# Plain Language Summary: HOUSE Act of 2024

This bill blocks new federal energy efficiency rules for housing that were recently put into place. The Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Department of Agriculture had announced stricter energy efficiency standards for homes that receive federal financing or support. This bill requires those two departments to cancel that decision and go back to using the old, less strict energy efficiency standards instead. The bill also prevents the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Federal Housing Finance Agency from creating or enforcing similar energy efficiency rules for housing.

The practical effect is that new homes financed through federal housing programs won't have to meet the newer, tougher energy efficiency requirements. This could mean lower upfront construction costs for builders and potentially lower prices for homebuyers purchasing federally-financed homes, since builders won't need to invest in more expensive energy-efficient materials and systems. However, it also means these homes may have higher utility bills over time since they won't be as energy-efficient. The bill essentially freezes energy standards at their previous levels rather than allowing them to become more stringent.

The bill adds one additional requirement: before the federal government can adopt any new energy efficiency standards for housing in the future, at least 26 states would need to have already adopted similar or stricter standards on their own. This raises the bar for future federal action by requiring broader state-level adoption first.

HOUSE Act of 2024

Biggs, Andy

Helping Owners with&nbsp;Unaffordable Shoddy Edicts Act of 2024 or the HOUSE Act of 2024This bill directs the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to withdraw the final determination titled Adoption of Energy Efficiency Standards for New Construction of HUD- and USDA-Financed Housing and published on April 26, 2024.The determination adopted updated minimum energy efficiency standards for newly built homes (except manufactured housing) financed through certain HUD and USDA programs. Specifically, it adopted the (1) 2021 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC), which&nbsp;applies to single family homes and multifamily low-rise buildings up to three stories; and (2) 2019&nbsp;American National Standards Institute/American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers/Illuminating Electrical Society (ANSI/ASHRAE/IES) Standard 90.1, which&nbsp;applies to multifamily residential buildings with four or more stories. HUD and USDA must also revert to using the energy efficiency standards required before the determination.In addition, the bill prohibits HUD, USDA, and the Department of Veterans Affairs from taking actions or using federal funds to implement or enforce the determination or any substantially similar determination. It also prohibits the Federal Housing Finance Agency from finalizing, implementing, or enforcing a determination or rule relating to energy efficiency standards for single and multifamily housing.Finally, the bill prohibits HUD and USDA from adopting updates to the IECC or ANSI/ASHRAE/IES Standard 90.1 in certain circumstances unless&nbsp;at least 26 states have adopted codes or standards that meet or exceed the update's requirements.