The next Building Energy Codes and Standards Committee (BECS) Meeting will be held on Wednesday and Thursday, January 14-15, 2026, at Sempra Headquarters downtown San Diego. Information regarding the hotels, meeting registration and preliminary agenda will be available in the near future.
HUD Extends Compliance Dates for Energy Efficiency Housing Standards to Address Concerns with Affordability.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has extended, for the second time, the compliance date for energy efficiency standards for new construction of HUD- and USDA-financed housing from November 10, 2025, to May 28, 2026. According to the November 10, 2025 Federal Register, the additional delay “provides more time for the agency to consider public comments received in response to a notice for comment published on July 7. HUD and USDA previously finalized this rule in April 2024, which adopts the 2021 edition of the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) and the 2019 edition of ASHRAE Standard 90.1, Energy Standard for Sites and Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings as the minimum energy standards for new construction of buildings in programs covered by section 109 of the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act of 1990. As background, there has been considerable industry concern about the cost impact of the provisions in the 2021 IECC and the 2019 ASHRAE 90.1 that impacts the affordability of homes as well as loan qualifications for HUD and USDA financed housing. In the July 7 Federal Register, the HUD and the Department of Agriculture (USDA) published a notice for comment regarding the Final Determination: Adoption of Energy Efficiency Standards for New Construction of HUD- and USDA-Financed Housing. HUD and the USDA published a Final Determination on April 26, 2024, adopting the 2021 IECC and ASHRAE 90.1-2019 energy codes as minimum requirements for programs covered under the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA). The agencies plan to review the analysis contained in that Final Determination and requested public comments by the end of August. That Notice Request for Comments was specific stating that they are ““considering reexamining the analysis in the Final Determination and are seeking public comment to inform a potential review, consistent with the Executive Action, ‘‘Delivering Emergency Price Relief for American Families and Defeating the Cost-of-Living Crisis. The public has had time to begin planning and implementing the Final Determination’s requirements. With that perspective, HUD and USDA would like to better understand how the adoption of the updated codes is working in practice. The agencies welcomed comments on any aspect of the Final Determination.”
The AGA BECS Committee had submitted comments on concerns with this determination. We noted that in the June 16, 2023 Update on End Use Codes and Standards, we reported that in the May 18, 2023 Federal Register, HUD had issued a notice announcing a “preliminary determination of HUD and USDA Financed Housing , as required under section 481(d)(1) of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA), that the 2021 IECC and ASHRAE 90.1–2019 will not negatively affect the affordability and availability of housing covered by EISA”. The Notice stated that “In making this preliminary determination, the first step to ultimately requiring compliance with these standards in HUD and USDA housing covered by EISA, this Notice relies on several studies that show that these codes are cost effective in that the incremental cost of the additional efficiency measures pays for themselves with energy cost savings on a life-cycle basis.” Of particular concern to the natural gas industry and other stakeholders was the statement: “Building Electrification. While the 2021 IECC did not include building electrification provisions in the final version of the code, provisions are available for adoption by states as amendments to the 2021 IECC: RE147–19, Electrification-Ready; RE126–19. Energy Efficient Water Heating, RE107–19, Eliminate Continuous Burning Pilot Light.” There were other provisions in the 2021 IECC and ASHRAE 90.1–2019 that were reviewed and identified as not adding to energy efficiency improvements or are not cost effective that we contended should be amended prior to HUD and USDA adopting the codes as a basis for funding by these federal agency programs. On August 7, 2023, AGA and the American Public Gas Association (APGA) filed comments (attached) providing our opposition of including “electrification” and provisions that were not cost effective in the 2021 IECC and ASHRAE 90.1–2019 standard. We cited the June, 2021 Home Innovations Research Labs study for the National Association of Home Builders titled 2021 IECC Residential Cost Effectiveness Analysis that identified those specific provisions in the 2021 IECC. In this Final Determination, we expressed disappointment that although not required for compliance, the “Building Electrification” provisions were not deleted, and HUD did not agree with the lack of cost effectiveness of the 2021 IECC and ASHRAE 90.1– 2019 and therefore made no adjustments for compliance to those code requirements for HUD and USDA financed housing.
Additionally, earlier this year we reported that on January 2, 2025, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and 15 state attorneys general filed a complaint in the Eastern District of Texas seeking to stop HUD and USDA from adopting the 2021 IECC and ASHRAE 90.1-2019 as the minimum energy-efficiency standards for certain single-family and multifamily housing programs. According to the announcement of the lawsuit, NAHB Chairman Carl Harris, a custom home builder from Wichita, Kan., issued the following statement on the lawsuit: “Compliance with the 2021 IECC can add more than $22,000 to the price of a new home, but in practice, home builders have estimated increased costs of up to $31,000. Along with 15 state attorneys general, NAHB is the only private entity in this lawsuit seeking to halt HUD and USDA from adopting the 2021 IECC because home builders can document how this egregious regulation will needlessly raise housing costs and hurt the nation’s most vulnerable home buyers and renters. This ill-conceived policy will act as a deterrent to new construction at a time when the nation desperately needs to boost its housing supply to lower shelter inflation costs. It is also in direct conflict with the current energy codes in the majority of jurisdictions around the country. Our lawsuit seeks to show that granting HUD and USDA authority to insure mortgages for new single-family homes and apartments only if they are built to the 2021 IECC or ASHRAE 90.1-2019 was done in an unconstitutional manner.” Click here to view the litigation document.
On August 6, 2025, AGA and APGA submitted comments (attached) on the HUD and USDA determination reiterating our concerns with the negative cost impact on affordability of the Final Determination. We are pleased that HUD has extended the compliance date until May 28, 2026, providing the needed additional time for the agency to consider the over 100 public comments received in response to a notice for comment published on July 7. We will continue to monitor this important activity and will report back when additional information from HUD becomes available.
ICC Announces Public Comment Period Open till Jan. 5, 2026, for the 2024 Group B International Codes.
The International Code Council (ICC) announced that on Nov. 25, 2025, they will begin accepting public comments on the 2025 Group B cycle International Code® (I-Code) change proposals, with the submission deadline set for 11:59 p.m. PT on Jan. 5, 2026. The Group B-Codes include the International Residential Code, International Building Code, and the International Existing Building Code. For a proposal to be eligible for public comment it must have had a comment acted upon at the Committee Action Hearing #2 this past October.
For the proposals open for public comment, you can review the Report on Committee Action Hearing #2 which will be linked on the cdpACCESS webpage. The public comments will be heard jointly with public comments from the Group A cycle April 19-28, 2026. At this time, the AGA is not planning to file public comments but will be monitoring comments submitted that would impact natural gas applications. For more information on the Group A & B code development cycles, visit here.
State Codes Activity Update.
Attached is a weekly feature of the “Friday Update” covering state code calendar activities as presented by the online utility “Fiscal Note,” which is sponsored by APGA and AGA Code and Standards. Please review the update and determine if there are state code activities that impact your service territory or organization. AGA is evaluating the BECS memberships use and value of this information. Please advise us by December 15, 2025, of your experiences using this Update.
2026 BECS Committee Meeting Schedule
January 14-15, 2026, San Diego, California Hotel TBD
May 13-14, 2026, Portland, Maine Hotel TBD
September 16 -17, 2026, Wilmington, NC Hotel TBD