Sunday, March 15, 2009

Bill proposes disclosure of home energy costs by sellers

House majority communications press release

(DENVER) – Just as you would never buy a car without first inquiring about how much mileage it gets per gallon, a homebuyer deserves to know how much their home may cost them in energy costs. Rep. Dennis Apuan’s (D-Colorado Springs) House Bill 1247 will do just that, by providing prospective homebuyers with a window into their monthly energy bills. It passed on an initial voice vote today.

House Bill 1247 directs a home seller to provide a homebuyer with the utility history for the home they are buying for the previous 12 months when the homebuyer requests it. By providing this information to a new homebuyer up front, a homebuyer has a better opportunity to make smart financing decisions for important efficiency improvements and save money.

“By arming buyers with important data on average energy costs, this bill ensures that critical information doesn’t fall through the cracks, and that Coloradans know what they’re buying,” said Rep. Apuan. “They’ll be able to see whether that old furnace in the basement really will lead to an energy spike in winter, or weather that huge south-facing window means bigger air conditioning costs in July and August. The bill also paves the way for more energy efficient homes in Colorado.”

The legislation would give potential homebuyers energy consumption information up front, which they can then use to compare that home’s history to other, similar homes, in order to figure out what their utility costs should be. They could also use that information to help determine where the hidden inefficiencies in a home may lie, as well as the cost-effectiveness of installing new energy efficiency measures such as high efficiency furnaces, attic insulation and water heaters.

Rep. Apuan continued: “Families need to have all the information out there in order to budget for their household bills. This is a foreclosure prevention bill.”

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