The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced this week that they are rescinding a requirement that imposed the 2021 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) and ASHRAE 90.1-2019 as the minimum energy-efficiency standards for certain single-family and multifamily housing programs.

“By rescinding this mandate, we are removing a significant regulatory barrier that added tens of thousands of dollars to the cost of a new home,” said HUD Secretary Scott Turner in a press release. 

Since the rule was initially finalized under the Biden administration in April 2024, NAHB has worked tirelessly on the legal, regulatory and legislative fronts to ensure HUD and USDA’s 2021 IECC mandate was never implemented.

The push for increased energy efficiency in the 2021 IECC was greatly outweighed by the upfront costs that would have been shouldered by home buyers. The provisions in the new code added cost to new homes, which NAHB estimates for a new single-family home could add between $9,600 and $21,400, and take up to 90 years for a home buyer to realize a payback on the added cost.

“By repealing this onerous mandate, the Trump administration is making it easier for builders to construct more housing supply at an attainable price for Americans,” NAHB Chairman Bill Owens said in a statement.

NAHB Leads Advocacy Charge Against Burdensome Regulations

The 2021 IECC mandate would have placed significant new cost pressures on home builders and multifamily developers, and would have created barriers for home buyers to participate in the federal finance programs. 

NAHB members have testified repeatedly on Capitol Hill about the impacts of excessive government regulation on the cost of housing:

• 2023 Chairman Alicia Huey specifically noted how building energy codes such as the 2021 IECC would result in fewer families being able to achieve the American dream of homeownership.
• Shawn Woods, a home builder from Blue Springs, Mo., spoke on how the negative consequences of implementing a restrictive, costly national energy code, with no consideration for local conditions, outweigh the minimal improvements to energy efficiency and is a misguided effort.
• Steve Martinez, a home builder from Boise, Idaho, told lawmakers how increased regulations, especially energy building code requirements such as the 2021 IECC mandate, make it much harder for home builders and multifamily developers to build housing that is attainable and affordable for American families.
• 2024 Chairman Carl Harris pointed to the damaging effects that adoption of the 2021 IECC has had on his local market.
• 2025 Chairman Buddy Hughes urged Congress to introduce and pass legislation to prevent HUD and USDA from adopting a minimum energy standard that harms housing affordability.
• Brian Tebbenkamp, a Kansas City home builder, shared real-life examples of how inflexible energy codes increased construction costs and urged Congress to pass legislation that would repeal Section 50131 of the Inflation Reduction Act, the program that incentivized state and local governments to adopt the 2021 IECC.

NAHB advocacy staff also worked with HUD during the second Trump administration to secure two delays in the full implementation of the 2021 IECC mandate, one last year and one earlier in 2026.

Local victories have included amendments by the Kansas City Council to the city’s energy code following the disastrous rollout of the unamended 2021 IECC. 

NAHB Legal Challenges to 2021 IECC Mandate

In 2025, NAHB led a coalition of 15 state attorneys general, and filed a complaint in the Eastern District of Texas to stop HUD and USDA from adopting the 2021 IECC mandate. Arguments included:

• The underlying statute unconstitutionally delegated too much authority to private companies,
• The government misinterpreted the statute,
• The government improperly applied the statute, and
• The agencies based their decision on a faulty analysis.

In a recent ruling, the court agreed with NAHB’s assertion that HUD and USDA’s adoption of the energy efficiency standards will decrease housing availability and thus is in violation of the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act. The court also held that under the Cranston-Gonzalez Act, the agencies may only adopt one amendment to the 2006 IECC, which they did in 2015 by adopting the 2009 IECC.

“This ruling means that HUD and USDA cannot impose new energy code mandates that will raise construction costs and limit access to federal mortgage programs at a time when many American families are already struggling to afford a home,” NAHB Chairman Bill Owens said in a statement.

NAHB will continue to monitor the federal mortgage programs to ensure compliance with the rescission.