The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has announced that it is suspending the implementation of new energy code compliance for multifamily developers by six months. The compliance will now go into effect on Thursday, May 28, 2026.
This new code will set the minimum energy standards for new construction as those defined by the 2021 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) and by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE). The IECC update in 2021 included requirements for residential buildings such as increased insulation, revised mechanical system requirements to achieve increased energy efficiency, etc.
Buddy Hughes, chairman of the National Association of Homebuilders (NAHB), praised the decision to postpone in a press release. Hughes claimed that the decision will help to alleviate “rising housing costs,” and noted NAHB’s previous pushes to rescind the decision.
“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,” said Hughes.
In January 2025, NAHB filed a lawsuit alongside 15 state attorneys general in the Eastern District of Texas challenging the implementation of the code. The complaint, which was argued in July, claimed that adopting the new energy code could increase home prices by as much as $22,000 per home and add new costs of up to $31,000 for homebuilders. Those costs that would, per NAHB’s argument, disincentivize new construction.
Hughes continued in his statement that, “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.”
For the full NAHB statement on the energy code postponement, click here.
