The Energy Conservation Audit and Disclosure Ordinance (ECAD) was approved by Austin City Council in November 2008 and was enacted June 1. Austin is the first city in the U.S. to require an energy audit during the selling process. This unfunded mandate is borne by the home seller.
http://impactnews.com/central-austin/news/5017-home-energy-audits-now-mandatory
http://energy-action.com/
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http://www.statesman.com/business/content/business/stories/other/05/26/0526energyaudits.html
http://www.austinenergy.com/About%20Us/Environmental%20Initiatives/ordinance/index.htm
The Austin City Council approved the Energy Conservation Audit and Disclosure (ECAD) ordinance to improve the energy efficiency of Austin homes and buildings that receive electricity from Austin Energy.
Improving energy efficiency can help reduce electricity bills for renters and owners of homes, multifamily properties, and commercial buildings. Robin Curle, an agent with JB Goodwin Realtors, said the ordinance “needs to be overturned or revised.”
“The ordinance might have been a good idea in a very hot real estate market, but to pass it this year when the market is recovering from a slowdown … will only slow the contract process and give buyers one more thing other than repairs to negotiate,” she said. “Now they can also negotiate (energy) upgrades, which puts us at risk for a hit on the market.”
Michael Lucy, whose four-bedroom home in Northwest Austin is on the market for $489,000, said he got widely varying quotes on the energy audit and eventually paid $400.
Lucy said he is all for the city promoting energy conservation but thinks that the audit requirement is misguided because sellers have no incentive to make upgrades.
“They should involve the people with a vested interest in the future of the home, not the people that are on their way out the door, literally,” said Lucy, who works for a pharmaceutical company. “There’s no reason in the world why this should be tied to the purchase or sale of a house.”
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