9B-60.005. Training and Certification Program (Transferred)

(1) General Provisions.

(a) Beginning with the implementation date of this rule, no person may provide a rating for buildings in Florida unless such a person has been certified as provided by this part. To perform a rating for any building as required by this rule, the person performing the rating must be certified by the Department of Community Affairs. For residential buildings, in accordance with Section 102.1.4.6 of the 2006 Mortgage Industry National Home Energy Rating Systems Standards, amended July 22, 2009, a Florida Certified Rater who has a financial or other interest resulting from the energy Rating results (including any recommended improvements resulting from the Rating) shall provide written disclosure of the nature of the financial or other interest to the owner of the property being rated utilizing Form FIDF-2008, Financial Interest Disclosure Form, incorporated herein by reference, effective July 27, 2010.

(b) Certification will be valid for one (1) year following the date of issuance. No rating activity shall be conducted after the expiration of the term of certification. A duplicate certificate may be obtained by written request to the Department.

(c) An application for annual certification renewal shall be submitted on a Certified Rater Renewal Form, Form 500B-2008, herein incorporated by reference, effective July 27, 2010, with a renewal fee of $50. In addition to the annual renewal fee, a certified residential rater must, over a three year period, have completed twelve credit hours of continuing education in courses accepted by the Department for certification renewal. Acceptable courses shall, in general, be those dealing with energy use in buildings and building systems (including heating, ventilating and air conditioning), building design or construction, codes or plan review, financing or selling buildings, and courses on energy rating systems.

(2) The following qualifications, at a minimum, are required for certification as a rater:

(a) The individual shall submit an application on the Department of Community Affairs’ Rater Certification Application Form, Form #500A-2008, herein incorporated by reference, effective July 27, 2010, and pay the appropriate application fee of $150.00. The form is available by writing to the Department of Community Affairs, Energy Rating System Program, 2555 Shumard Oak Blvd., Tallahassee, Florida 32399-2100.

(b) Individuals applying for certification as raters for new residential (Class 3), public and commercial buildings shall attend a training program provided by the Department or its Program Administrator and shall demonstrate achievement of a level of knowledge and proficiency so as to successfully rate buildings by passing Department tests specific to the type of building rated for certification. Individuals may also qualify for Class 3 certification without attending the Class 3 training program by passing a Class 3 challenge test.

Individuals applying for certification as Class 2 raters for residential buildings, in addition to the certification requirements for a Class 3 rater, shall attend a Class 2 training program provided by the Department or its Program Administrator and shall demonstrate achievement of a level of knowledge and proficiency so as to successfully perform residential energy audits to rate existing residential buildings by passing a Department test specific to Class 2 certification. Individuals may also qualify for Class 2 certification without attending the Class 2 training program by passing a Class 2 challenge test.

Individuals applying for certification as Class 1 raters for residential buildings shall demonstrate having the same stated requirements as Class 2 raters, shall attend a Class 1 training program provided by the Department or its Program Administrator and shall demonstrate achievement of a level of knowledge and proficiency so as to successfully perform residential performance tests by passing a Department test specific to Class 1 certification. Individuals may also qualify for Class 1 certification without attending the Class 1 training program by passing a Class 1 challenge test. In addition, a Class 1 rater candidate must complete five Class 1 ratings under the supervision of a certified Class 1 rater as well as pass the RESNET National Core Competency Test, referenced from Section 207.1.2 of the 2006 Mortgage Industry National Home Energy Rating Systems Standards, amended July 22, 2009, in order to obtain a Class 1 certification.

Individuals applying for certification as raters of existing commercial buildings, in addition to the requirements stated above for new commercial buildings, shall demonstrate certification as an energy auditor from a recognized commercial energy auditing program or have at least one year of experience performing a minimum of fifteen commercial energy audits.

(c) The rates for providing building ratings shall be as follows: for Class 3 new residential building ratings, $25.00 above those charges for providing Energy Code compliance calculations, or no more than the actual cost of conducting the rating, whichever is greater; for Class 2 residential building ratings, $75.00 above those charges for providing the energy audit, or no more than the actual cost of conducting the rating, whichever is greater; for Class 1 residential building ratings, $125.00 above those charges for providing the energy audit and performance tests, or no more than the actual cost of conducting the rating, whichever is greater; for new public and new commercial buildings which must comply with the Energy Code, $50.00 above those charges for providing Energy Code compliance calculations, or no more than the actual cost of conducting the rating, whichever is greater; for those new public buildings which are exempt from Energy Code compliance, $200.00 may be charged, or no more than the actual cost of conducting the rating whichever is greater; and for existing commercial buildings, $100.00 above those charges for performing the energy audit, or no more than the actual cost of conducting the rating, whichever is greater.

(d) No certification shall be approved unless the applicant demonstrates to the Department that the following conditions are met: the applicant has not been found to be in violation of Part VIII, Chapter 553, F.S., or this rule chapter; the applicant has filed an accurate and complete application with the application fee describing compliance with the relevant certification requirements; the applicant is capable of performing the activities for which he/she is seeking certification; the applicant has not shown a lack of ability or intention to comply with Part VIII, Chapter 553, F.S., or this rule chapter, or has not been unable or unwilling to conduct Energy Code compliance related activities forthrightly and honestly with his/her clients. Decertification shall be in accordance with procedures for revoking licenses of Chapter 120, F.S.

(e) Recertification is required within six months of the effective date of major revisions to the energy code provisions of the Florida Building Code, or at least every three years from the rater’s last date of certification. For recertification, the applicant shall attend training on changes impacting the rating system provided by the Department of Community Affairs or its Program Administrator and demonstrate achievement of a level of knowledge and proficiency so as to successfully rate buildings by passing a Department test applicable to the buildings being rated. The fee for recertification shall be the annual certification renewal fee. In addition to the written test, Class 1 residential raters shall be required to satisfactorily demonstrate performance testing skills necessary to perform a Class 1 rating as part of the recertification as well as at the time of training and testing. These regulations in no way exempt any person from other state and local occupational licensure requirements. Any rater who fails to pass the recertification test in his or her rating classification shall be required to attend a refresher course approved by the Department of Community Affairs and retake the test. Until the rater can demonstrate his/her ability to perform ratings in his/her classification, registration of ratings by the rater shall be prohibited.

(3) Reporting Requirements. Certified raters shall submit all ratings to the Department in care of its Program Administrator via the website upload at: http://dbase.fsec.ucf.edu/pls/engauge/rating_home.

(a) The Program Administrator shall maintain an electronic database that can be queried by the public to verify that a BERS Rating has been registered for a specific real property.

(b) Upon request and if authorized by the homeowner or his/her agent, the Program Administrator shall provide a registered BERS Rating report from the electronic database to a homeowner, or prospective home purchaser. The Program Administrator may charge a fee not to exceed the actual cost of providing such rating report.

(4) A written report shall be provided to the purchaser of real property or that individual who requested the rating. Such report shall include the Florida Building Energy Rating report and the following:

(a) A completed copy of the Florida Building Energy Rating, Form FRBER-2008 or Form FCBER-2008;

(b) The certified rater’s signature, typed or printed name and certification number;

(c) The date that the rating was completed;

(d) The statement: “This notice is provided to you by an individual certified by the Florida Department of Community Affairs to perform a building energy rating evaluation. Any questions, comments, or complaints regarding the person or agency performing this service may be directed to the Florida Department of Community Affairs, Building Energy Rating System Program, 2555 Shumard Oak Boulevard, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-2100, [phone], or its Program Administrator. The Department or the Program Administrator may request the owner’s permission in the future to conduct a quality assurance review of this rating;” and

(e) If it is a residential rating, the disclosure form printed from EnergyGauge® USA ResRate 2008.

Rulemaking Authority 553.992 FS. Law Implemented 553.995(4) FS. History–New 7-1-94, Amended 10-3-94, 1-11-95, 12-27-98, 11-28-04, 7-27-10.