Get all the facts on sprinkler mandates

To hear backers of sprinklers in new residential construction, you'd think the system is a low-cost add-on to new construction that will dramatically reduce fire deaths. The reality is much different. Consider:

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    Be informed

    IAR has prepared a 12-page report, The Impact of Mandating Residential Fire Sprinkler Systems. Download the report to learn more about this issue of importance to IAR's membership.

    Want to install a sprinkler in a new, four bedroom, two-story home? IAR sought bids for a standard 3,100-square-foot home to see what the cost might be. The bid came in at a whopping $10,200, and the builder said there might be an additional $3,000 needed to accommodate the system.

  • There is a long-term cost to the system when you factor in financing a new home. A $16,000 investment could turn into a $36,000 hardship over the course of a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage.
  • And will it save lives? New construction is already safer today thanks to aggressive building codes. Research suggests that installing the systems in new homes won't significantly drop fire death rates.

Most important, independent surveys show homeowners don't favor sprinkler mandates. The poll conducted in 2010 showed that 88 percent of residents in the Chicago area thought homebuyers should have the right to purchase the sprinkler system as an option. A similar poll in Central Illinois found that number jumped to 94 percent.

REALTOR® power: Bloomington kills a sprinkler measure

When REALTORS® and homebuilders in Bloomington learned about an effort there to mandate sprinklers in new residential construction, they sprang into action with a fight to inform the city's leaders and residents. With help from the Illinois Association of REALTORS®, the Bloomington-Normal Association of REALTORS® and the Bloomington Normal Homebuilders Association conducted an outreach campaign that included phone calls, mailings and one-on-one lobbying to get the proposal killed. Read more here.
 
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