This article examines whether and to what extent building codes
affect housing costs.
It first describes these technical provisions, then considers
how building codes could
theoretically affect housing costs, and finally analyzes empirical
studies on the subject.
While the latter are dated and suffer from other limitations,
the more rigorous quantitative
analyses indicate that codes increase housing costs by 5 percent
or less.
Further, building codes are in a state of flux and we need to
examine how the current
generation of regulations affects housing. Thus, building codes
merit contemporary
investigation; however, these regulations have much less impact
on housing costs
compared to other regulations such as zoning and subdivisions
requirements.
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