round, HUD has now distributed approximately 97 percent of the program's dedicated funding.

A Landmark Investment in Affordable Housing Sustainability

Established under the Inflation Reduction Act, GRRP was designed to address a long-standing gap in the affordable housing sector: older multifamily properties serving low-income tenants often lack the capital to modernize aging mechanical systems, improve insulation, add renewable energy, or harden buildings against extreme weather. Rising utility costs and climate hazards disproportionately affect residents with the fewest resources to absorb those pressures.

"HUD has awarded over $1.1 billion through the Green and Resilient Retrofit Program to modernize housing for families," said HUD Acting Secretary Adrianne Todman in the announcement. Assistant Secretary for Housing and Federal Housing Commissioner Julia Gordon called the round "the largest set of Green and Resilient Retrofit Program awards to date, reinforcing our continued commitment" to energy-efficient, resilient affordable housing.

Across all GRRP cohorts, HUD has now directed approximately $1.12 billion to 225 properties containing nearly 26,000 rental homes in 42 states plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.

Who the Awards Serve

The properties receiving funding in the October 2024 round all participate in HUD project-based rental assistance programs that serve extremely low- and very low-income households:

26 properties under Section 8 project-based rental assistance, which supports low-income families and individuals.
11 properties under Section 202 supportive housing for low-income seniors.
6 properties under Section 811 supportive housing for people with disabilities.

Because these programs place rent caps tied to tenant income, owners cannot pass retrofit costs to residents through rent increases. That structure historically limited the pace of energy and resilience upgrades; GRRP is designed to break the logjam by pairing grant and loan financing with technical support.

What the Funds Pay For

According to HUD, GRRP Comprehensive awards can be used to:

Increase energy and water efficiency through insulation, envelope upgrades, high-efficiency heating and cooling, and low-flow plumbing fixtures.
Generate on-site renewable energy, primarily through rooftop solar.
Reduce climate pollution and lower operating costs, helping preserve affordability over the long term.
Promote the use of green building materials that improve indoor air quality.
Harden properties against climate hazards such as flooding, extreme heat, wildfire smoke, and high winds.

The Three GRRP Cohorts

GRRP is structured as three distinct funding tracks designed to meet owners where they are in their retrofit planning:

Elements provides gap financing of up to $750,000 per property for green or climate-resilient items within an existing recapitalization transaction.
Leading Edge targets owners pursuing ambitious carbon reduction, with awards capped at the lesser of $60,000 per unit, $10 million, or total eligible costs.
Comprehensive, the track funded in the October 2024 announcement, offers awards of up to $20 million for properties with the highest need for investment, regardless of prior retrofit experience.

Overall the program was authorized with $837.5 million in grant funding plus $4 billion in loan authority through HUD.

Why the Program Matters for Residents

Utility costs are one of the largest out-of-pocket expenses for low-income renters, and older affordable housing stock often consumes two to three times the energy of comparable newer buildings. Upgrades funded by GRRP can cut utility bills, improve indoor comfort in heat waves and cold snaps, and reduce the risk that families will face uninhabitable conditions after a severe storm.

For seniors in Section 202 housing and people with disabilities in Section 811 housing, reliable heating and cooling is not just a comfort issue but a health and safety issue. Resilient electrical systems, backup power, and climate-ready building envelopes directly reduce mortality and hospitalization risk during extreme weather events.

What Comes Next

With the October 2024 round exhausting most of GRRP's Comprehensive funding, HUD has signaled that its future sustainability work in affordable housing will focus on implementation of awarded projects, technical assistance to owners, and integration of climate-resilience standards into ongoing HUD programs. Industry observers note that any expansion of GRRP-style funding will depend on future appropriations and statutory authority beyond the Inflation Reduction Act.

For residents of the 3,500 homes funded in this announcement, the impact will unfold over the coming years as design, permitting, and construction work proceeds. For the affordable housing field, the awards stand as one of the largest single federal commitments ever made to decarbonizing and climate-hardening the nation's subsidized rental housing stock.

HUD Grants Boost Sustainability for Low-Income Housing Projects