NAHB files suit over energy efficiency standards
The 2021 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) and ASHRAE 90.1-2019 are well-intentioned measures aimed at making buildings more eco-friendly, safe and energy efficient. For builders, however, complying with the codes can be onerous -- and expensive.
In response to the proposed changes, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), along with 15 state attorneys general, have filed suit in the Eastern District of Texas in an attempt to halt the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) from adopting the new codes.
NAHB Chairman Carl Harris issued the following statement on the lawsuit:
"Compliance with the 2021 IECC can add more than $22,000 to the price of a new home, but in practice, home builders have estimated increased costs of up to $31,000. Along with 15 state attorneys general, NAHB is the only private entity in this lawsuit seeking to halt HUD and USDA from adopting the 2021 IECC because home builders can document how this egregious regulation will needlessly raise housing costs and hurt the nation’s most vulnerable home buyers and renters."
Harris adds:
"This ill-conceived policy will act as a deterrent to new construction at a time when the nation desperately needs to boost its housing supply to lower shelter inflation costs. It is also in direct conflict with the current energy codes in the majority of jurisdictions around the country. Our lawsuit seeks to show that granting HUD and USDA authority to insure mortgages for new single-family homes and apartments only if they are built to the 2021 IECC or ASHRAE 90.1-2019 was done in an unconstitutional manner.”
You can learn more about the litigation here.
