Today, the Ontario government announced their Five-Year Climate Change Action Plan. Included in the plan is a home energy rating and disclosure program (HER&D).
HER&D is a mandatory home energy audit regime for single-family homes that forces a homeowner to conduct an energy audit before they list their home. The program then requires the seller to include the audit score on their listing whenever it is posted to a “listing service.”
This requirement will take effect sometime in 2019. The government has established this two-year runway to build up the number of energy auditors and pass any enabling legislation. Under this proposal, once the program is in effect, sellers will have to conduct an audit before they list their property with a REALTOR®. After the audit is complete, HER&D will require REALTORS® to post their sellers energy rating score on the MLS® listing.
“The Ontario Real Estate Association wholeheartedly supports initiatives to improve energy efficiency,” said Ray Ferris, President of the Ontario Real Estate Association. “In the coming months a working group will be formed by the government to review how HER&D can be implemented in Ontario. OREA will continue to participate in that process and make sure that any proposal is in the best interest of Ontario’s home buyers and sellers.”
Leave a Reply