Residential Building Mandatory Disclosure - A BIG DEAL!

It’s important for all of us to get our head around RBMD, as it may very well become a ‘big deal’ from next year!  To refresh your memory, RBMD is when a vendor is required to disclose their building’s energy efficiency performance at the time of either selling or leasing. This information may be incorporated in Section 32.

The Federal Government is now looking at introducing RBMD across all States and Territories.  Possibly to commence from May 2012, in any of the following forms (as per previous post):

1.     Full assessment: full thermal performance simulation and rating of the house to be conducted by a suitably accredited professional. It will assess building performance and potential upgrades and recommendations.

2.     Simplified thermal assessment: will have less focus on thermal performance. It will provide potential upgrades and recommendations.

3.     Online self-assessment: to use an online tool by making assumptions on a building’s performance based on data entered about the building’s components. This can be either completed by owner or a suitably accredited professional. This is less complex and general.

I recently read an interesting article by the Real Estate Institute of Victoria (REIV) which discussed RBMD. It was titled “Green Stars for Existing Homes”. The REIV commissioned a survey of 1000 people in 2007 and asked the question, ‘If you were looking for a property to purchase what would be your most important consideration?’ Number one was price, then location, then close proximity to amenities. “People were also asked a separate question about the importance of water and energy saving features. Reflecting natural concerns about the environment, a substantially high 93% said that those features were important to them.” Source: www.reiv.com.au

So if you are Designer, a Builder or an Owner, I encourage you to highly consider energy efficiency and sustainability in your designs, because the future buyer of that house may well ask for it.

Frequently Asked Question

Question: I have a dwelling with two toilets. Does the water tank need to be connected to one toilet or both? What is minimum water tank size?

Answer: In accordance with Practice Note 2011-55, the water tank needs to be connected to ALL toilet flushing in the dwelling. The minimum water tank size is 2000 litres for a dwelling. This applies to Class 1 buildings such as detached houses and attached units. However, it does not apply to Class 2 apartment developments.