Multifamily Impact Council Framework Infographic

The 7 Principles of the Multifamily Impact Framework™

Creating common standards and transparent reporting guidelines to drive more impact in the rental housing industry

People spend more time in their homes than any other place on Earth. For 40 million Americans, that home is an apartment building. This fact makes multifamily properties the perfect asset class for impact investors seeking long-term investments with stable cash flows that improve lives and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

To increase the flow of impact capital into the sector, the Multifamily Impact Council developed a common framework of industry impact principles and reporting guidelines for rental housing properties in the United States.

Our Impact Framework is centered around seven key principles.In order to meet our definition of impact, properties must meet the minimum impact threshold for all seven of these principles.

1. Affordability

Affordability represents the foundation of the Multifamily Impact Framework and is defined along a spectrum that begins with the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s (FHFA) definition of affordability up to the point where 100% of the renters in a property are paying no more than 30% of their income for rent.

MIC Minimum Threshold for Affordability

50% or more of the units must be affordable to renter households who make:

  • 80% AMI or less in standard markets

  • 100% AMI or less in cost-burdened markets

  • 120% AMI or less in very cost-burdened markets

Cost-burdened and very cost-burdened markets are defined by FHFA. Their list of cost-burdened and very cost-burdened markets are updated annually.

2. Resident Engagement

Resident engagement is defined as having a resident services approach that ensures services and programs being provided:

  • Are consistent with resident priorities, goals, and needs

  • Leverage existing community resources

  • Build trust with residents

MIC Minimum Threshold for Resident Engagement

Corporate impact plan(s) and investment strategies should ensure that property owners are incorporating a resident engagement approach that is either CORES certified or includes:

  • Communication and feedback loops to measure renter satisfaction, program outcomes, and identify resident priorities and needs

  • A proceses to identify and leverage existing community resources

  • Initiatives to enhance information sharing and communications between renters and on-site staff

The CORES Certification recognizes organizations that have developed a robust commitment, capacity, and competency in providing resident services coordination in affordable rental housing.

CORESonline.org

3. Housing Stability

Housing stability is achieved when a person:

  • 1) is not more than 30 days behind on rent

  • 2) has not moved in the past twelve months for financial reasons

MIC Minimum Threshold for Housing Stability

Corporate impact plan(s) and investment strategies must include specific activities that seek to:

  • Increase lengths of stay and resident retention rates

  • Reduce bad debt costs and evictions for non-payment

  • Promote a renter’s ability to pay rent

Please note that while there are many factors that shape household stability, here we refer exclusively to the ability to maintain leaseholder status of the rental unit.

4. Economic Health & Mobility

Economic Health and Mobilityis defined by a person’s ability to improve their financial condition, standard of living, and economic future while living in their rental unit.

MIC Minimum Threshold for Economic Health & Mobility

Corporate impact plan(s) and investment strategies must include specific activities to help renters:

  • Be more resilient to unexpected financial events

  • Improve their standard of living and economic future

  • Enhance credit scores by reporting on-time rental payments to credit bureaus at no direct cost to the renter

5. Health & Wellness

Health and wellness at the property can be achieved by incorporating healthy building design and property management practices for living conditions that protect and enhance the health of renters.

MIC Minimum Threshold for Health & Wellness

Corporate impact plans and investment strategies should incorporate property management and building design practices that are either certified by Fitwel, Enterprise Green or WELL and improve the health and safety of renters. Outcomes should demonstrate that:

  • Building design and management practices prioritize protecting and improving resident health

  • Life and safety issues at each property are addressed promptly

  • Resident health needs are prioritized within the property or portfolio’s Resident Engagement platform

Fitwel and WELL are industry certifications that ensure organizations are meeting healthy building standards.

Fitwel.org
WELLcertified.com
enterprisecommunity.org

6. Climate & Resiliency

The principle of climate and resiliency is achieved when property owners take specific actions to:

  • Make their property more energy and water efficient

  • Reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions

  • Improve the resiliency of the property and its residents to climate risks

MIC Minimum Threshold for Climate & Resiliency

Property owners must demonstrate specific actions at the property to:

  • Reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions*

  • Achieve utility efficiencies at the property

  • Assess climate-related risk and resiliency features at the property and portfolio level

  • Utilize the Energy Star portfolio manager, GRESB, or equivalent service, for benchmarking and performance tracking at their properties and portfolios

*Reduced emissions can be achieved by improving the functioning of older existing assets or by designing new properties with climate functioning in-mind.

The Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star Portfolio Manager is the leading industry standard for energy use benchmarking.

EnergyStar.gov

7. Good Business

Good Business means incorporating policies that create an open, inclusive workforce with equal opportunities for all. Policies should broaden your organization’s perspective, enlarge your talent pool, increase productivity, drive innovation, and enhance market understanding.

MIC Minimum Threshold for Good Business

Corporate impact plans and investment strategies must:

  • Identify steps taken to increase the number of qualified, traditionally underrepresented identities—particularly women, Black people, Indigenous people, and people of color—across all layers of the workforce and Board

  • Include any action/initiatives that invest in women—and minority—owned developers/entrepreneurs

While maintaining inclusive residential communities is a priority of the Multifamily Impact Council and an intended goal of the Resident Engagement principle, the principle of Good Business focuses on the structure and management of organizations which own, manage, or serve the property.

Ready to make an impact?

Download the Framework and put it into action for yourself.

If you are interested in adopting the framework or becoming a member of the Council, contact us at mic@multifamilyimpactcouncil.org