Administration Launches Initiative to Modernize Building Codes
On Wednesday, the Biden Administration announced a new building codes initiative that will seek to increase resilience to the impacts of climate change, lower utility bills for homes and businesses, and prioritize underserved communities. The National Initiative to Advance Building Codes is intended to help state, local, Tribal, and territorial governments adopt the latest, current building codes and standards, enabling communities to be more resilient to hurricanes, flooding, wildfires, and other extreme weather events that are intensifying due to climate change. Modern building codes and standards provide a range of smart design and construction methods that save lives, reduce property damage, and lower utility bills—for example, by ensuring that roofs can withstand hurricane winds, that construction materials are resistant to flood damage, and that insulation keeps heating and cooling costs low. The Administration believes that with extreme weather events threatening millions of homes each year, and taking a greater toll on underserved communities, every dollar invested in building code adoption provides eleven times more in savings by reducing damage and helping communities recover more quickly. Earlier this year, President Biden’s National Climate Task Force approved the new National Initiative to Advance Building Codes to accelerate the adoption of modern building codes to improve resiliency, create good-paying jobs, and lower energy bills. Through this initiative, the Administration will:
- Comprehensively review federal funding and financing of building construction, to ensure affordable housing and other building projects follow modern building codes and standards to the greatest extent feasible, while creating good-quality jobs and advancing Administration efforts to boost affordable housing supply, with agencies reporting to the National Climate Task Force on progress.
- Direct $225 million in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding for the Department of Energy to support implementation of updated building energy codes and create good-quality jobs, including through workforce training partnerships and direct support to state and local agencies, while prioritizing the needs of disadvantaged communities.
- Provide incentives and support for communities to adopt current building codes and standards by providing technical assistance, implementing proven strategies and best practices across all relevant agencies in the federal government, and using mapping tools that help track code adoption based on energy efficiency and local hazards such as flood, earthquake, tornado, and hurricane risk.
- Advance “above-code” resilience and energy efficiency standards in new projects, as well as developing the first Federal Building Performance Standards to help achieve net-zero emissions across new and existing federal buildings by 2045.
To view the White House Fact Sheet on Initiatives to Modernize Building Codes, Improve Climate Resilience, and Reduce Energy Costs, click here.
President Proclaims June as National Homeownership Month
This week, President Biden designated June as National Homeownership Month. This year’s Homeownership Month celebrates the 20th year of this opportunity to amplify the benefits of homeownership and the work that remains to achieve fairness and equity in access to affordable homeownership for all Americans who seek it. In alignment with the Administration’s deep commitment to enabling more households to enjoy the stability and wealth creation that is made possible through homeownership, throughout the month, HUD and FHA will hold a series of events and engagements to amplify the Department’s efforts to support potential homeowners, increase housing supply and affordability, and ensure sustainability for existing homeowners.
NAHMA Participates in White House Listening Sessions with Housing Providers
On Tuesday, the White House (including staff from all regulatory agencies) hosted a listening session with housing providers to hear industry thoughts about the priorities and gaps for renter protections and owner needs that could be addressed through a cross-agency effort. NAHMA participated in the session. Overall, the White House is hosting four separate sessions divided between Housing Providers and Tenant Groups.
During the very brief discussion period, Administration officials were focused on two questions:
- What rights should federal agencies prioritize for tenants through their administrative levers?
- What do you think are a reasonable set of tenant responsibilities/expectations that federal agencies should prioritize through administrative levers?
During our remarks, NAHMA thanked the Administration for efforts on pandemic recovery, rental assistance, tenant services, recent housing supply initiatives, and addressing digital divide. We cautioned the Administration that NAHMA members are still feeling the effecting of the pandemic and current economic headwinds, such as inflation pressure on operating costs, labor shortages, safety & security of properties and staff, supply chain disruptions, problem tenants, outdated/burdensome regulations, and the need for more affordable housing.
It is unclear on the Administration’s next steps after these sessions conclude this week, but there are some rumors that the Administration is thinking about developing some federal “ Tenant Bill of Rights”. However, please note that is simply an “educated guess” at this point. We will keep members updated, as we learn more information and next steps. Other industry groups participating in this session, included: Council of Large Public Housing Authorities (CLPHA), MTW Collaborative; National Apartment Association (NAA); National Association of Realtors (NAR); National Council of State Housing Finance Agencies (NCSHA).