Buddy Hughes, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and a home builder and developer from Lexington, N.C., issued the following statement after the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced a six-month delay in the implementation of mandatory energy code policy for multifamily developers:

“NAHB applauds HUD for acting to ease rising housing costs by delaying for six months the compliance date for minimum energy-efficiency standards for several multifamily housing programs. NAHB has been urging HUD to rescind the Biden administration’s determination which set the 2021 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) and ASHRAE 90.1-2019 as the mandatory minimum energy standards for its single-family and multifamily housing programs. These stringent energy code mandates would significantly increase construction costs and limit financing options, making it much harder for developers to build housing that is affordable for American families. NAHB will continue to pursue all avenues with Congress, the Trump administration, and in court to overturn this harmful and unnecessary regulatory barrier to constructing new housing.”