Home Builders Association warns 2021 Michigan Residential Code will raise new‑home costs and plans legal challenge

Dawn Crandall, executive vice president of government relations for the Home Builders Association of Michigan, told the Michigan House Subcommittee on Licensing and Regulatory Affairs and Insurance and Financial Services that implementation of the 2021 Michigan Residential Code will increase construction costs and could price thousands of households out of the new‑home market.

Crandall, testifying May 15 before the subcommittee, said the 2021 code includes mandatory items that she said will raise costs—two‑by‑six exterior framing instead of two‑by‑four, R‑60 ceiling insulation, insulated interior ductwork, one‑inch exterior insulated sheathing and new solar‑readiness requirements—and that the association has filed a notice of intent to sue the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) on May 1 and plans to seek an injunction if the code goes into effect.

The code change matters because, Crandall said, higher construction costs reduce affordability. “Every time you raise the cost of housing, you price out 3,393 households,” she said, summarizing…