NY HCR/HFA

Partner Energy provides support for New York’s Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program, from application to annual benchmarking and reporting.

State of New York 

The New York State Housing Finance Agency (HFA) requires that all projects applying for bond financing for new construction or preservation of multifamily housing projects adhere to the New York State Housing Finance Agency Mandatory Green Guidelines. See below for an outline of requirements:

New Construction | Substantial Rehab & Adaptive Reuse 

HCR requires all projects pursuing 9% tax credits to meet one of the following mandatory energy efficiency criteria:

• EPA ENERGY STAR® Homes
• EPA ENERGY STAR® MFHR
• NYSERDA LRNCP
• NYSERDA MF NCP
• Enterprise Green Communities (eligible in some cases)

Many projects optimize their application by committing to one of the following optional green building certifications:

• Enterprise Green Communities (EGC)
• Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)
• National Green Building Standard (NGBS)
• Passive House Institute U.S. (PHIUS)

Projects pursuing 4% government bond funding have similar mandatory energy efficiency requirements.

Existing Building | Preservation

An Integrated Physical Needs Assessment will inform the scope of work.

Additionally, moderate rehabilitation of existing buildings that do not meet current energy code must be brought up to state energy code standards for comparable new construction (or more stringent local codes) OR reduce energy use by 20%. Alternatively, moderate rehabilitation projects can participate in the NYSERDA Multifamily Performance Program (MPP) for Existing Buildings and must implement a scope of work projected to achieve at least 31% energy savings.

Many projects optimize their application by committing to one of the following optional green building certifications:

• EPA ENERGY STAR® Programs – Existing Buildings
• Enterprise Green Communities Criteria for Existing Buildings
• Passive House Institute US (PHIUS) or Passive House Institute (PHI)
• National Green Building Standard for Remodeling Projects
• LEED for Existing Buildings

Partner Energy provides support in green certifications program such as Enterprise Green Communities, LEED and NGBS. Partner Energy is also an  approved IPNA provider and approved NYSERDA provider. In addition, we can provide ENERGY STAR® New Homes or ENERGY STAR® Multifamily High Rise certification for new construction projects pursing tax credits.

New York City

A New York City requirement for LIHTC is that all new construction and existing building rehabilitation projects must achieve Enterprise Green Communities (EGC) certification . The EGC Certification Request Form must be submitted with the LIHTC application. For rehabilitation projects, an energy audit and Energy Improvement Report must be submitted with the application.