Sustainable Housing Act – Center for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy

A BILL

To establish principles and practices for sustainable housing in the United States.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

(a) This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Sustainable Housing Act.”

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND DECLARATIONS.

(a) The Congress finds that—

(1) a sustainable level of residential housing construction in terms of house size, number of houses per citizen, materials used, and energy requirements for house operation and maintenance is a crucial element of sustainable economic activity, or a “steady state economy;”

(2) a steady state economy is achieved when population multiplied by per capita consumption, expressed in terms of GDP, is stabilized or mildly fluctuating at a size within the ecological capacity of the nation;

(3) housing markets that allow and encourage residences of excess size and with excess energy requirements, and that allow and encourage the sprawl of suburban residential development, promote the unsustainable and unnecessary enlargement of per capita consumption;

(4) housing markets that allow and encourage the sprawl of suburban residential development generate increasingly long, unsustainable workplace commutes;

(5) residential construction markets, pressed by increased population and increasing real estate prices, lead to unsustainable geographic dispersion of residential dwellings and unsustainable construction of increasingly larger single-family residences; and

(6) sustainable housing ultimately entails a steady state economy, and the population existing in a steady state economy requires a sustainable level and type of housing.

(b) The Congress declares that—

(1) it is the policy of the Federal Government to use all practicable means, consistent with its needs and obligations and other essential national policies, and with the cooperation of the homebuilding industry, to reduce the construction of houses that exceed specified size limitations;

(2) it is the policy of the Federal Government to reduce the occurrence of new, multi-residence developments that would necessitate the costly extension of public utilities and lengthier workplace commutes;

(3) it is the policy of the Federal Government to encourage the fuller renovation of existing housing stock and the establishment of residence-level or neighborhood-level self-generated renewable energy installations;

(4) a Federal Sustainable Housing Building Code Commission is established to study and promulgate optimal, sustainable building materials usage and energy-saving building methods for ultimate adoption by state agencies tasked with the enforcement of state uniform building codes; and

(5) a Federal Sustainable Zoning Commission is established to study and promulgate optimal, sustainable state and local zoning models for ultimate adoption by municipal governments tasked with the enforcement of zoning laws and regulations.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

(a) In this Act—

(1) the term “Act” refers to the Sustainable Housing Act;

(2) the term “affordable unit” means a single-family or multi-family residence with total costs that do not exceed 30 percent of after-tax family income;

(3) the term “American Planning Association” refers to the independent association established in 1978 out of the consolidation of the American Institute of Planners and the Society of American Planners;

(4) the term “beyond the reach” means any property that cannot be connected to existing utility lines with anything other than extensions that require more than 500 feet of newly placed system-to-residence connection line;

(5) the term “Commission on Economic Sustainability” refers to the commission proposed under the provisions of the Steady State Economy Act, comprised of the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency and the Secretaries of Agriculture, Commerce, and Energy and chaired by the Secretary of the Interior;

(6) the term “Commissioner” refers to the Commissioner of the U.S. Internal Revenue Service;

(7) the term “conditioned space” means any area under a residential roof that requires daily or seasonal heating, cooling, or mechanical dehumidification;

(8) the term “Core Based Statistical Area” refers to any of the 935 geographical regions defined by the Office of Management and Budget in the Executive Office of the President, which represent regions with extensively integrated economies and a relatively high population density, and which are divided into Metropolitan Statistical Areas, which have compact populations of at least 50,000, and Micropolitan Statistical Areas, which have compact populations of at least 10,000;

(9) the term “Fannie Mae” refers to the Financial National Mortgage Association;

(10) the term “FHA” refers to the United States Federal Housing Administration;

(11) the term “Freddie Mac” refers to the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation;

(12) the term “HUD” refers to the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development;

(13) the term “International Code Council (ICC)” refers to the private independent organization incorporated in 2003 by the Building Officials and Code Administration, International, Inc., the International Conference of Building Officials, and the Southern Building Code Congress International, Inc.;

(14) the term “Secretary” refers to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Treasury;

(15) the term “self-generated renewable energy” means residential electric power generated by a solar, wind, geothermal, or hydroelectric source;

(16) the term “USDA” refers to the United States Department of Agriculture; and

(17) the term “VA” refers to the United States Veterans Administration.

SEC. 4. HOUSING LIMITATIONS ON ELIGIBILITY FOR FEDERAL LOANS, LOAN GUARANTEES, OR INSURANCE.

(a) GENERAL RULE.—There is hereby imposed a series of residential housing size limitations, based on a unit’s conditioned living area, as a requirement for eligibility for any VA loan, the USDA Single Family Housing Guaranteed Loan Program, the HUD Section 108 Loan Guarantee Program, FHA 203 (b) Mortgage Insurance Program, and for any secondary-loan market purchase undertaken by any Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac government-sponsored corporation.

(b) RESIDENTIAL HOUSING SIZE LIMITATIONS.—For any loan, loan guarantee, or mortgage insurance provided by the VA, the USDA, HUD, or the FHA, and for any secondary market purchase undertaken by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, any eligible mortgage loan for a single-family residence or multi-family residential unit with no more than 4 individual dwellings shall be limited to those for any newly constructed property with a maximum of 2,000 square feet of conditioned living area and for any renovated property with a maximum of 3,000 square feet of conditioned living area.

(c) COMMENCEMENT.—These residential size limitations shall be imposed on any subject residential home sale at the time of any recorded sale/closing, commencing January 1, 2028.

SEC. 5. REPORTING OF ELIGIBLE LOANS.

(a) GENERAL RULE.—The Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development shall establish the methods for recording and reporting any residential mortgage subject to residential size limitation.

(b) IMPLEMENTATION.—The Secretary shall complete and implement this method by September 1, 2027.

(c) PRIVACY.—The system established to assess and audit any residence subject to the loan eligibility size limitation may not involve the collection of any personally identifying information beyond what is necessary to properly calculate, collect, and report the applicable square footage area and construction location in relation to the subject public utilities, unless the recorded owner provides his or her express written consent for the collection of additional information.

SEC. 6. ESTABLISHMENT OF FEDERAL SUSTAINABLE HOUSING BUILDING CODE AND SUSTAINABLE ZONING COMMISSIONS.

(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMISSIONS.—

(1) There is hereby established a Federal Sustainable Housing Building Code Commission, composed of 4 members appointed by the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.

(2) There is hereby established a Federal Sustainable Zoning Commission, composed of 4 members appointed by the Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

(b) ADVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES.—

(1) In concert with the International Code Council (ICC), the Federal Sustainable Housing Building Code Commission shall develop and solicit expert advice on model housing design focused on the national demand for common building materials, the development of optimal material combinations and substitutes, and architectural innovations that are most likely to generate sustainable, durable, and efficient homebuilding practices.

(2) Code standards promulgated by the Sustainable Housing Building Code Commission shall include, but not be limited to, the prohibition of specific materials, energy efficiency minimums for all lighting and appliances, and required minimums for the recycled content, relative scarcity, and durability of all construction materials.

(3) In concert with the American Planning Association, the Federal Sustainable Zoning Commission shall develop and solicit expert advice on model zoning practices designed specifically to control and limit the number, density, and urban boundaries for any new single-family or multi-family residential structure.

(4) Model zoning practices promulgated by the Sustainable Zoning Commission shall include, but not be limited to, strict standards for the number of allowed secondary (non-rented) homes, minimum lot sizes for any new residential property construction in each designated land use category, and resource-dependent limits on the number of residential units allowed per square mile in each designated land use category.

(1) All building code standards promulgated by the Sustainable Building Code Commission shall require building practices that minimize the use of any material deemed by the Commission on Economic Sustainability to be consumed nationally on an annual basis in quantities greater than it can be replenished or sustained without cascading environmental degradation.

(2) All building code standards promulgated by the Sustainable Building Code Commission shall prohibit the use of any tropical hardwood harvested with felling and skidding operations and in aggregate amounts not certified by the Commission on Economic Sustainability.

(3) All building code standards promulgated by the Sustainable Building Code Commission shall prohibit the use of any temperate forest hardwood or softwood harvested in aggregate amounts and with harvesting techniques not certified by the Commission on Economic Sustainability.

(4) When it has been determined that there exist within the subject municipal jurisdiction a number of affordable units greater than the number of households with between 30 percent and 100 percent of Area Median Family Income (AMI), all zoning standards promulgated by the Sustainable Zoning Commission shall permit new residential rental unit construction only by variance.

(5) When it has been determined that there exists within the applicable Core Based Statistical Area an adequate inventory of vacant housing, defined as greater than 8 percent of all housing units, all zoning standards promulgated by the Sustainable Zoning Commission shall permit new residential single-family unit construction only by variance.

(6) When it has been determined that existing secondary single-family residences exceed 10 percent of the jurisdiction’s owner-occupied residences, all zoning standards promulgated by the Sustainable Zoning Commission shall permit new secondary (non-rented) single-family unit construction only by variance.

(d) REPORTING.—

(1) The Sustainable Municipal Zoning Commission shall update the model zoning recommendations promulgated by the Standard State Zoning Act, revised in 1926, to include model zoning practices exclusively focused on a community’s preservation of natural resources and limiting its ecological footprint.

(2) The Sustainable Municipal Zoning Commission shall base its ecological footprint and biocapacity estimates on the findings of the proposed Commission on Economic Sustainability, with strict standards derived from regional population densities and the relative scarcity of natural resources, including but not limited to fresh water, tree cover, stormwater management capacity, waste absorption capacity, and biological diversity.

(3) The Sustainable Zoning Commission shall be responsible for developing a standard model by which local jurisdictions report their biocapacity and ecological footprint data and by which regional, multi-jurisdictional assessments of ecological footprint and biocapacity and regional overshoot levels are determined.

(4) The Sustainable Zoning Commission shall be responsible for developing a series of limiting thresholds, representing the combined magnitudes by which a jurisdiction’s ecological footprint exceeds its biocapacity and by which the applicable region’s ecological footprint exceeds its biocapacity.

(5) Based on its determination of the thresholds defined in section 6(c), the Sustainable Zoning Commission shall recommend a series of increasingly strict new construction permit levels.

(e) COMMENCEMENT.—The Federal Sustainable Housing Building Code Commission and the Federal Sustainable Municipal Zoning Commission shall begin their activities on January 1, 2028, and shall convene thereafter in accordance with rules established by the commissioners and the Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

SEC. 7. SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENTIAL CONSTRUCTION CONDITIONED AREA TAX.

(a) GENERAL RULE.—There is hereby imposed an excise tax upon the owner of any single-family residence, constructed after enactment, with conditioned space exceeding limits as provided in section 7(b).

(b) RATE.—The tax rate for residences subject to the tax established in section 7(a) is 5 percent of the recorded sales price for any such residence exceeding 2,000 but less than 3,000 square feet of conditioned space and 10 percent of the recorded sales price for any such residence equal to or exceeding 3,000 square feet of conditioned space.

(c) EXEMPTION.—For any property subject to the first-tier tax rate of 5 percent, a full exemption shall be offered to any owner or buyer whose expected energy usage is supplied by a minimum of 75 percent self-generated renewable energy.

(d) COMMENCEMENT.—This tax shall be paid by the recorded owner or buyer of the newly constructed single-family residence at the time of the recorded sale/closing, commencing after January 1, 2028.

SEC. 8. SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENTIAL CONSTRUCTION UTILITY EXTENSION TAX.

(a) GENERAL RULE.—There is hereby imposed an excise tax upon the owner or buyer of any newly constructed single-family residence that is sited beyond the reach of existing municipal water and sewage service lines.

(b) RATE.—The tax rate for any residence subject to the tax is 10 percent of the recorded sales price.

(c) COMMENCEMENT.—This tax shall be paid by the recorded owner or buyer of the newly constructed single-family residence at the time of the recorded sale/closing, commencing after January 1, 2028.

SEC. 9. REPORTING OF CONDITIONED AREA AND UTILITY EXTENSION TAXES.

(a) GENERAL RULE.—The Commissioner shall establish the methods for recording and reporting any residential sale subject to the tax.

(b) CONSIDERATIONS.—When taking action under this subsection, the Commissioner shall consider—

(1) the accuracy of the data collected;

(2) the ability to audit compliance; and

(3) other relevant factors that the Department deems important.

(d) PRIVACY.—The system established to assess and audit any residence subject to the tax may not involve the collection of any personally identifying information beyond what is necessary to properly calculate, report, and collect the applicable square footage area status and construction location in relation to the subject public utilities, unless the Recorded Owner provides his or her express written consent for the collection of additional information.

SEC. 10. COLLECTION.

(a) GENERAL RULE.—The Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service shall provide by rule for the collection of the excise taxes imposed under sections 7 and 8 of this act, including penalties and interest imposed on delinquent charges.

SEC. 11. REIMBURSEMENT.

(a) GENERAL RULE.—The Department shall establish and administer a process whereby a residential property owner may contest the tax assessed pursuant to sections 7 and 8. The Department shall reimburse the owner for any contested fee or portion thereof incorrectly collected pursuant to this section.

SEC. 12. USE OF REVENUE.

(a) GENERAL RULE.—All revenues collected pursuant to this Act shall be deposited into the General Fund of the United States Treasury.

SEC. 13. TAX RATE ADJUSTMENT.

(a) GENERAL RULE.—Neither the Secretary nor the commissioner shall adjust the excise tax rates herein without further legislation.

SEC. 14. RESIDENTIAL UNIT SIZE PROHIBITION.

(a) GENERAL RULE.—There is hereby established a prohibition of any newly constructed single-family residence that exceeds 5,000 square feet of conditioned living space.

(b) EXEMPTIONS.—

(1) An exemption shall be offered to the owner of any newly constructed single-family residence that exceeds the 5,000-square-foot limitation by 1,000 square feet or less and that derives a minimum of 75 percent of its expected energy usage from self-generated renewable energy.

(2) An exemption shall be offered to the owner of any newly constructed single-family residence that exceeds the 5,000-square-foot limitation by 2,000 square feet or less and that derives a minimum of 100 percent of its expected energy usage from self-generated renewable energy.

(c) COMMENCEMENT.—This conditioned living area limitation shall go into effect for any new construction completed after January 1, 2028.

SEC. 15. PENALTIES AND ENFORCEMENT.

(a) GENERAL RULE.—The Department shall establish and administer a process and establish the level of fines whereby a residential property owner may be penalized for submitting any false record associated with the size and siting of property subject to the taxes in sections 7 and 8 and for any violation of the single-family residence size limitation in section 14.

(b) PENALTY AMOUNTS.—Minimum fines for improper reporting of the single-family residential conditioned living area, subject to the taxes in sections 7 and 8 shall be—

(1) $1,000 per violation, assessed on the homeowner; and

(2) $2,500 per violation, assessed on the builder/contractor.

(1) $25,000 per violation, assessed on the homeowner; and

(2) $50,000 per violation, assessed on the builder/contractor.

(d) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development shall establish the methods for recording and reporting the violations defined in section 15(a) and shall be required to report such violations to the Department of Treasury, Internal Revenue Service.

(e) PENALTY COLLECTION.—The collection of any fine applicable to the violations defined in section 15(a) shall be the responsibility of the Department of Treasury, Internal Revenue Service.