15 state AGs and NAHB sue federal government over building codes

Fifteen state attorneys general and the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) have sued the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) with the goal of overturning energy efficiency requirements for new homes and multifamily apartments.

The suit claims that the 2021 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) and ASHRAE 90.1-2019 as minimum energy-efficiency standards for certain single-family and multifamily housing programs were implemented unconstitutionally. NAHB asserts that “regulations imposed by all levels of government” account for about 24% of the cost of new homes.

According to NAHB, studies have shown that building to the 2021 IECC can add up to $31,000 to the price of a new home. That would mean that it could take up to 90 years for a homebuyer to realize a payback on the added cost of the home, NAHB says.

Attorneys general said in a statement that the building standards amount to “a mandate that will do little to curb overall energy use but will exacerbate the housing affordability crisis and hurt the nation’s most vulnerable house hunters and renters.”

Both HUD and USDA said they do not comment on pending or active litigation.