Current program evaluation theory posits that the "split incentive barrier" discouragesrnmultifamily property managers/owners from improving the energy efficiency of their tenantrnunits. The premise of this barrier is that although property managers/owners are responsible forrnfacility improvements, they usually do not pay energy bills for the tenant spaces and thereforernhave no direct financial incentive to install more expensive energy-efficient measures.rnHowever, a 2009 evaluation of the Southern California Edison Multifamily EnergyrnEfficiency Rebate Program and a 2007 evaluation of the California statewide Multifamily RebaternProgram found that very few multifamily property managers/owners identified this splitrnincentive barrier as an impediment to energy-efficient improvements in their tenant units. Thesernevaluations posed questions about multifamily barriers to energy efficiency to participating andrnnon-participating multifamily property managers/owners, property managers/owners whoserntenants pay their own energy bills, and installation contractors. The scarcity of evidence for splitincentivernbarriers from all these different multifamily market perspectives led evaluators tornquestion the conventional wisdom that the split incentive was an important barrier for this sector.rnThe fact that only a small percentage of program participants chose to have energy-efficientrnmeasures installed in their common areas only also raised doubts about the split incentive barrier.rnThe 2009 study also asked these property managers/owners why they installed energyefficientrnequipment in their tenant units even though their tenants pay their own energy bills.rnTheir most common response, by far, was that they thought that if their tenants could savernmoney on energy costs, they would have more money left over for rent. Other reasons includedrnimproving tenant satisfaction and increasing property values by replacing old lighting fixtures.rnThese findings suggest that past theorists have misapplied the split incentive barrier in thernmultifamily context. By making energy-efficient improvements in their tenant units, propertyrnmanagers are acting in their own economic self interest.
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