Cap and Trade Bill and Residential Real Estate
The Cap-and-Trade Bill which narrowly passed the House of Representatives a couple of weeks ago with a 219-212 vote is set to go to the Senate for its review later this summer or early fall. Besides the massive tax increases and fees that will hit the American public, there was the possibility that homeowners could be left out in the cold if they were required under the law to make certain modifications or disclosures about their properties when it came time to sell their home.
The National Association of Realtors was activily working with Congress to try to minimize the impact the bill would have on existing homes so as to curtail any effort to stigmatize existing properties as carbon contributors to so called Global Warming.
The official name of the bill is “The American Clean Energy and Security Act” which was approved as H.R. 2554 and has since been renumbered to H.R. 2998. Here’s a link to the National Association of Realtors analysis.
Here are the key legislative points:
- Does not create a federal energy audit requirement for real property;
- Exempts existing homes and buildings from any federal guidelines for new construction energy efficiency information labels;
- Prohibits the implementation of any labeling during a sales transaction;
NAR successfully argued that point of sale labels would have stigmatized existing property and complicated transactions. - Leaves the decision to states as to whether to require energy audits, disclosures, etc.;
- Provided property owners with significant financial incentives, matching grants and tools to make property improvements and reduce their energy bills;
- Prohibits the Environmental Protection Agency from regulating residential and commercial buildings under the Clean Air Act;
- Eliminated an early proposal to allow citizens to sue over minor climate risks under the Clean Air Act; and
- Establishes green building incentives for HUD housing, including a loan program for renewable energy, block grants and credit for upgrades in mortgage underwriting.
More on Cap and Trade this fall when the Senate takes this up.
