Sponsor
Michael F. Bennet
Senator · D-CO
Senator · D-CO
Official title: Provide for accurate energy appraisals in connection with residential mortgage loans, and for other purposes.
Introduced March 27, 2025 by Michael F. Bennet · Last progress March 27, 2025
The bill makes property energy information more accessible and ensures energy reports are considered (benefiting buyers, homeowners, and efficiency markets) while imposing compliance, training, and administrative costs that may raise fees, slow processing, and introduce short-term valuation uncertainty.
Homeowners and homebuyers: sellers/buyers can supply an energy report and have it considered in appraisals, which can raise appraised values for energy-efficient homes and directly increase home equity.
Homebuyers and prospective borrowers: borrowers can request and receive a property's energy report for free, lowering information costs and helping buyers compare homes based on energy performance.
Borrowers and applicants: appraisals must be based on qualified appraisers' valuations and cannot be rejected solely because an energy report was considered, reducing arbitrary denials tied to energy data.
Lenders, servicers, and ultimately borrowers: creditors must invest in compliance and IT system changes within two years, which could raise mortgage costs or fees to cover those expenses.
Appraisers and borrowers: mandated continuing education and altered appraisal processes could temporarily reduce the available appraiser pool or increase appraisal fees and turnaround times.
Homebuyers and lenders: if energy reports vary in quality or methodology, appraisals could become more variable and create uncertainty about how energy features affect value.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Requires lenders and appraisers to accept, share, and consider property energy reports in appraisals and gives borrowers free access to those reports; forbids rejecting loans solely because of energy report information.
Requires lenders and federal financial regulators to incorporate property energy reports into mortgage appraisal and underwriting processes, give borrowers access to energy reports, and direct appraisers to consider specific energy and renewable features when valuing homes. Starting March 1, 2026, creditors must provide an available energy report (with borrower consent) to appraisers at assignment, and agencies must issue guidance and adjust systems so appraisals can reflect market reactions to energy-efficient and renewable property features. The law forbids rejecting an appraisal or loan application solely because of information in an energy report, obligates lenders to use an appraiser’s appraised value for underwriting, and requires free disclosure of a property’s energy report to prospective borrowers on request.