Peak Oil Task Force Report - City of Bloomington - State of Indiana

2. Housing will occupy an ever­increasing proportion of personal income.
The Transportation chapter illustrated the way in which increasing oil prices will consume
more and more of personal income. The story is the same with housing. Absent efficiency
improvements, heating, maintenance, and monthly housing
costs will consume a larger share of household budgets and
may push people toward lower‐quality housing choices at
the same time that auto transportation costs increase
dramatically.
3. Big houses and low occupancy translates into
great inefficiency.
As described above, Bloomington residents, like most
Americans, tend to live in large spaces with few occupants.
As fuel becomes scarcer and electricity prices rise, it will
become increasingly difficult to heat and cool these large spaces. Many families will likely
face tough choices such as downsizing to a more moderately‐sized space, doubling up
households, closing off unused rooms and/or remodeling underutilized areas to create
living space for additional household members who can contribute to the cost of utilities
and maintenance. It is likely that large and inefficient homes will not hold their worth and
those who have their net worth tied up in such houses may be disproportionately affected.
4. No incentives for landlords to make rental units energy efficient.
For the most part, when renters assume the cost of their utility bills, landlords don’t have
much financial incentive to make their rentals more energy efficient. This is known as a
“split incentive.” Owners don’t make efficiency investments because it’s the renters who
pay the energy bills. And renters don’t make investments in property they don’t own. The
result is housing that wastes energy and costs more than it should. Since fully 65% of all
housing units in Bloomington are renter‐occupied, renters living in inefficient units will
face considerable hardship due to peak oil.
Source: Natural Resources Defense Council
Report of the Bloomington Peak Oil Task Force 161