§ 8232 — Residential Energy Efficiency Standards Study

(a) The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (hereinafter in this section referred to as the “Secretary”) shall, in coordination with the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, the Secretary of Energy, and such other representatives of Federal, State, and local governments as the Secretary shall designate, conduct a study, utilizing the services of the National Institute of Building Sciences pursuant to appropriate contractual arrangements, for the purpose of determining the need for, the feasibility of, and the problems of requiring, by mandatory Federal action, that all residential dwelling units meet applicable energy efficient standards. The subjects to be examined shall include, but not be limited to, mandatory notification to purchasers, and policies to prohibit exchange or sale, of properties which do not conform to such standards. (b) In conducting such study, the Secretary shall consider at least the following factors— (1) the extent to which such requirement would protect a prospective purchaser from the uncertainty of not knowing the energy efficiency of the property he proposes to purchase; (2) the extent to which such requirement would contribute to the Nation’s energy conservation goals; (3) the extent to which such a requirement would affect the real estate, home building, and mortgage banking industries; (4) the sanctions which might be necessary to make such a requirement effective and the administrative impediments there might be to enforcement of such sanctions; (5) the possible impact on sellers and purchasers as a result of the implementation of mandatory Federal actions, taking into account the experience of the Federal Government in imposing mandatory requirements concerning the purchase and sale of real property as occurred under the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act of 1974 [12 U.S.C. 2601 et seq.] and the Federal Disaster Protection Act of 1973; (6) an analysis of the effect of such a requirement on the economy as a whole and on the Nation’s security as compared to the impact on the credit and housing markets caused by such a requirement; (7) the effect of such a requirement on availability of credit in the housing industry; (8) the extent to which the imposition of mandatory Federal requirements would temporarily reduce the number of residential dwellings available for sale and the resulting effect of such mandatory actions on the price of those remaining dwelling units eligible for sale; and (9) the possible uncertainty, during the period of developing the standards, as to what standards might be imposed and any resulting effect on major housing rehabilitation efforts and voluntary efforts for energy conservation. (c) The Secretary shall incorporate into such study comments by the Secretary of Energy on the effects on the economy as a whole and on the Nation’s security which may result from the requirement described in subsection (a) as compared to the impact on the credit and housing markets likely to be caused by such a requirement. In addition, the Secretary shall incorporate into such study the following findings by the Secretary of Energy: (1) the savings in energy costs resulting from the requirement described in subsection (a) throughout the estimated remaining useful life of the existing residential buildings to which such requirement would apply; and (2) the total cost per barrel of oil equivalent, in obtaining the energy savings likely to result from such requirement, computed for each class of existing residential buildings to which such requirement would apply. (d) The Secretary shall report, no later than one year after November 9, 1978, to both Houses of the Congress with regard to the findings made as a result of such study along with any recommendations for legislative proposals which the Secretary determines should be enacted with respect to the subject of such study.