A law recently passed in California could force home buyers to make energy-efficiency upgrades when they buy a home, even if they can’t recoup the cost of their investment over a reasonable period of time, the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® says.

The recently passed bill says the California Energy Commission has to encourage energy conservation in a way that does not “unreasonably or unnecessarily” affect the real estate sales process, but it doesn’t define what’s unreasonable or unnecessary.

CAR is sponsoring Assembly Bill 1711, which says the state must clearly define what constitutes an energy-efficiency retrofit that would “unreasonably or unnecessarily” affect a home purchase.

The CEC is currently considering programs that would make you to install energy-saving improvements when you buy a home, even if those improvements won’t pay for themselves over the lifetime of the improvement, CAR says.

Other requirements the CEC is considering could add thousands of dollars to the up-front costs of a home, making it harder to sell existing homes, CAR says.

Assembly Bill 1711 (Galgiani, D-Tracy), will prohibit the state from creating a program that requires home buyers to pay out of pocket for energy improvements at the time a home is purchased or that would prevent a home buyer from closing escrow on time. The measure also requires that the costs of mandated improvements be recoverable over the lifetime of the improvement.

Source: CAR