Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Mandatory home energy audits stopped
The Ministry of Energy has decided not to proceed with plans to introduce mandatory home energy audits on real estate transactions. OREA lobbied strongly against mandatory home energy audits, telling government that they represented bad public policy and would be unworkable in practice. This decision represents a significant victory for OREA and is due in no small measure to the efforts of the Association's volunteers, Member Board PAC Chairs and the 15,000 Ontario REALTORS® who responded to OREA's Call-for-Action. To learn more about mandatory home energy audits visit www.orea.com and click on OREA Issues Summaries under the Government Relations tab
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Is there a more greedy / self-serving industry than real-estate? Who cares about the environment as long as realtors keep getting their commissions, right? Given the outrageous commission they charge on house sales, real estate agents should be paying for these audits as part of their service.
ReplyDeleteMandatory energy audits are already in place in many jurisdictions in the US for a very good reason - because they generate most of their electricity through fossil fuels. Well guess what? Over 75% of electricity in Ontario is generated through non-renewable sources.
Sorry, I cannot agreee with your slam on Realtors. They work extremely hard on a profession that has assisted millions of people in the most important purcahse of their lives. Commissions are negotiable. So a broad based statment as you have made is too general. True professionals who advise on legal contractural relationships, building charactersitcis, zoning, home sale preparations, and more and more, msut be paid top dollar for their work. Perhaps you just have not experienced the hard work of a true professional Realor aw we have at RE/MAX!
ReplyDeleteAs far as your other comment on the environmental audit, I agree that the audits have tremendous value to th consumer. The problem with the mandatory nature of what the province on Ontario enacted, is that it adds a cost that many cannot afford. So allow the audits on a volunary basis. Many more recently built homes do not need audits. Other less efficeint homes would benefit from an audit. Let us allow the consumer to decide.
Thanks for your comments! I appreciate your honesty and hope you continue to follow RE/MAX Professional Talk.