Renovate America, Renew Financial Welcome Consumer Protections in New California Residential Clean Energy Law
Renovate America and Renew Financial, two of the nation’s leading Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) financing providers, recently welcomed a new California law that will provide an industry-wide framework for PACE financing. PACE is a California success story that is savings homeowners tens of millions of dollars on their utility bills, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and creating thousands of clean-energy jobs. Governor Jerry Brown on Sunday signed into law Assembly Bill 2693, which builds on the already-strong consumer protections in the PACE industry – protections not found in any other form of home-improvement financing. AB 2693, authored by Assemblymember Matt Dababneh (D-Encino), codifies these protections for all PACE providers, including requiring a new disclosure modeled after the federal mortgage Know-Before-You-Owe disclosure form so that customers can easily understand all of the terms associated with PACE financing.
“PACE is an innovation that was designed to solve a marketplace failure, and Governor Brown and the California Legislature are making that solution more robust for homeowners who choose to make their homes more energy and water efficient and capture the power of the sun,” said Ari Matusiak, Renovate America EVP of Market Development and External Affairs. “Governor Brown has long championed PACE, and because of his ongoing leadership it is now becoming available to homeowners across the country,” Matusiak added. “We thank Chairman Dababneh for hearing all voices in the legislative process and thank all the legislators and advocates who worked to make this legislation a success for consumers and the environment alike.”
Cisco DeVries, CEO of Oakland-based Renew Financial, said: “PACE has already allowed more than 100,000 California homeowners to make home improvements that save energy and water — and repay for those improvements on their property tax bills. AB 2693 puts into law important disclosures that help homeowners understand the terms of their financing. As PACE has grown dramatically in the last several years, these types of protections are important so that all consumers will get the same information, regardless who provides their PACE financing.” The companies are instituting the new disclosures in the coming days, and the law takes effect Jan. 1.
Source:PRN
