New NMHC Survey Highlights That Building Codes Are Driving Challenges to the Building of New Housing
01 Mayo 2024 - 10:25AM
Business Wire
A new survey published by the National Multifamily Housing
Council (NMHC) confirms that building codes can raise concerns
about construction costs and make it increasingly difficult to
develop much needed housing. Nearly 9 in 10 (89%) respondents
agreed or strongly agreed that building code requirements in
general impact the cost and viability of construction projects.
While some of these requirements are necessary to protect the
health and safety of residents as well as the integrity of the
building or community, it is important to understand the financial
impact of imposing each type—particularly in an era of widespread
cost increases and worsening affordability problems for
renters.
Building codes and standards play an important role as they
establish core requirements for the design, construction,
alteration and maintenance of rental housing communities. However,
as government officials look to implement additional layers of code
regulations, rental housing providers would encourage them to
consider the reality that expansion to building code requirements
can result in increased housing costs that negatively impact
residents or may even impede the building of much-needed housing.
For example, the survey found that over two-thirds (68%) of
respondents agreed or strongly agreed that mechanical/electrical
codes posed significant compliance challenges, followed by
compliance challenges related to energy performance and efficiency
(66%), electrification/net-zero emissions (63%) and fire protection
(61%).
In 2022, NMHC and the National Association of Home Builders
(NAHB) released a report on the Cost of Regulations. This research
found that regulations imposed by all levels of government account
for an average of 40.6 percent of multifamily development costs.
Specifically, building code changes over the past 10 years were the
single largest cost driver to multifamily development costs.
“At a time when we are confronting deep housing affordability
challenges, lawmakers should be doing all they can to reduce costs
and implement policies that make it easier and more efficient to
build new housing and broaden housing supply,” said NMHC President
Sharon Wilson Géno. “The current interest rate environment, soaring
insurance costs and rapidly increasing state and local taxes are
all making it increasingly difficult to build and preserve rental
housing communities. We encourage lawmakers at all levels of
government to work with rental housing providers to consider policy
solutions that leads to the creation of new housing and lowers
costs for renters.”
Among other findings, the 2024 NMHC Pulse Survey on Building
Codes and Standards determined that:
- Of those respondents who reported challenges, 92% agreed or
strongly agreed that those challenges could be attributed to
variation in code requirements/interpretation between
jurisdictions.
- Similarly, 82% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that
interpretability (i.e., that codes are difficult to interpret) was
a source of significant challenges.
Read the full report here.
Based in Washington, D.C., the National Multifamily Housing
Council (NMHC) is where rental housers and suppliers come together
to help meet America’s housing needs by creating inclusive and
resilient communities where people build their lives. We bring
together the owners, managers, developers and suppliers who provide
rental homes for 40 million Americans from every walk of
life—including seniors, teachers, firefighters, healthcare workers,
families with children and many others. NMHC provides a forum for
leadership and advocacy that promotes thriving rental housing
communities for all. For more information, contact NMHC at
202/974-2300, e-mail the Council at info@nmhc.org, or visit NMHC's
website at nmhc.org.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240501326303/en/
Colin Dunn 202/974-2370 cpdunn@nmhc.org