03.3 / Work ExampleEnergy Efficiency Programs

Rental Apartment Retrofit Accelerator Pilot Program (RARA)

Free Support and Capital Grants for Vancouver Market Rental Building Decarbonization  

Building owners with rental apartments in the City of Vancouver are eligible to access grants and support services available through a pilot program designed to accelerate the retrofit and decarbonization of buildings. The program will support a wide range of apartment retrofits that will reduce building greenhouse gas emissions and will prioritize retrofits that have co-benefits for tenants (i.e., have minimal impact on existing tenants, improve livability and indoor comfort, or provide summer cooling). 

Through the program, participants are eligible to access:  

• Rental Apartment Retrofit Accelerator grants and other incentives up to a combined maximum of 100% of total costs and a maximum of $500,000. 
• Free retrofit implementation support (valued up to $35,000).
• Free engineering and technical support to plan and implement retrofits, including energy benchmarking, screening assessments, decarbonization planning, electrical capacity assessments, and a capital plan. 
• Ongoing building retrofit support from experienced professional engineers, project managers and retrofit assistants, including support accessing complementary funding and financing. 

The program is a LandlordBC and city of Vancouver initiative, administered in partnership with FRESCo and funded by the City of Vancouver, the Province’s CleanBC program and BC Hydro.  

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Benefits for Rental Housing Sector

The program may benefit the rental housing sector in the following ways: 

• Reduce greenhouse-gas emissions from buildings. 
• Reduce the costs of retrofits by providing grants and with support accessing complementary incentive and financing programs up to a combined maximum of 100% of incremental costs. 
• Provide building owners with the technical and administrative support to implement retrofits. (Valued at up to $35,000) 
• Improving the rental housing with retrofits that have co-benefits for tenants. 

Who can Apply?

Program eligibility criteria includes:  

• Applicants that are LandlordBC members will be given preference wherever possible. 
• Buildings must be market rental buildings located within the City of Vancouver municipal boundary. 
• Buildings must have an active natural gas utility account and gas fired mechanical equipment with interest to replace with a low-carbon alternative. 
• Buildings must have a minimum of 10 units in the building. 
• Buildings must not be connected to a district energy system. 
• Owners/managers must be planning to undertake a retrofit that will provide a net decrease in GHGs and result in energy impacts that are measurable and verifiable, and that can be estimated using standard engineering calculations.
• Owners must have the capacity required (including sufficient financial resources) to move forward with a retrofit project that will be completed by March 31, 2025. 
• Owners must consent to having the screening assessment, detailed assessment, energy benchmarking data, commissioning and measurement and verification results shared with LLBC, the Program Administrator and Program Partners/Funding Partners.  
• Owners should be willing to have a case study report completed on the retrofit project if they receive capital funding through the program.

Eligible Retrofits:  

The following retrofits will be considered for incentives and coaching support:

• Domestic hot water systems electrification.
• Makeup air (MUA) system replacements with electric heat pump solutions.  
• Space heating system replacements with in-suite or central heat pump systems. 
• Electric capacity upgrades. 
• Other retrofits that result in a net decrease in greenhouse gas emissions that can be measured and verified. 
• Load Management technologies.
• Complimentary energy efficiency retrofits may be eligible for incentives through this program or through complementary incentive programs (e.g. new windows, air sealing, insulation, make-up air ventilation reduction, suite heat recovery ventilation and other electrical efficiency measures). 
• Specific product efficiency requirements to access grants will be provided in the detailed assessment. 

Ineligible Retrofits:

The following work will not be eligible for incentives and coaching support: 

• Energy retrofits and/or capital repairs that are completed or in process. 
• Additions or new construction. 
• General interior or exterior work or construction that is not necessary for the retrofit. 
• Other work deemed inappropriate at the discretion of the program. 
• Costs incurred prior to funding approval. 

Program Timeline

• Program Launch: June 2023 
• Participant Recruitment:  
• Phase 1:  June- July 2023 
• Phase 2:  August to September 2023 
• Screening Assessments/ Detailed Assessments: June 2023 to August 2024 
• Installations: September2023 to January 2025 
• Project Coaching and Retrofit Implementation: July 2023 to April 2025  
• Commissioning/Measurement and Verification and Case Studies: September 2023 to March 2026  

*The project timelines may be subject to change and can be modified by LLBC. 

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