Last week, Gregory Patterson, Secretary of the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC), wrote to building industry stakeholders that he was declining to approve the Department’s own proposal to create one of the most aggressive energy codes in the country.

In July, DNREC issued a sweeping proposed regulation to adopt an energy code that would require all new homes in the state starting Dec. 31, 2025, to meet a standard described as zero net energy capable. The proposed energy code would have far exceeded the stringency of any other energy code adopted statewide in the United States and would have halted residential development in the state.

DNREC’s proposal was spurred by a 2009 state law aiming for all new residential buildings to be zero net energy capable by the end of 2025. The Homebuilders Association of Delaware (HBADE) was closely monitoring the energy code update process, with staff from the NAHB Codes & Standards and State & Local Affairs teams providing analysis and technical support.

HBADE submitted multiple public comments and testified at a public hearing, expressing support for a more measured strategy to the energy code while opposing the added requirements and unrealistic timeline proposed, citing the potential to upend the construction and real estate sectors and harm consumers during the ongoing housing affordability crisis.

“This decision was a huge win for affordability in Delaware, and a huge win for our industry,” said HBADE Executive Officer Katie Dodge Gillis. “This outcome wouldn’t have been possible without our members’ tireless advocacy or without NAHB’s technical support. Our message that the department’s proposed code would have been one of the most aggressive codes in the country, imposed within an unprecedented timeframe and without an adequate analysis of impact on Delaware’s economy, clearly resonated with the DNREC Secretary.”

Echoing HBADE’s comments, Secretary Patterson cited the state’s failure to adequately analyze and weigh the significant additional compliance costs or provide stakeholders sufficient time to prepare to implement such drastic changes. He noted that Delaware legislators at the time “could not have known what technology or methods would be available to homebuilders to meet such an ambitious target or what they would cost in 2025” and envisioned DNREC working with HBADE to “lay the foundations for a workable net zero requirement” over that 16-year period. Observing the lack of coordination or adequate preparation by DNREC, he concluded “implementing ambitious new energy standards with mere weeks of lead time is not realistic.”

Secretary Patterson directed DNREC staff to return with modified regulations without a requirement for zero net energy capable construction and called on the legislature and Gov. Matt Meyer to address these issues in the 2026 legislative session. He cited the need for a better definition of what zero net energy capable means for Delaware (particularly related to additional costs) and a plan for the state and industry to successfully collaborate on such standards in the future.

Delaware’s actions follow recent moves by states to consider housing policy reforms – including pauses to building code updates – to address rising construction costs.

In July, California passed legislation with many pro-housing provisions, including a six-year pause on adopting or amending new residential building codes. In September, the Governor of Vermont issued an executive order that instituted several permitting and land use reforms while also reinstating the state’s previous 2020 energy code, retroactively covering builders for any project started since July 1, 2024, where it is more practical and affordable to comply with than the state’s recently adopted 2024 code.