Item 1. Business

General Overview

Healthpeak Properties, Inc. is a Standard & Poor’s (“S&P”) 500 company that acquires, develops, owns, leases, and manages healthcare real estate across the United States (“U.S.”). Our company was originally founded in 1985. As noted above, we completed our Reorganization on February 10, 2023, and following that date, we hold substantially all of our assets and conduct our operations through the operating subsidiary, Healthpeak OP, LLC, a consolidated subsidiary of which we are the managing member. We are a Maryland corporation and qualify as a self-administered REIT. Our corporate headquarters are located in Denver, Colorado, and we have additional offices in California, Tennessee, and Massachusetts.

Our strategy is to invest in and manage real estate focused on healthcare discovery and delivery. We have a diversified portfolio of high-quality healthcare properties across three core asset classes of lab, outpatient medical, and continuing care retirement community (“CCRC”) real estate. Under the lab and outpatient medical segments, we invest through the acquisition, development, and management of lab buildings, outpatient medical buildings, and hospitals. Under the CCRC segment, our properties are operated through RIDEA structures. We have other non-reportable segments that are comprised primarily of loans receivable and an interest in an unconsolidated joint venture that owns 19 senior housing assets (our “SWF SH JV”). These non-reportable segments have been presented on an aggregate basis herein.

At December 31, 2023, our portfolio of investments, including properties in our unconsolidated joint ventures, consisted of interests in 477 properties. The following table summarizes information for our reportable and other non-reportable segments for the year ended December 31, 2023 (dollars in thousands):

Segment						Total Portfolio Adjusted NOI**(1)**						Percentage of Total Portfolio Adjusted NOI**(1)**						Number of Properties
Lab						$	617,541					51.3		%				146
Outpatient medical						452,725						37.6		%				297
CCRC						112,511						9.3		%				15
Other non-reportable						22,210						1.8		%				19
						$	1,204,987					100.0		%				477

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(1)Total Portfolio metrics include results of operations from disposed properties through the disposition date. See “Item 7, Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Non-GAAP Financial Measures” for additional information regarding Adjusted NOI and see Note 15 to the Consolidated Financial Statements for a reconciliation of Adjusted NOI by segment to net income (loss).

For a description of our significant activities during 2023, see “Item 7, Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Company Highlights” in this report.

In 2020, we concluded that the dispositions of our senior housing triple-net and senior housing operating property (“SHOP”) portfolios represented a strategic shift that had a major effect on our operations and financial results. Therefore, the results of senior housing triple-net and SHOP assets are classified as discontinued operations in all periods presented herein. See Note 4 to the Consolidated Financial Statements for further information regarding discontinued operations.

The Merger Agreement

On October 29, 2023, we entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger (the “Merger Agreement”) with Physicians Realty Trust, Physicians Realty L.P. (the “Physicians Partnership”), and certain of our subsidiaries, pursuant to which, among other things, and through a series of transactions (the “Mergers”), (i) each outstanding common share of Physicians Realty Trust (other than Physicians Realty Trust common shares to be canceled in accordance with the Merger Agreement) will be automatically converted into the right to receive 0.674 (the “Exchange Ratio”) shares of our common stock, and (ii) each outstanding common unit of the Physicians Partnership will be automatically converted into and become common units in the successor entity to the Physicians Partnership equal to the Exchange Ratio. Following the transactions contemplated in the Merger Agreement, the successor entities to Physicians Realty Trust and the Physicians Partnership will be direct and indirect subsidiaries of Healthpeak OP, respectively. In connection with the Mergers, we filed a Registration Statement on Form S-4 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) on December 15, 2023, as amended on January 9, 2024, and a definitive joint proxy statement/prospectus for the Company and Physicians Realty Trust on January 11, 2024 in connection with our respective special meetings of stockholders and shareholders, as applicable, which will be held on February 21, 2024. Consummation of the Mergers are subject to the satisfaction or waiver of customary closing conditions, including the approval of our stockholders and the shareholders of Physicians Realty Trust. We expect the Mergers to close on March 1, 2024. If the Mergers are not consummated by July 31, 2024 (unless extended under certain circumstances), either we or Physicians Realty Trust may terminate the Merger Agreement.

Business Strategy

Our strategy is to invest in and manage real estate focused on healthcare discovery and delivery. We manage our real estate portfolio for the long-term to maximize risk-adjusted returns and support the growth of our dividends. Our strategy consists of four core elements:

(i)Our real estate: Our portfolio consists of high-quality properties in desirable locations. Our portfolio is focused on lab and outpatient medical buildings, favorable sectors that benefit from the universal desire for improved health. We have built scale and fostered deep industry relationships, two unique factors that provide us with a competitive advantage.

(ii)Our financials: We maintain a strong investment-grade balance sheet with ample liquidity as well as long-term fixed-rate debt financing with staggered maturities to reduce our exposure to interest rate volatility and refinancing risk.

(iii)Our partnerships: We work with leading pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device companies, as well as healthcare delivery systems, specialty physician groups, and other healthcare service providers, to meet their real estate needs. We provide high-quality property management services to encourage tenants to renew, expand, and relocate into our properties, which drives increased occupancy, rental rates, and property values.

(iv)Our platform: We have a people-first culture that we believe attracts, develops, and retains top talent. We continually strive to create and maintain an industry-leading platform, with systems and tools that allow us to effectively and efficiently manage our assets and investment activity.

Internal Growth Strategies

We believe our real estate portfolio holds the potential for increased future cash flows as it is well-maintained and in desirable locations. Our strategy for maximizing the benefits from these opportunities is to: (i) work with new or existing tenants to address their space and capital needs and (ii) provide high-quality property management services in order to motivate tenants to renew, expand, or relocate into our properties.

We expect to continue our internal growth as a result of our ability to:

• Build and maintain long-term leasing and management relationships with quality tenants. In choosing locations for our properties, we focus on the physical environment, adjacency to established businesses (e.g., hospital systems or life science submarkets) and educational centers, proximity to sources of business growth, and other local demographic factors.

• Replace tenants at the best available market terms and lowest possible transaction costs. We believe we are well-positioned to attract new tenants and achieve attractive rental rates and operating cash flow as a result of the location, design, and maintenance of our properties, together with our reputation for high-quality building services, responsiveness to tenants, and our ability to offer space alternatives within our portfolio.

• Extend and modify terms of existing leases prior to expiration. We selectively structure lease extensions, early renewals, or modifications, which reduce the cost associated with lease downtime, while securing the tenancy and relationship of our high-quality tenants on a long-term basis.

Investment Strategies

The discovery and delivery of healthcare services requires real estate and, as a result, tenants depend on our real estate, in part, to maintain and grow their businesses. We believe the healthcare real estate market provides investment opportunities due to the: (i) compelling long-term demographics driving the demand for healthcare services; (ii) specialized nature of healthcare real estate investing; and (iii) ongoing consolidation of the fragmented healthcare real estate sector.

While we emphasize healthcare real estate ownership, we may also provide real estate secured financing to, or invest in equity or debt securities of, healthcare operators or other entities engaged in healthcare real estate ownership. We may also acquire all or substantially all of the securities or assets of other REITs, operating companies, or similar entities where such investments would be consistent with our investment strategies. We may co-invest alongside institutional or development investors through partnerships or limited liability companies.

We monitor our investments based on the percentage of our total assets that may be invested in any one property type, investment vehicle, or geographic location, the number of properties that may be leased to a single tenant or operator, or loans that may be made to a single borrower. In allocating capital, we target opportunities with the most attractive risk/reward profile for our portfolio as a whole. We may take additional measures to mitigate risk, including diversifying our investments (by sector, geography, and tenant), structuring transactions as master leases, requiring tenant or operator insurance and indemnifications, and/or obtaining credit enhancements in the form of guarantees, letters of credit, or security deposits.

We believe we are well-positioned to achieve external growth through acquisitions, development, and redevelopment. Other factors that contribute to our competitive position include:

• our reputation gained through decades of successful operations and the strength of our existing portfolio of properties;

• our relationships with leading pharmaceutical and biotechnology tenants, healthcare operators and systems, investment banks and other market intermediaries, corporations, private equity firms, not-for-profit organizations, and companies seeking to monetize existing assets or develop new facilities;

• our relationships with institutional buyers and sellers of high-quality healthcare real estate;

• our track record and reputation for executing acquisitions responsively and efficiently, which provides confidence to domestic and foreign institutions and private investors who seek to sell healthcare real estate in our market areas;

• our relationships with nationally recognized financial institutions that provide capital to the healthcare and real estate industries; and

• our control of land sites held for future development.

Financing Strategies

Our REIT qualification requires us to distribute at least 90% of our REIT taxable income (excluding net capital gains); therefore, we do not retain a significant amount of earnings. As a result, we regularly access the public equity and debt markets to raise the funds necessary to finance acquisitions and debt investments, develop and redevelop properties, and refinance maturing debt.

We may finance acquisitions and other investments in a variety of ways, including:

• cash flow from operations;

• sale or exchange of ownership interests in properties or other investments;

• borrowings under our credit facility or commercial paper program;

• issuance of additional debt, including unsecured notes, term loans, and mortgage debt; and/or

• issuance of common stock or preferred stock or its equivalent.

We maintain a disciplined investment-grade balance sheet by actively managing our debt to equity levels and maintaining access to multiple sources of liquidity. Our debt obligations are primarily long-term fixed rate with staggered maturities.

We finance our investments based on our evaluation of available sources of funding. For short-term purposes, we may utilize our revolving line of credit facility or commercial paper program, arrange for other short-term borrowings from banks or other sources, or issue equity securities pursuant to our at-the-market equity offering program. We arrange for longer-term financing by offering debt and equity, placing mortgage debt, and obtaining capital from institutional lenders and joint venture partners.

In addition, capital recycling through dispositions and redeployment through acquisitions, developments, and redevelopments is an important facet of our investment and financing strategies. We routinely have multiple transactions involving both individual properties and portfolios under consideration that are in varying stages of evaluation, underwriting, negotiation, and due diligence review, some of which, if consummated or completed, may have a material effect on our liquidity, results of operations, and financial condition.

Segments

Lab

Our lab properties, which contain laboratory and office space, are leased primarily to biotechnology, medical device and pharmaceutical companies, scientific research institutions, government agencies, and other organizations involved in the life science industry. While these properties have certain characteristics similar to commercial office buildings, they generally accommodate heavier floor loads and contain more advanced electrical, mechanical, heating, ventilating, and air conditioning systems. The facilities generally have specialty equipment including emergency generators, fume hoods, lab bench tops, and related amenities. In addition to improvements funded by us as the landlord, many of our lab tenants make significant investments to improve their leased space to accommodate biology, chemistry, or medical device research initiatives.

Lab properties are primarily configured in business park or campus settings and include multiple buildings. The business park and campus settings allow us the opportunity to provide flexible, contiguous/adjacent expansion to accommodate the growth of existing tenants. Our properties are located in well-established geographical markets known for scientific research and drug discovery, including San Francisco (50%) and San Diego (23%), California, and Boston, Massachusetts (25%) (based on total square feet). At December 31, 2023, 90% of our lab properties were triple-net leased (based on leased square feet).

The following table provides information about our most significant lab tenant concentration for the year ended December 31, 2023:

Tenants						Percentage of Segment Revenues						Percentage of Total Revenues
Amgen, Inc.						6		%				2		%

Outpatient Medical

Our outpatient medical segment includes outpatient medical buildings and hospitals. Outpatient medical buildings typically contain physicians’ offices and examination rooms, and may also include pharmacies, hospital ancillary service space, and outpatient services such as diagnostic centers, rehabilitation clinics, and day-surgery operating rooms. While these facilities have certain similarities to commercial office buildings, they require additional plumbing, electrical, and mechanical systems to accommodate multiple exam rooms that may require sinks in every room and specialized equipment such as x-ray machines and MRIs. Outpatient medical buildings are often built to accommodate higher structural loads for such specialized equipment and may contain vaults or other unique construction. Our outpatient medical buildings are typically multi-tenant properties leased to healthcare providers (hospitals and physician practices), with approximately 87% of our outpatient medical buildings located on or adjacent to hospital campuses and 98% affiliated with hospital systems as of December 31, 2023 (based on total square feet). Occasionally, we invest in outpatient medical buildings located on hospital campuses subject to ground leases. At December 31, 2023, approximately 65% of our outpatient medical buildings were triple-net leased (based on leased square feet) with the remaining leased under gross or modified gross leases.

The following table provides information about our most significant outpatient medical tenant concentration for the year ended December 31, 2023:

Tenant						Percentage of Segment Revenues						Percentage of Total Revenues
HCA Healthcare, Inc. (HCA)						23		%				8		%

Our outpatient medical segment also includes nine hospitals. Services provided by our tenants and operators in hospitals are paid for by private sources, third-party payors (e.g., insurance and HMOs), or through Medicare and Medicaid programs. Our hospital property types include acute care, long-term acute care, and specialty and rehabilitation hospitals. All of our hospitals are triple-net leased.

Continuing care retirement community, or CCRC

CCRCs are retirement communities that include independent living, assisted living, memory care, and skilled nursing units to provide a continuum of care in an integrated campus. Our CCRCs are owned through RIDEA structures, which is permitted by the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, and includes most of the provisions previously proposed in the REIT Investment Diversification and Empowerment Act of 2007. The services provided by our third-party manager-operators under a RIDEA structure at our properties are primarily paid for by the residents directly or through private insurance and are less reliant on government reimbursement programs such as Medicare and Medicaid.

A RIDEA structure allows us, through a taxable REIT subsidiary (“TRS”), to receive cash flow from the operations of a healthcare facility in compliance with REIT tax requirements. The criteria for operating a healthcare facility through a RIDEA structure require us to lease the facility to an affiliate TRS and for such affiliate TRS to engage an independent qualifying management company (also known as an eligible independent contractor or third-party operator) to manage and operate the day-to-day business of the facility in exchange for a management fee. As a result, under a RIDEA structure, we are required to rely on a third-party operator to hire and train all facility employees, enter into third-party contracts for the benefit of the facility, including resident/patient agreements, comply with laws, including healthcare laws, and provide resident care. We are substantially limited in our ability to control or influence day-to-day operations under a RIDEA structure, and thus rely on the third-party operator to manage and operate the business.

Through our TRS entities, we bear all operational risks and liabilities associated with the operation of these properties, with limited exceptions, such as a third-party operator’s gross negligence or willful misconduct. These operational risks and liabilities include those relating to any employment matters of our operator, compliance with healthcare and other laws, liabilities relating to personal injury-tort matters, resident-patient quality of care claims, and any governmental reimbursement matters, even though we have limited ability to control or influence our third-party operators’ management of these risks.

The management agreements we have in RIDEA structures related to CCRCs have original terms ranging from 10 to 15 years, with mutual renewal options. There are base management fees and incentive management fees payable to our third-party operators if operating results of the RIDEA properties exceed pre-established thresholds. Conversely, there are also provisions in the management agreements that reduce management fees payable to our third-party operators if operating results do not meet certain pre-established thresholds.

CCRCs are different from other housing and care options for seniors because they typically provide written agreements or long-term contracts between residents and the communities (frequently lasting the term of the resident’s lifetime), which offer a continuum of housing, services, and healthcare on one campus or site. CCRCs are appealing as they allow residents to “age in place” and typically the individual is independent and in relatively good health upon entry.

As third-party operators manage our RIDEA properties in exchange for the receipt of a management fee, we are not directly exposed to the credit risk of these operators in the same manner or to the same extent as a triple-net tenant.

Other non-reportable segment

At December 31, 2023, we had the following investments in our other non-reportable segments: (i) our unconsolidated joint venture with a sovereign wealth fund that owns 19 senior housing assets (which we refer to as our SWF SH JV) and (ii) loans receivable.

The properties in our SWF SH JV are owned through RIDEA structures and include independent living facilities and assisted living facilities, which cater to different segments of the elderly population based upon their personal needs. These facilities are often in apartment-like buildings with private residences ranging from single rooms to large apartments.

Competition

Investing in real estate serving the healthcare industry is highly competitive. We face competition from other REITs, investment companies, pension funds, private equity investors, sovereign funds, healthcare operators, lenders, developers, and other institutional investors, some of whom may have greater flexibility (e.g., non-REIT competitors), greater resources, and lower costs of capital than we do. Increased competition and resulting capitalization rate compression, as well as the impacts of inflation and higher interest rates, make it more challenging for us to identify and successfully capitalize on opportunities that meet our objectives. Our ability to compete may also be impacted by global, national, and local economic trends, availability of investment alternatives, availability and cost of capital, construction and renovation costs, existing laws and regulations, new legislation, and population trends.

Income from our investments depends on our tenants’ and operators’ ability to compete with other companies on multiple levels, including: (i) the quality of care provided, (ii) reputation, (iii) success of product or drug development, (iv) price, (v) the range of services offered, (vi) the physical appearance of a property, (vii) alternatives for healthcare delivery, (viii) the supply of competing properties, (ix) physicians, (x) staff, (xi) referral sources, (xii) location, (xiii) the size and demographics of the population in surrounding areas, and (xiv) the financial condition of our tenants and operators. For a discussion of the risks associated with competitive conditions affecting our business, see “Item 1A, Risk Factors” in this report.

Government Regulation, Licensing, and Enforcement

Overview

Our healthcare facility operators (which include our TRS entities when we use a RIDEA structure) and tenants are subject to extensive and complex federal, state, and local healthcare laws and regulations relating to quality of care, licensure and certificate of need, resident rights (including abuse and neglect), consumer protection, government reimbursement, fraud and abuse practices, and similar laws governing the operation of healthcare facilities. We expect the healthcare industry, in general, will continue to face increased regulation and pressure in the areas of fraud, waste and abuse, cost control, healthcare management, and provision of services, among others. Federal, state, and local officials are increasingly focusing their efforts on enforcement of these laws and regulations. In addition, our operators are subject to a variety of laws, regulations, and executive orders, including those relating to operators’ response to Covid and other infectious diseases, which can vary based on the provider type and jurisdiction, complicating compliance efforts. These regulations are wide ranging and can subject our tenants and operators to civil, criminal, and administrative sanctions, including enhanced or additional penalties, sanctions, and other adverse actions that may arise under new regulations adopted in response to Covid. Affected tenants and operators may find it increasingly difficult to comply with this complex and evolving regulatory environment because of a relative lack of guidance in many areas as certain of our healthcare properties are subject to oversight from several government agencies, and the laws may vary from one jurisdiction to another. Changes in laws, regulations, reimbursement enforcement activity, and regulatory non-compliance by our tenants and operators can all have a significant effect on their operations and financial condition, which in turn may adversely impact us, as detailed below and set forth under “Item 1A, Risk Factors” in this report.

The following is a discussion of certain laws and regulations generally applicable to our operators, and in certain cases, to us.

Fraud and Abuse Enforcement

There are various extremely complex U.S. federal and state laws and regulations governing healthcare providers’ referrals, relationships and arrangements and prohibiting fraudulent and abusive practices by such providers. These laws include: (i) U.S. federal and state false claims acts, which, among other things, prohibit providers from filing false claims or making false statements to receive payment from Medicare, Medicaid, or other U.S. federal or state healthcare programs; (ii) U.S. federal and state anti-kickback and fee-splitting statutes, including the Medicare and Medicaid anti-kickback statute, which prohibit or restrict the payment or receipt of remuneration to induce referrals or recommendations of healthcare items or services; (iii) U.S. federal and state physician self-referral laws (commonly referred to as the “Stark Law”), which generally prohibit referrals by physicians to entities with which the physician or an immediate family member has a financial relationship; and (iv) the federal Civil Monetary Penalties Law, which prohibits, among other things, the knowing presentation of a false or fraudulent claim for certain healthcare services. Violations of U.S. healthcare fraud and abuse laws carry civil, criminal, and administrative sanctions, including punitive sanctions, monetary penalties, imprisonment, denial of Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement, payment suspensions, and potential exclusion from Medicare, Medicaid, or other federal or state healthcare programs. These laws are enforced by a variety of federal, state, and local agencies and in the U.S. can also be enforced by private litigants through, among other things, federal and state false claims acts, which allow private litigants to bring qui tam or “whistleblower” actions. Our tenants and operators that participate in government reimbursement programs are subject to these laws and may become the subject of governmental enforcement actions or whistleblower actions if they fail to comply with applicable laws. Additionally, the licensed operators of our U.S. long-term care facilities that participate in government reimbursement programs are required to have compliance and ethics programs that meet the requirements of federal laws and regulations relating to the Social Security Act. Where we have used a RIDEA structure, we are dependent on management companies to fulfill our compliance obligations, and we have developed a program to periodically monitor compliance with such obligations.

Laws and Regulations Governing Privacy and Security

There are various U.S. federal and state privacy laws and regulations, including the privacy and security rules contained in the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (commonly referred to as “HIPAA”), that provide for the privacy and security of personal health information. An increasing focus of the U. S. Federal Trade Commission’s (“FTC’s”) consumer protection regulation is the impact of technological change on protection of consumer privacy. The FTC, as well as state attorneys general, have taken enforcement action against companies that do not abide by their representations to consumers regarding electronic security and privacy. To the extent we or our affiliated operating entities are a covered entity or business associate under HIPAA and the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (the “HITECH Act”), compliance with those requirements require us to, among other things, conduct a risk analysis, implement a risk management plan, implement policies and procedures, and conduct employee training. In most cases, we are dependent on our tenants and management companies to fulfill our compliance obligations, and we have developed a program to periodically monitor compliance with such obligations. Because of the far reaching nature of these laws, there can be no assurance we would not be required to alter one or more of our systems and data security procedures to be in compliance with these laws. Our failure to protect health information could subject us to civil or criminal liability and adverse publicity, and could harm our business and impair our ability to attract new customers and residents. We may be required to notify individuals, as well as government agencies and the media, if we experience a data breach.

Reimbursement

Sources of revenue for some of our tenants and operators include, among others, governmental healthcare programs, such as the federal Medicare programs and state Medicaid programs, and non-governmental third-party payors, such as insurance carriers and HMOs. Our tenants and operators who participate in governmental healthcare programs are subject to government reviews, audits, and investigations to verify compliance with these programs and applicable laws and regulations. As federal and state governments focus on healthcare reform initiatives, and as the federal government and many states face significant current and future budget deficits, efforts to reduce costs by these payors will likely continue, which may result in reduced or slower growth in reimbursement for certain services provided by some of our tenants and operators. Governmental healthcare programs are highly regulated and are subject to frequent and substantial legislative, regulatory, and interpretive changes, which could adversely affect reimbursement rates and the method and timing of payment under these programs. Additionally, new and evolving payor and provider programs in the U.S., including Medicare Advantage, Dual Eligible, Accountable Care Organizations, Post-Acute Care Payment Models, SNF Value-Based Purchasing Programs, and Bundled Payments could adversely impact our tenants’ and operators’ liquidity, financial condition, or results of operations.

Effective January 16, 2024, Medicare and Medicaid nursing facilities are required to disclose new data about the facility’s ownership, management, and the owners of real property lessors upon initial enrollment and revalidation. In addition, the nursing facilities are required to timely report any changes, including in connection with any change of ownership. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) defines the new disclosable parties to include members of the facility’s governing body, persons, or entities who are an officer, director, member, partner, trustee, or managing employee of the facility, persons, or entities that exercise operational, financial, or managerial control, lease or sublease real property to the facility, own a direct or indirect interest of five percent or greater of the real property, or provide management or administrative services to the facility. Additionally, facilities will be required to disclose whether any entity on the enrollment form is a private equity company or REIT. CMS will make the information publicly available. This new disclosure requirement involves reporting extensive information and may complicate our healthcare facility operators’ efforts to comply with Medicare and Medicaid requirements. Failure to comply with the new disclosure requirements could negatively affect our healthcare facility operators’ participation in Medicare and state Medicaid programs.

Healthcare Licensure and Certificate of Need

Certain healthcare facilities in our portfolio are subject to extensive national, federal, state, and local licensure, certification, and inspection laws and regulations. A healthcare facility’s failure to comply with these laws and regulations could result in a revocation, suspension, restriction, or non-renewal of the facility’s license and loss of a certificate of need, which could adversely affect the facility’s operations and ability to bill for items and services provided at the facility. In addition, various licenses and permits are required to handle controlled substances (including narcotics), operate pharmacies, handle radioactive materials, and operate equipment. Many states in the U.S. require certain healthcare providers to obtain a certificate of need, which requires prior approval for the construction, expansion, or closure of certain healthcare facilities. The approval process related to state certificate of need laws may impact the ability of some of our tenants and operators to expand or change their businesses.

Product Approvals

While our lab tenants include some well-established companies, other tenants are less established and, in some cases, may not yet have a product approved by the Food and Drug Administration, or other regulatory authorities, for commercial sale. Creating a new pharmaceutical product or medical device requires substantial investments of time and capital, in part because of the extensive regulation of the healthcare industry. It also entails considerable risk of failure in demonstrating that the product is safe and effective and in gaining regulatory approval and market acceptance.

Entrance Fee Communities

Our CCRCs are operated as entrance fee communities. Generally, an entrance fee is an upfront fee or consideration paid by a resident, a portion of which may be refundable, in exchange for some form of long-term benefit, typically consisting of a right to receive certain personal or health care services. In certain states (including the ones in which we operate) entrance fee communities are subject to significant state regulatory oversight, including, for example, oversight of each facility’s financial condition, establishment and monitoring of reserve requirements and other financial restrictions, the right of residents to cancel their contracts within a specified period of time, the right of residents to receive a refund of their entrance fees, lien rights in favor of the residents, restrictions on change of ownership, and similar matters.

Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”)

Our properties must comply with the ADA and any similar state or local laws to the extent that such properties are “public accommodations” as defined in those statutes. The ADA may require removal of barriers to access by persons with disabilities in certain public areas of our properties where such removal is readily achievable. To date, we have not received any notices of noncompliance with the ADA that have caused us to incur substantial capital expenditures to address ADA concerns. Should barriers to access by persons with disabilities be discovered at any of our properties, we may be directly or indirectly responsible for additional costs that may be required to make facilities ADA-compliant. Noncompliance with the ADA could result in the imposition of fines or an award of damages to private litigants. The obligation to make readily achievable accommodations pursuant to the ADA is an ongoing one, and we continue to assess our properties and make modifications as appropriate in this respect.

Environmental Matters

A wide variety of federal, state, and local environmental and occupational health and safety laws and regulations affect healthcare facility operations. These complex federal and state statutes, and their enforcement, involve a myriad of regulations, many of which involve strict liability on the part of the potential offender. Some of these federal and state statutes may directly impact us. Under various federal, state, and local environmental laws, ordinances, and regulations, an owner of real property or a secured lender, such as us, may be liable for the costs of removal or remediation of hazardous or toxic substances at, under or disposed of in connection with such property, as well as other potential costs relating to hazardous or toxic substances (including government fines and damages for injuries to persons and adjacent property). The cost of any required remediation, removal, fines, personal or property damages, and any related liability therefore could exceed or impair the value of the property and/or the assets. In addition, the presence of such substances, or the failure to properly dispose of or remediate such substances, may adversely affect the value of such property and the owner’s ability to sell or rent such property or to borrow using such property as collateral, which, in turn, could reduce our earnings. For a description of the risks associated with environmental matters, see “Item 1A, Risk Factors” in this report.

Insurance

We obtain various types of insurance to mitigate the impact of property, business interruption, liability, flood, windstorm, earthquake, fire, environmental, and terrorism-related losses. We attempt to obtain appropriate policy terms, conditions, limits, and deductibles considering the relative risk of loss, the cost of such coverage, and current industry practice. There are, however, certain types of extraordinary losses, such as those due to acts of war or other events, that may be either uninsurable or not economically insurable. In addition, we have a large number of properties that are exposed to earthquake, flood, and windstorm occurrences, which carry higher deductibles.

We maintain property insurance for all of our properties. Tenants under triple-net leases are required to provide primary property, business interruption, and liability insurance. We maintain separate general and professional liability insurance for our CCRCs and the senior housing facilities owned by our SWF SH JV. Additionally, our corporate general liability insurance program also extends coverage for all of our properties beyond the aforementioned. We periodically review whether we or our RIDEA operators will bear responsibility for maintaining the required insurance coverage for the applicable CCRCs and senior housing facilities owned by our SWF SH JV, but the costs of such insurance are facility expenses paid from the revenues of those properties, regardless of who maintains the insurance.

We also maintain directors and officers liability insurance, which provides protection for claims against our directors and officers arising from their responsibilities as directors and officers. Such insurance also extends to us in certain situations.

Sustainability

We believe that ESG initiatives are a vital part of corporate responsibility, which supports our primary goal of increasing stockholder value through profitable growth. We continue to advance our commitment to sustainability, with a focus on achieving goals in each of the ESG dimensions. Our Board of Directors oversees ESG matters, with the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee overseeing sustainability and corporate governance matters, the Audit Committee overseeing risk management, and the Compensation and Human Capital Committee overseeing human capital management. We use an integrated approach to ESG throughout our business to identify risks and opportunities, capture efficiencies and cost savings, and report on the issues most relevant to stakeholders.

Environment: Our environmental management programs strive to make our buildings more sustainable and capture cost efficiencies that ultimately benefit our investors, employees, tenants, business partners, and other stakeholders, while reducing our carbon footprint and providing a positive impact on the communities in which we operate. We regularly assess the risks and financial impacts to our business posed by climate change, including transition risks, physical climate risks, potential business disruption, and regulatory requirements, and work with our property managers, operators, and tenants to implement projects to mitigate these risks and impacts. For a description of the risks associated with climate risk matters, see “Item 1A, Risk Factors” in this report.

Social: See “—Human Capital Matters” below.

Governance: Our transparent corporate governance initiatives incorporate sustainability as a critical component in achieving our business objectives and properly managing risks.

Our recent ESG highlights include:

• Reported a reduction of 4.2% in Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions (“GHG”) in 2022 compared to 2021 on a like-for-like comparative basis (as defined below)

• 4 LEED certifications and 132 new ENERGY STAR certifications obtained in 2023

• Named an ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year in 2023, marking our third time receiving the award

• Received a Green Star rating from the Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (“GRESB”) for the twelfth consecutive year, recognizing top ESG performance in our sector

• Named to CDP’s Leadership band for our climate disclosure for the eleventh consecutive year, most recently with a score of “A-” in 2023

• Named to Newsweek’s America’s Most Responsible Companies list for the fifth consecutive year

• Named a constituent in the FTSE4Good Index for the twelfth consecutive year

• Named a constituent in the S&P Global Dow Jones Sustainability World Index for the fourth time and S&P Global North America Dow Jones Sustainability Index for the eleventh consecutive year

• Named to the S&P Global Sustainability Yearbook for the ninth consecutive year

• Named Winner for Best Proxy Statement (Mid Cap), and Finalist for Best ESG Reporting (Small to Mid Cap) by IR Magazine and Governance Intelligence

• Included in Fortune’s Best Workplaces in Real Estate list for the second consecutive year

Under our “like-for-like” methodology, direct and indirect GHG emissions are compared on a year-over-year rolling basis using Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions for the properties that we have owned for two full consecutive calendar years, excluding non-stabilized developments and redevelopments in each year of the calculation. Base data utilized in the calculation of Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions is obtained from third-party invoices or estimates.

For additional information regarding our ESG initiatives, methodologies, and approach to climate change, please visit our website at www.healthpeak.com/ESG.

Human Capital Matters

Our employees represent our greatest asset, and as of December 31, 2023, we had 193 full-time employees. Our Board of Directors, through its Compensation and Human Capital Committee, retains oversight of human capital management, including corporate culture, diversity, inclusion, talent acquisition, retention, employee satisfaction, engagement, and succession planning. We report on human capital matters at each regularly scheduled Board of Directors meeting and periodically throughout the year. The most significant human capital measures or objectives that we focus on in managing our business and our related human capital initiatives include the following:

*•*Workforce Diversity: We believe we are a stronger organization when our workforce represents a diversity of ideas and experiences. We value and embrace such diversity in our employee recruiting, hiring, and development practices. Our workforce was made up of 48% female employees and 37% racially or ethnically diverse employees as of December 31, 2023.

• Inclusion and Belonging:** We promote a work environment that emphasizes respect, fairness, inclusion, and dignity. We are committed to providing equal opportunity and fair treatment to all individuals based on merit, without discrimination based on race, color, religion, national origin, citizenship, marital status, gender (including pregnancy), gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, disability, veteran status, or other characteristics protected by law. We do not tolerate discrimination or harassment. All employees are required to attend a biennial training on unconscious bias.

• Engagement:** High employee engagement and satisfaction are both critical to attracting and retaining top talent and benefit our business in many ways. We conduct a regular employee engagement survey through an independent third party, measuring our progress on important employee issues and identifying opportunities for growth and improvement.

• Training and Development:** We conduct annual employee training on our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics, as well as annual training on harassment prevention or unconscious bias. We also provide training and development to all employees, focusing on career development, professional development, and REIT essentials.

• Compensation and Benefits:** We aim to ensure merit-based, equitable compensation practices to attract, retain, and recognize talent. We provide competitive compensation and benefit packages to our employees.

• Health, Safety, and Wellness:** The health, safety, and wellness of our employees are vital to our success. We are committed to protecting the well-being and safety of employees through special training and other measures. We maintain a hybrid work model, which we believe maximizes company-wide productivity, and provide employees with resources, including virtual tools and ergonomic equipment, to maximize work-from-home efficiency.

• Community Partnership:** Our Social Responsibility Committee is responsible for oversight of our charitable and volunteer activities. We partner with organizations that share our desire to support research, education, and other activities related to healthcare.

For additional information on human capital matters, please see our most recent proxy statement or ESG report, each of which is available on our website at www.healthpeak.com.

Available Information

Our website address is www.healthpeak.com. Our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K and any amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act are available on our website, free of charge, as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file such materials with, or furnish them to, the SEC. Additionally, the SEC maintains a website that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC, including us, at www.sec.gov. References to our website throughout this Annual Report on Form 10-K are provided for convenience only and the content on our website does not constitute a part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.