Health starts at home

The WELL for residential program is an evidence-based, third-party verified certification program for developers, builders, operators, architects and designers to create healthier, more resilient homes. From addressing air and water quality to selecting safer materials, the WELL for residential program is informed by the WELL Building Standard and includes more than 100 strategies which are applicable to new and existing single-family homes, units in multifamily buildings and communities of homes.

WELL for residential is available to newly constructed or existing single-family homes and units in multifamily buildings. For enrollments with multiple dwelling units, you must enroll all residences in a multifamily building or a community of single-family homes or multifamily buildings.

The WELL for residential program seeks to address:

• New construction and existing residences
• Single-family homes and dwelling units within a multifamily building
• Affordable and market rate homes
• Homes for rent or for sale
• Student and senior living accommodations
• Residences in locations throughout the world

To be eligible to enroll in WELL for residential, a dwelling must:

• Offer living facilities for one or more people including:
  • A kitchen that contains at least:
    • Hot and cold running water and a drain to support a sink.
    • A gas line or dedicated outlet with at least 208 V and 30 A service to support a cooktop and/or oven. 
  • A separate bathroom that contains at least:
    • Hot and cold running water and a drain to support a sink.
    • Hot and cold running water and a drain to support a shower and/or bath.
    • Cold running water and a drain to support a toilet.
• OR be zoned for or otherwise designated by a governmental entity as housing, which may include single-family homes, multifamily buildings, student housing, military housing and senior living facilities.

In addition to the criteria listed above, existing dwellings must:

• Contain no visible peeling, chipping, chalking or cracking paint, stain or varnish.
• Contain no floor covering, insulation, siding and shingles that are friable(easily crumbled), damaged or otherwise not fully operational.

Program structure

The WELL for residential program consists of concepts and features. Each of the 10 WELL Concepts contains various features with a distinct intent to improve the health and well-being of residents. The program consists of more than 60 features across the 10 WELL Concepts, as well as an Innovation concept where participants can propose novel ideas to promote health and well-being in residential properties. 

Each feature consists of one or more parts, each with a point value. In most cases, you may pursue each part individually without achieving all other parts within a feature, unless stated otherwise. 

For example, feature R-A04 Construction Pollution Management consists of two parts: 

• Part 1. Mitigate Construction Pollution (1 point) 
• Part 2. Conduct Air Flush-Out (1 point)

You may choose to pursue either of these parts individually or in combination.

Point requirements

To achieve WELL for residential certification, you must achieve a minimum of 40 points. A total of over 200 points are available. There are no required features or concept minimums within the program (i.e., no preconditions like in WELL v2), giving you the freedom to choose the strategies that are best suited to your space. 

The available points by concept are shown below:

Documentation requirements

Each feature part requires certain verification documentation to verify that your space meets the feature requirements. WELL for residential contains two categories of verification methods:

• Location-specific - These verification methods reflect conditions specific to one dwelling unit and cannot be shared.
• Shareable - These verification methods demonstrate compliance with feature parts that do not vary by location and can be shared among multiple dwelling units.

• • Drawings
  • Area maps
  • Photographs
  • Calculations and modeling reports
  • Onsite test results
• • Specifications
  • Proof of purchase (e.g., receipts, invoices)
  • Policy and/or operations schedules
  • Letters of Assurance (LoAs)
  • Project team documentation
  • Certificates from third-party programs

You will also find feature tags for some features within the program. These help you identify the scope of the feature requirements. In some cases, the scope of work may not be within your control. These tags help you easily find the features that are relevant to your project.

• Common Space - Requires a dedicated space shared amongst multiple dwelling units (e.g., resident lounge, multipurpose room, clubhouse).
• Construction Practices - Requires recent construction activity and/or knowledge of construction processes.
• Services and Policies - Requires ongoing property management and/or regulations (e.g., cleaning services, homeowner association policies, covenants).
• Neighborhood Attributes - Determined based on conditions of and/or amenities within the project boundary or surrounding community.
• Onsite Testing - Requires an onsite test conducted as described in the corresponding verification method type. Performance testing must be conducted in accordance with the WELL for residential Performance Verification Guidebook.

Once you have implemented your selected features and documented them, you will submit the documents for review by third-party reviewers.

Review

During the review process, the WELL Reviewer will examine your verification documentation to confirm compliance with feature requirements. The number of review cycles depends on whether the enrollment is a single enrollment or a subscription.

Single enrollments receive up to two review cycles over a three-year term: one for precertification (optional) and one for certification. All locations must submit for review at the same time and must pursue the same set of feature parts.

Subscriptions receive up to two review cycles per subscription year. Each review cycle may include dwelling units that are:

• Pursuing either precertification or certification.
• Located in multiple buildings or communities.
• Pursuing up to five different sets of feature parts.

As the first and only holistic, third-party verified certification to exclusively address health and well-being in all residence types, WELL for residential is an opportunity for your organization to demonstrate your leadership while capitalizing on consumer demand for health and enhancing home values and lease rates. The WELL Residence seal shows that a residence supports health and well-being. 

Log in

1. First things first — before you can officially enroll your project for WELL for residential, you must create an account on wellcertified.com. It’s easy:

Navigate to the Account Login page

2. Click Create an Account and share your information, or sign up with your Facebook, Google or LinkedIn account to save time.

Start a project

3. Once your account is created, begin the enrollment process by selecting Projects > WELL for residential from the navigation menu at the top of your screen, then click Enroll Now.

Tell us about your enrollment

4. Start by sharing the following key information about your project’s location:
   • Give your enrollment a name or nickname. Names may not include special characters other than _ . - @.
   • Provide the owner organization, owner name, and the organization’s address.
   • Add your organization’s website and logo (optional).
   • Click Continue.

• Provide the space type (single, multi-family or both).
  • For single-family, provide the number of single-family homes.
  • For multifamily, provide the number of multifamily buildings and the total square footage of the multifamily buildings. If you use square meters, don’t forget to convert to square feet before inputting.
• Indicate whether all units will pursue the same set of features and whether they will all be submitted for review at the same time. 

Depending on the information you provide, we will give you a recommendation for single enrollment or annual subscription. Choose the recommendation or the other option to continue.

To be eligible for single enrollment, your dwellings must meet the following requirements:

• Be in the same building or community.
• Pursue the same WELL strategies.
• Submit for review at the same time.

To be eligible for subscription, you must have at least 5 single family homes or at least 1 multifamily building.

5. Next, review the pricing information, then click “Confirm and continue.”
6. Read and accept the WELL for residential agreement, and choose whether your enrollment is public or private, then click continue.
7. Provide your payment information, then click “Pay now and complete enrollment”. Congratulations, you have successfully enrolled your project