King County Energy Mandate Removed

For many years, environmental advocates have lobbied to require residential energy audits and energy upgrades mandated at the point of sale.

A proposal in King County would have prevented sellers from  closing a transaction until they conducted an energy audit, made the score public, and made improvements to the house if the score did not meet a certain level of energy performance.

We have worked to educate policy makers that REALTORS® bring energy issues into the real estate discussion and make energy issues actionable for home buyers and homeowners without confusing, delaying, or discouraging the real estate transaction.

Point of sale mandates add delay and complication to an already complicated and lengthy process without commensurate climate benefit.

With the help of REALTOR®-supported King County Councilmember Rod Dembvowski, we succeeded in striking a requirement to make energy upgrades to a house prior to closing.