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Incentives for certified green homes
- Heather Ferrier Laminack
Since the launch of the NAHB's National Green Building Standard (NGBS), the NAHB Research Center has been tracking local, regional and state incentives that have been made available to builders and buyers of certified projects. Following is a sampling of incentives that have been created to encourage and support the certification of projects.
Arkansas: The Little Rock Building Codes Division provides financial incentives up to $1,500 per green building project to help cover certification costs to the NGBS.
Delaware: Provides a $5,000 incentive for homebuyers who select a home built to a minimum of either the NGBS Gold certification level or the Gold LEED for Homes level.
Florida: Miami-Dade county pledges to expedite all building permits for green buildings certified by the NAHB Research Center, the USGBC, and the Florida Green Building Coalition. Volusia County established an incentive program that fast tracks permits and provides reduced permit fees for certified green buildings.
Missouri: Under the Missouri Qualified Allocation Plan for Low Income Housing Tax Credits, homes that are certified under the NGBS receive priority status to credit availability. Given the ongoing competition for low-income housing tax credits among developers, this is a significant incentive.
New Mexico: The Residential Green Building Grant Program was signed into law in 2009, which provides generous financial incentive to encourage residential construction of new homes and the substantial renovation of existing homes that are certified under the NGBS or LEED for Homes.
Nashville, Tenn.: The Nashville Codes Department offers a green building permit to recognize projects that "demonstrate responsible, quality construction with respect to energy efficiency, environmental impact, and reductions in the use of shared municipal resources." Applications for this permit receive expedited processing as long as they include documentation of their intent to have their project certified by the NGBS. A green use and occupancy certificate is awarded once construction is complete and has been inspected.
A complete list of incentives for the NGBS can be found online. on the NAHB site. If you're aware of an incentive that is not listed, please contact the NAHB Research Center to let them know about the program.
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