The 2026 Criteria are suitable for new construction, substantial rehab, and moderate rehab in multifamily and in single-family homes. We provide special considerations for developments located in rural, tribal, and small-town locations. All projects must achieve compliance with the mandatory criteria measures applicable to their construction type. Outside of New York City, new construction projects must earn at least 40 points, and substantial and moderate rehab projects must achieve at least 35 optional points, to be recognized with Green Communities certification. Projects in New York City have slightly different requirements – see our NYC Overlay pages for more information.
Eligibility
Affordability
Green Communities Certification is available for all buildings that contain affordable housing units. Enterprise defines affordable housing as projects serving residents at or below 60% AMI for rental buildings and at or below 80% AMI for for-sale buildings.
Multiple buildings that are financed as a single development can be clustered under a single application for certification. Please keep in mind, buildings clustered under a single application must complete construction within 12 months of one another and follow the same mandatory and optional criteria. Given a development’s timeline and/or compliance pathways, it may make sense to submit multiple applications.
Construction Typologies : Substantial and Moderate Rehabs
Given that the scope of work on existing buildings can vary widely (from minor repairs to gut rehabs), we have defined two levels of rehabs to guide project team planning.
While Substantial and Moderate Rehabs are defined as specifically as possible below, each project will most likely have more nuance than can be captured here. Please use these definitions as the start of this guidance, strive for the most inclusive level of integrating the Criteria, and note that compliance with the energy-performance requirements of criteria 5.2a and 5.2b often is the factor that places a project in the New Construction pathway (possible for some gut rehabs), Substantial Rehab pathway, or Moderate Rehab pathway, or precludes Certification all together.
A Substantial Rehab is defined as a project where the work area exceeds 50% of the aggregate area of the building: an International Code Council level 3 alteration scope of work, according to the most recent version of the International Existing Building Code published at the time of project Prebuild application.
- Aggregate area of the building includes anything within the surrounding exterior walls, including covered exterior spaces, e.g., balconies that have a roof or floor above (does not include roof, outdoor space, etc.)
- Work area is defined as the area on the plans that will be considered reconfigured, addition or removal of a window or door, or reconfiguration or extension of any system, or installation of a new system.
A Moderate Rehab is defined as a project where the work area does not exceed 50% of the aggregate area of the building (the work scope is less than an ICC level 3 alteration), yet is still able to comply with the energy-performance requirements.
Location: Rural/Tribal/Small Town
Projects that meet one or more of the four criteria below qualify for the Rural/Tribal/Small Town pathway.
- A statistical geographic entity delineated by the Census Bureau that does not meet the definition of an urbanized area contained in the Office of Management and Budget’s 2010 Standards for Delineating Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas, 75 FR 37252 (June 28, 2010). That is, a rural area is an area that is not a statistical geographic entity delineated by the Census Bureau, which would consist of densely settled census tracts and blocks and adjacent densely settled territory that together contain at least 50,000 people. To determine whether the area where the project is located qualifies as rural, enter the ZIP code or city at www.arcgis.com/home/webmap/viewer.html to confirm eligibility. Areas shaded pink are not eligible geographies.
- Projects located on Native American Reservations, Hawaiian Homesteads, and land owned by Native Alaskans
- Projects located in colonias communities as defined by HUD and certified by one of the four border states: Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California
- Projects eligible for funding under USDA Rural Housing Services (RHS) programs. https://eligibility.sc.egov.usda.gov/eligibility/welcomeAction.do
Certification Fees
Enterprise Green Communities collects a certification fee from all applications pursuing certification. Certification fees provide applicants with an initial review at prebuild and postbuild, a complementary re-review at prebuild and postbuild, a custom Enterprise Green Communities Certification plaque.
Fees are collected at the time of submission through the Green Communities Certification portal via Pal Pay. Projects submitting an initial prebuild application on or before September 30, 2026, will incur a fee of $1,250 at the time of prebuild submission and $300 at the time of postbuild submission. Projects submitting an initial prebuild application after October 1, 2026, will incur a one-time submission fee of $3,000 at prebuild and no fee at postbuild.
Regardless of submission date, applications that require more than two re-reviews before achieving approval will incur an additional $200 re-review fee for each subsequent submission.
Projects with a total construction cost of $500,000 or less, or construction cost of $20,000 per unit or less, may request that certification fees be waived. Such requests should be submitted via email to certification@enterprisecommunity.org and will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.
Waivers
Project teams are encouraged to submit a waiver request for mandatory criterion they are unable to comply with due to circumstances beyond their reasonable control. Before submitting a waiver request, please keep a few things in mind:
All waivers are considered on a case-by-case basis. Project specifications and details inform the process and outcome of each individual request.
The waiver process is designed to help the Green Communities team understand why compliance is not possible, what steps have been taken to comply, and how the intent of the criteria is being met. Please be as detailed as possible in your request and supporting documentation.
The Green Communities team is here to help teams navigate circumstances beyond their control with the hope of finding a path forward that serves the project and maintains the integrity and intention of the Green Communities Criteria. As such, the waiver process can be intensive and does not always resolve how project teams had initially envisioned.
Waiver Request Process
Waiver requests must be submitted via the application portal and may be submitted at any time during the certification process before a project earns certification. After a thorough review by the Green Communities team, project teams will either receive notice that the waiver has been approved, or a request for additional information and documentation.
Projects that achieve Certification will receive a final Certification Approval letter itemizing the mandatory criteria for which waivers were approved.
Compliance Verification and Documentation Requirements
Documentation instructions can be found on the Certification Tools and Templates page. The Documentation Instructions excel workbook specifies requirements for each criterion at prebuild and postbuild.
Engaging a Qualified Energy Rater
Project teams must engage a qualified energy rater to model and verify building performance. Engaging a qualified energy rater early in the design process is the best way to develop a cost-effective package of energy-efficiency measures, include appropriate strategies in the project’s scope of work, and meet the project’s energy goals.
Find a qualified energy rater here.