You’ve finally found it. That white whale apartment, seemingly too good to be true: a tasteful kitchen renovation complete with a dishwasher, ample natural light, an extra bedroom — all within your price range. You submit an application and move in two weeks later.
Then the cracks start to show — literal cracks that bring drafts of cold air in the winter and force you to crank up the heat. Your jaw drops when the utility bill shows up. How is it $200 higher than what you were paying before?
About a third of Americans rent their homes, and most have no way of knowing what their gas or electric costs might be before moving into a new place. A new study finds that if they did, they would be 21 percent more likely to choose an apartment with a good record on energy efficiency. On average, renters are even willing to pay nearly 2 percent more in rent for a bump in energy efficiency.
Currently, only a few cities in the U.S. require landlords to disclose energy information to renters, and none require it to be included in rental listings. Reuven Sussman, the lead author of the study and the director of the behavior and human dimensions program at the Amer... Read more
