A group of House Republicans led by Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN) slammed the Biden administration’s new final determination on energy guidelines for single-family homes in a letter Tuesday, saying they will raise prices in an already unaffordable housing market.
Ogles and eight other House Republicans signed the correspondence, addressed to acting Housing and Urban Development Secretary Adrianne Todman and Agriculture Secretary Thomas J. Vilsack.
In the letter, they expressed concerns that the new rules will force all new single-family and multifamily housing units to comply with the 2021 International Energy Conservation Code. They said this mandate “is poised to worsen the housing affordability crisis and have adverse effects on the nation’s most vulnerable home seekers and renters.”
The 2021 IECC mandated certain additions to new homes, including a second wall for a double-wall home, which some homebuilding groups say could cost up to $31,800 for a 2,400-square-foot home. The IECC is a model of legislation for lawmakers across the country to consider when seeking to mandate certain energy efficiency standards.
The lawmakers cited the additional cost to home buyers and the deterrent to new home construction as reasons against the guidelines. Reps. Alex Mooney (R-WV), Byron Donalds (R-FL), Warren Davidson (R-OH), Ralph Norman (R-SC), John Rose (R-TN), Dan Meuser (R-PA), Monica De La Cruz (R-TX) and Roger Williams (R-TX) co-signed the letter.
“This is yet another example of the Biden Administration’s efforts to keep Americans down,” Ogles said. “Folks are already struggling to buy homes as interest rates remain high. To add an average of $31,000 on top of the inflated housing prices is unimaginable. This mandate will harm the ability of individuals and families to buy homes and provide little to no benefit to those forced to rent instead of purchase.”
Williams, chairman of the House Small Business Committee, also blasted the rules in a statement to the Washington Examiner.
“This administration needs to focus on addressing skyrocketing mortgage rates, unaffordable construction materials, and the dangerously low housing supply instead of adding more burdensome red tape to the housing industry,” Williams said. “This rule will only deter new construction, further harming renters and buyers. Forcing builders to adhere to this energy code is a logistical nightmare that Americans simply cannot afford.”
The Washington Examiner reached out to Donalds’s office for comment.
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“If this is enacted, the results will be catastrophic for home builders in the United States whose buyers use FHA, USDA, and indirectly VA loans for their financing,” the letter concludes. “We urge you to withdraw this determination and refrain from engaging in other initiatives that will curb new construction and harm housing affordability nationwide.”
The determination cited “a private benefit for residents, either homeowners or renters, in the form of lower energy costs, and the external social value of reducing the emission of greenhouse gases” as reasons for implementing the energy-saving building codes.
