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Association News, Government AffairsREALTORS® say no to mandatory sprinklers
“Mandatory sprinklers are unnecessary to protect public safety,” said PA Association of REALTORS® (PAR) President Greg Herb during testimony before the PA Senate Labor and Industry Committee.
PAR President Greg Herb testifies at Senate hearing (Photo credit: Stuart Leask)
PAR, along with the PA Builders, PA Manufactured Housing and Modular Building Systems associations, presented testimony during Tuesday’s public hearing on Senate Bill 1001 (Sen. Bob Robbins, R-Mercer). Â
SB 1001 would remove the statewide mandate and continue to allow municipal governments the option to enact the sprinkler requirement for new construction.
A recent survey conducted by PAR found that 62 percent of voters believe smoke alarms are a much better form of preventing the loss of life. Furthermore, 67 percent of voters in the commonwealth said that if they were building their own home they would choose a $500 smoke alarm system rather than a $5,000 sprinkler system.  Â
“PAR opposes mandated sprinklers in new construction simply because Pennsylvanians can’t afford it,” added Herb. “Mandatory sprinklers in new one- and two-family construction will drive up new home prices in Pennsylvania and stall the recovery of the housing sector and improvement of the Pennsylvania economy.” Â
Research shows that hard-wired interconnected smoke detectors – already mandatory - are the best way to prevent fire-related deaths and the decision to install additional fire-safety devices should be a consumer choice. Mandatory sprinklers are yet another unnecessary and expensive government mandate for Pennsylvanians.
Unless legislation is passed by Dec. 31, the state Department of Labor and Industry will adopt regulations implementing mandatory sprinklers in new townhomes in 2010 and all new homes in 2011.
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Samantha Elliott Krepps was the Communications & Media Relations Manager at the Pennsylvania Association of Realtors®. |
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Greg, thank you for speaking up on this issue. I really believe that the code council is misinformed. More importantly I think they have allowed themselves to be influenced by sprinkler manufacturers and other industries that have an obvious conflict in the matter. The National Association of Homebuilders and National Fire Protection Assocation has made data available to show that in the past 30 years homes have gotten much safer. 60% fewer people die or are injured in homes today than they were 30 years ago and this number continues to go down. Sprinklers will only save lives in new homes. Most people are injured/die in older homes where this requirment will not help them. At an estimated cost of over $6B per year this will have a serious impact on affordability as well. Lower affordability will mean that the elderly, inidigent, and poor will be forced into older, less safe homes as a result. As a REALTOR, developer/builder and a board member of the Pennsylvania Builders Association I believe there are less costly ways to save more lives and really make a difference. Sprinklers save property, smoke detectors save lives. I’m also glad to see the builders and REALTORS working together on this issue and hope to see this continue in the future.
My new agent class made comment about sprinkler systems this week. One member has a home with sprinklers–mandated by the township and commented about the added cost of homeowner’s insurance and the problems/cost of repairing leaks in the system as well as the cost of installation. Also have an investor whose rental property has a sprinkler system and know it’s had leak problems as well. Might sound like a good idea but the reality is there are many financial implications for the homeowner that offset the benefits.
I am glad to see PAR, PA Builders Association and others have taken the necessary steps to reverse this mandate. I would like to see a Call For Action of the Realtors so that our Pennsylvania leaders can see that we are out there talking to the consumers and they are not in favor of this mandate and upset the way it came down. Smoke Alarms/Detectors are the early warning necessary to protect and warn, sprinker systems are after the fact.
Thanks, Greg, for stepping up and providing a strong voice on this issue. I realize we all want consumer safety and no one wants to see a life lost as a result of anything let alone a house fire. However, if consumer safety were the sole reason for everything – we would all be driving around in tanks instead of cars or houses would be made of solely concrete, stone and/or brick! We also have to think of economics and afford-ability! MANDATED sprinkler systems are never a good idea in a residential property but especially now during a downturn in the housing economy it could be deadly to new construction!