The City of Dubuque has entered a new partnership with RentLab to promote energy efficiency, affordability, and sustainability in Dubuque’s rental housing sector. The partnership aims to reduce the overall energy cost burden on Dubuque renter households, as lower-income households can pay upwards of 9% of their total income in annual energy costs. Increasing sustainability in local rental units will also be essential in enabling the City to meet its sustainability goals under the 50% by 2030 Community Climate Action and Resiliency Plan.
RentLab is a social benefit corporation that rates rental properties based on efficiency and sustainability. RentLab’s public platform creates positive visibility for efficient properties, and the scoring system helps prioritize opportunities for improvement.
The RentLab rating system – or “Smart Living Score” – also considers walkability, access to public transit, access to recycling, acceptance of Housing Choice Vouchers, and other factors that contribute to overall economic, social, and environmental sustainability. The community’s highest-scoring properties will receive annual “Sustainability Leader” recognition.
The initial version of the website has been built with publicly available data, and is available at RentLab.org/dubuque-ia. The map of properties is located at Dubuque.rentlab.city. Both tenants and landlords can share information about their rental properties on the site as well.
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