A protracted arm-wrestle over building codes between the ACT government and developers at Wright, Canberra's newest suburb, will fall in favour of home owners, according to the Land Development Agency.
But builders say the standards could add $40,000 to the price of a new home, and in some cases cause mould.
Buyers who shelled out more than $100 million for blocks in Wright in 2010, with an average price of $365,000, have been waiting until now to begin building their dream homes.
Block owners and their builders must conform to higher standards for energy consumption, ''healthier homes'' and communities, waste recycling and flora and fauna protection.
The new standards, aimed at creating the most sustainable developments in the country, are certified by the Urban Development Institute of Australia.
Economic Development Directorate chief executive David Dawes said builders in the ACT must look at their business models and build to a more informed market. He said some had already done so in places like Bonner, achieving 7- and 8-star energy-rated homes.
Australian Institute of Planning ACT president Viv Straw said during a housing shortage developers of new homes could suit suppliers, rather than meet the market, as they should.
Re-thinking what they did involved more money. They wanted to avoid costly mistakes, so they usually built homes that had been profitable in the past, whether or not they suited people's accommodation needs.
''It can mean you are repeating the mistakes of the past and I think that at Wright [the government authorities] are having an attempt at addressing some of that.''
Mr Straw said the institute had done a lot of work on modelling in Queensland, but how that applied to Canberra's climate and whether local builders became frustrated with the rules, remained to be seen.
Land Development Agency executive director Chris Reynolds said the institute's climate modelling had been taken into account in different regions, including Canberra. He said home buyers were more choosy and picky these days and so far had embraced the institute's criteria.
In past years builders had cut into sloping blocks to achieve a flat site, regardless of the amount of excavation, but this was not the approach recommended for Molonglo, even though some of the new sites would have steeper topography.
Master Builders Australia deputy executive director Jerry Howard said the agency's grand vision of a new era and minimal overshadowing of new homes may not deliver the best building outcome, and could shock owners faced with higher building costs up to $40,000.
''Unfortunately, and this has always been the case, planners never think of builders.''
If forced to build below ground level they risked moisture accumulating in cavities, and mould growing. ''I will not be advising our builders to undertake such a practice,'' he said.
The agency's project director Ivo Matesic said while homes would cost more in the short term, there would be longer term pay-offs with reduced operating costs.
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