By Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Tyler Waugh
The City of Mount Pearl has adopted a new mandatory residential energy efficiency requirement to be consistent with current building practices.
And while the City could phase in an increase to efficiency standards for one and two-family homes, Deputy Mayor Jim Locke said the recommended standard of Tier II of a five-tier rating system is a prudent move to start balancing efficiency and affordability considerations.
“(Tier II) is still energy efficient, I don’t want to get the message out there that Mount Pearl is sort of reneging on energy efficiency and climate initiatives, because we are not,” Locke said at council’s August 18 meeting. “We recognize in consultation with the builders that most of the Tier II requirements are already being undertaken, so by making that mandatory in the City of Mount Pearl we are not causing any undue hardship or any increased cost for potential home buyers. With that said, we have committed to review the requirements for Tier III in consultation with builders and the experts in the field and our staff and maybe we can move to adopt that in a year to come.”
The move comes after the Province adopted the 2025 National Building Code, which came into effect July 12, though municipalities retained authority to determine the residential energy efficiency requirements for one and two-family homes.
As a result, municipalities must independently determine whether to adopt energy efficiency standards and establish the applicable minimum compliance tier. The five-tier framework ranges from Tier 1 (base compliance) to Tier 5 (net-zero energy ready).
Council received correspondence and supporting material from the Canadian Home Builders' Association (CHBA) and provincial home builders' associations requesting towns and cities to pause implementation of portions of the 2025 codes due to concerns about affordability, implementation readiness, regulatory impacts, and housing supply.
City staff acknowledged the concerns but advised council current construction methods commonly incorporate Energy Star windows and doors, improved airtightness, high-efficiency heat recovery ventilators, and heat pump technologies that exceed minimum code requirements. It was also noted that new homes on the Avalon commonly reach Tier II levels and, at times, even Tier III.
“So that’s a good place to start with ambition to move forward as we understand the process more,” Director Scott Batt told council.
Planning staff sought feedback from other departments regarding the impacts, enforcement requirements, training needs, industry implications, and implementation considerations associated with adopting the standard.
Staff advised that a phased progression to Tier 3 should be considered once municipal procedures, staff capacity, builder competency, and implementation experience are established. Tiers IV and V were not recommended due to cost and implementation considerations.
Batt told council that the standards will apply to new builds and will not necessarily apply to renovations as in most cases they would be grandfathered under prior building codes. That said, Deputy Mayor Locke followed up specifically about whether the new standards will apply to basement apartments funded through the City’s housing accelerator grant program.
“I believe they would have to meet that as well, but it’s not an onerous standard to meet. Tier II is fairly basic with most modern homes,” Batt replied.
Batt said while the standards are now in effect, there is a notification and grace period for developers and contractors before rolling it out officially, with a potential timeline of late fall before it becomes mandatory.
“It would give us some time to get our forms and policies in order to check and make sure this is being achieved,” Batt said.
Council unanimously approved the energy efficiency standard as recommended by staff.