Stan Kolbe Discusses Impact of New Housing Law on Contractors

Stan Kolbe, SMACNA’s Executive Director for Government Affairs, was recently interviewed by ACHR about the new and rewarding opportunities and program benefits available to SMACNA contractors and the industry as a whole resulting from the ROAD to Housing Act.

Specifically, much of the potential program and project windfall could come from Section 202 of the bill, which authorizes a pilot program to provide grants for whole-home repairs to eligible homeowners and landlords, including energy- and water-efficiency, resilience, and weatherization modifications or repairs.

Under the Act's legislative language, HVAC replacements, heat pump installations, ductwork improvements, and ventilation upgrades could be eligible for these grants. The grants would fund eligible projects not already covered by federal home repair programs and provide forgivable loans to landlords for similar projects.

Kolbe discussed SMACNA’s active support of residential market contracting, especially retrofit and new construction activity, and therefore advocated for the legislation before it became law in early July, stating: “We are supportive of the bill but also of the long list of tax credits and grants to help homeowners, especially first-time buyers, to retrofit and upgrade HVAC and related systems to drive down costs of owning and operating a home.”

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