Mandatory green home rating will cost $172

Adelaide Advertiser
20 July 2011, Page: 4

NEW green star rating audits will cost South Australian householders $172, about $600 less than first feared, a leaked national report says. The report received exclusively by The Advertiser yesterday showed homeowners would be forced to pay $172 for audits on greenhouse gas emissions and water efficiency before houses were sold or rented. Under the Federal Government initiative it would become mandatory for the green rating to be disclosed at the sale or rental of every property.

The new cost could have ballooned to $750 under one of five proposals submitted to the Energy Efficiency Building Information Committee. It is believed the State Government will not be considering that proposal, opting for the cheaper, less intensive version of the green star scheme. The Real Estate Institute of South Australia has opposed the greenhouse gas and water audits associated with the scheme, saying the costs will be passed on to buyers and renters who are already struggling with housing affordability.

State Energy Minister Michael O'Brien, however, has been heralding the new ratings saying they will raise the value of people's homes while helping to save the environment and slashing household bills. "There will be no return to cheap power as we have seen in the past few decades", he said. "In this climate (increasing power, gas and electricity prices), there is an appetite for the consumer to know how efficient their house is. "The fact that 90,000 people, compared to the target of 9000, took up the solar power rebates as a way of bringing their electricity prices down points to the fact that people are energy savvy now".

The audits would be conducted by private companies who would give the house a green star rating. "I'm expecting the real estate agents to use the stars as a valuable marketing tool", Mr O'Brien said. "They already have it (green stars) set up in the ACT (Australian Capital Territory), and they're saying has changed from 'location, location, location' to 'location, location, star rating' ". The Federal Government soon will release the report publicly and several discussions will be held next month to debate the merits of using the star ratings.