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ReaLegal®
Leading the Way...® in
Real Estate Law
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NEW
HVAC DUCT SEALING REQUIREMENT
FOR PROPERTY
OWNERS
Starting October 1, 2005, installing or
replacing certain heating, ventilating, and air conditioning
(HVAC) equipment may trigger a requirement to test and, if
necessary, properly seal the existing ducts connected to that
HVAC equipment. The duct sealing must then be independently
verified by a certified home energy rater, at least on a
random sampling basis. If a building permit is required, the
local building department may not issue a permit for
installing HVAC equipment until the ducts are properly sealed
as verified by a certified home energy rater.
As in any
real estate transaction, if a homeowner circumvents
permit requirements by changing out HVAC equipment
without the necessary duct sealing, the homeowner must
disclose that fact to a prospective buyer on the Real Estate
Transfer Disclosure Statement (TDS). Also as in any pending
real estate transaction, if a seller voluntarily agrees, at
the buyer's request, to conduct repairs, such as change out
the HVAC equipment, the seller also contractually agrees to
comply with governmental permit requirements pursuant to
C.A.R.'s standard-form purchase agreements. Finally, as with
any item of repair after close of escrow, buyers should
ascertain upfront whether their home warranty plans
will cover the HVAC equipment, duct testing and
sealing, and subsequent verification by a home energy
rater.
The new duct sealing rule does not change the
law affecting a real estate agent's duty in real estate
transactions, and there is no law that specifically places an
affirmative duty on agents to disclose the HVAC change-out
process to their clients. Nevertheless, as a matter of
prudence, C.A.R.'s Standard Forms Committee is currently
considering a proposal to add the duct sealing requirements to
C.A.R.'s Statewide Buyer and Seller Advisory (SBSA)
form.
The new duct sealing rule is fully set
forth at California Energy Commission's website at http://www.energy.ca.gov/title24/changeout/.
Reprinted with
permission. ReaLegal® is published by the CALIFORNIA
ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®, a trade association representing
more than 165,000 REALTORS® statewide.
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Joanne L.
Gardiner, Broker, e-PRO Realtor
"For Old-Fashioned Service in
Cyberspace"
Advantage Realty
Advantage Mortgage
Associates
3205 Whipple Road - Union City, California
94587
(510)
429-4800
San Francisco
Bay Area
San Francisco East Bay Real
Estate
web
site: http://www.joannegardiner.com
Our primary services in the San
Francisco Bay Area are: East bay real
estate, Hayward real estate, Castro Valley
real estate, Danville real estate, Dublin real
estate, Fremont real estate, Newark real
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estate, San Leandro real estate, San Lorenzo real
estate, San Ramon real estate, Sunol real
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