Sunset review report calls for abolishing Texas Residential Construction Commission
In a scathing report released Tuesday, the Sunset commission, which regularly reviews state agencies, argued that the TRCC is ineffective and does not have the public's trust when it comes to protecting Texans from unscrupulous or unqualified builders. The report goes on to say the TRCC, which was created in 2003 to help regulate the homebuilding industry, should be abolished. "Current regulation of the residential construction industry is fundamentally flawed and does more harm than good," the report says.

HomeOwners for Better Building crowing about TRCC recommendation
HomeOwners for Better Building, the San Antonio-based group that has been in the news for fighting builders and its president's tactics, is celebrating because the state's Sunset Advisory Commission recommended that the Texas legislature abolish the Texas Residential Construction Commission...Janet Ahmad praised the recommendation in a press release. "The report is a consumer victory and goes a long way in restoring confidence in our state elected officials to do the right thing for genuine consumer protection this next session,” Ahmad said in the release.

Abolish Texas home dispute agency, state group urges
An agency created to resolve disputes between homeowners and builders is "fundamentally flawed" and should be abolished, the Sunset Advisory Commission staff said Tuesday..."It's really doing more harm to homeowners than good," said Joey Longley, executive director of the sunset commission... But the staff report said that only 12 percent of cases where the state has sent in inspectors to review alleged defects have resulted in a "satisfactory offer or repair or compensation over the life of the program."...88 percent of reported cases are pursued by one party or the other using the legal system — the very outcome the process was enacted to prevent," the report said.

Report says Texas homebuilder agency should go
The Texas Residential Construction Commission should be abolished because it is ineffective and frustrates homeowners trying to get builders to address defects in their homes, according to a state agency review released Tuesday... "We need to scrap it," said Alex Winslow of Texas Watch. "Consumers need real protections against unscrupulous builders who build shoddy homes, and the TRCC has never provided homeowners with that kind of protection."... The sunset report called it a lengthy and difficult process that frustrates homeowners. Despite recent attempts to strengthen the process with new penalties, the TRCC "still has no real power to require builders to make needed repairs," the report said.

Abolition of state home-builder agency recommended
The controversial state agency that registers home builders is too broken to fix and should be abolished, according to a report from the Texas Sunset Advisory Commission... The report said the TRCC is not a true regulatory agency and is not effective in keeping problem builders from working. The report also said that the process for homeowners to resolve disputes can be difficult and frustrating and that homeowners do not trust the inspection process.The sunset commission concluded "that anything short of a true regulatory program does more harm than good, and should be abolished."

Agency recommends ending construction commission
Dallas Morning News: Duane Waddill, TRCC executive director, upon learning the Sunset Commission Report recommends to abolish TRCC, calls it: "…a basic misunderstanding of what we were created to do. He said his agency's mission is to help resolve disputes between home-owners and builders…and not necessarily to regulate an industry."...The original legislation was backed by Houston homebuilder Bob Perry, who is also the largest political donor in the state. His spokesman, Anthony Holm, said it was a rare case where the industry came to the Legislature and asked to be regulated.

Texas Sunset Advisory Commission Says Texas Residential Construction Commission Should Go
If you have a problem with your new house and the builder won’t fix it you go to the Texas Residential Construction Commission with a complaint. The Commission has been under fire almost since it started and now the Sunset Advisory Commission is recommending the TRCC be abolished.Texas Watch Director Alex Winslow agrees with that recommendation. “The TRCC is not serving the needs of homeowners and the legislature needs to go back to the drawing board and start over again.” The Commission is fighting back. It says it has shut down hundreds of bad homebuilders and without it consumers would have not protection and homebuilders could do whatever they want without someone looking over their shoulder.

TEXAS WATCH PRESS RELEASE: SUNSET STAFF: TRCC SHOULD BE SCRAPPED
Alex Winslow, Executive Director of Texas Watch issued the following statement: “Like many of the homes built by bad builders in our state, the TRCC is beyond repair.  We need to scrap it, go back to the drawing board, and implement a process that truly protects homeowners. “We endorse the Sunset staff’s recommendation to bring an end to the TRCC as we currently know it.  Lawmakers should replace the feckless TRCC with real reforms that ensure builder accountability, quality building standards, and true oversight and regulation of the homebuilding industry.  Instead of a builder protection agency like the TRCC, homeowners need an agency designed to serve their needs. “Consumers need real protections against unscrupulous builders who build shoddy homes, and the TRCC has never provided homeowners with that kind of protection.  Indeed, homeowners – not builders – are the ones regulated by the TRCC.