Plain Language Summary
# HOUSE Act of 2025 Summary **What the Bill Would Do:** This bill would overturn energy efficiency standards for newly built homes that were adopted by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Department of Agriculture (USDA) in April 2024. Those standards required new homes financed through certain federal housing programs to meet updated energy codes—basically requiring builders to construct homes that use less energy for heating, cooling, and electricity. If passed, this bill would eliminate those requirements and allow builders to return to previous standards. **Who It Affects:** The bill primarily affects home builders and developers who construct homes financed through federal programs like FHA mortgages or USDA rural housing loans. It could also affect homebuyers, as homes built to lower energy standards might have higher utility bills over time, though they could be cheaper to build initially.
The standards applied to single-family homes and apartment buildings, though not mobile/manufactured homes. **Current Status:** The bill is currently in committee (as of the information provided), meaning it has been introduced but has not yet been debated or voted on by the full House. Representative Andy Biggs (R-Arizona) sponsored the legislation. The bill's title suggests its supporters view the energy standards as costly requirements that burden homeowners and builders.
CRS Official Summary
Helping Owners with Unaffordable Shoddy Edicts Act of 2025 or the HOUSE Act of 2025This 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 applies to single family homes and multifamily low-rise buildings up to three stories; and (2) 2019 American National Standards Institute/American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers/Illuminating Electrical Society (ANSI/ASHRAE/IES) Standard 90.1, which 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 at least 26 states have adopted codes or standards that meet or exceed the update's requirements.
Latest Action
Referred to the Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity.