Legislator confronts builders on homeowner rights
As chairman of the Legislature's new Consumer Protection and Housing Committee, the Mercer Island Democrat has introduced a package of bills that would create a "homeowners' bill of rights."...Weinstein's legislation would create a new home warranty, which would require a builder to follow building codes, permits and regulations and would define violations as a defect. Contractors would have to warrant new homes for two years for defects in materials or workmanship; three years for electrical, plumbing and heating systems; five years for water penetration and 10 years for structural defects. It also would allow owners to recover costs of repairing defects from the builder, and extend the time a homeowner could sue a builder from six to 10 years. Another bill would require that contractors be tested, licensed and undergo continuing education.
Legislator confronts builders on homeowner rights
Puget Sound Business Journal (Seattle) - February 9, 2007
Staff Writer
It's the biggest purchase most people will ever make. It stands to reason they want a warranty.
So says Brian Weinstein, a freshman state senator who is sparking some of the most contentious debate in Olympia this session, outside of the Alaskan Way Viaduct question.
As chairman of the Legislature's new Consumer Protection and Housing Committee, the Mercer Island Democrat has introduced a package of bills that would create a "homeowners' bill of rights."
Weinstein, a former trial attorney who earned his money representing consumers in asbestos litigation, sees the laws as critical tools for leveling the playing field between homeowners and a construction industry where defects are endemic.
But he is squaring off against the powerful Building Industry Association of Washington, which says the legislation would dramatically drive up insurance rates for contractors, raise the cost of homes and shrink the supply of affordable housing. Other builders and business groups have similar concerns.
Even discussing the bills may lead to a rate increase next year, said Brian Minnich, the building industry association's legislative affairs director.
Weinstein is clearly taking a political risk. The association's January newsletter carries a front-page article headlined, "Trial attorney State Senator targets builders."
"Analyzing why he hates builders is a job for a psychologist way beyond my pay grade," association Executive Vice President Tom McCabe wrote in his column.
But Weinstein seems comfortable backing unpopular positions -- whether it's supporting homeowners seeking a remedy for construction problems, speaking in favor of gay civil rights, even championing the sea otter as the state's official marine mammal. (The orca won.)
Weinstein said he sees himself as an advocate for consumers, in contrast to other legislators who focus on building consensus among stakeholders.
He is brisk and sometimes combative as he conducts hearings in front of his committee, occasionally interrupting witnesses to press for clarification or insert his own opinion.
"I was a lawyer for 20 years, and was trained to listen to an argument I think is bogus and point out where I think it is bogus, and cross-examine people who I think aren't being truthful," he said. "I don't want to do a two-hour hearing and they get to tell their side of the story without being challenged."
It's a style that some seem to find refreshing and others find off-putting. He's had some clashes with legislators, lobbyists, and in one case, with journalists. In one incident reported by The Stranger alternative newspaper, Weinstein referred to The Seattle Times' reporter David Postman as a "peasant." Weinstein said that stemmed from a case of mistaken identity -- he confused Postman with a lookalike that he'd bantered with, and then dug himself in deeper trying to joke his way out of an awkward situation.
His personal style is blunt -- he's very direct, and perhaps he's not the most discreet and tactful," said Sandy Levy, an attorney who supports Weinstein's legislation. "But my observation is he's looking for results and looking to do the right thing."
Currently, supporters of the legislation say, Washington law has weak protections for homeowners. And after six years, or after a home is sold to a second buyer, even those protections are gone.
Weinstein's legislation would create a new home warranty, which would require a builder to follow building codes, permits and regulations and would define violations as a defect. Contractors would have to warrant new homes for two years for defects in materials or workmanship; three years for electrical, plumbing and heating systems; five years for water penetration and 10 years for structural defects. It also would allow owners to recover costs of repairing defects from the builder, and extend the time a homeowner could sue a builder from six to 10 years. Another bill would require that contractors be tested, licensed and undergo continuing education.
What worries builders' groups, including the building industry association and the Master Builders Association of King and Snohomish Counties, is that allowing a longer time period and a wider scope of possible lawsuits against builders will spook the insurance market.
"We understand we want to better protect consumers, but our fear is that the insurance industry will react," the building industry association's Minnich said.
Contractors' liability insurance in Washington has proved volatile over the past five or six years. Minnich said some contractors went from paying premiums of $2,000 to $5,000, up to $20,000 to $50,000.
Weinstein isn't impressed with the building industry association's complaints about driving up the cost of insurance.
"You have to have insurance to drive, to practice law, to practice medicine," he said. "If in the short term insurance is high, maybe it will force the bad apples out."
And, he said, housing isn't affordable if homeowners have to shell out money to repair construction defects.
Weinstein has some personal experience with shelling out money for home repair. He bought a home on Mercer Island in 1994 and years later discovered damages from water penetration that cost about $300,000 to repair.
Later, Weinstein bought a condo that had similar problems. And he's heard numerous stories of other people with contractor issues.
"I don't think it's isolated at all," he said. "And it makes sense -- because they aren't licensed and they can't get sued."
Weinstein has been mulling homeowners' protection legislation for some time, and has been talking with the Washington Homeowners Association, a consumer group for homeowners. But when he first came to the Legislature, he was more associated with education.
Weinstein won, thanks in part to teachers who campaigned for him, knocking on doors in the 41st district. That win, along with Democrat Craig Pridemore's victory over incumbent Don Carlson in Vancouver, tilted the state Senate to narrow Democratic control -- a margin that widened considerably in the 2006 elections.
Since then, he's been known for controversial positions. But the fight over homeowners' protection legislation is the biggest battle of his short career. And although he is head of the committee, it's not clear if he'll be able to move some of his legislation out of committee, let alone through the full Legislature.
While the Building Industry Association of Washington is leading the opposition, other groups, including AIA Washington, an association of architects, also have concerns. The Association of Washington Business, the state's biggest business group, also opposes the legislation.
And some committee members think there's not yet enough information about the scope and the nature of the problem for the Legislature to act. Sen. Rodney Tom, D-Medina, entered a bill on Feb. 7 that would create a committee to examine the issue and propose fixes like the warranty bill. Five of the nine members of the committee are sponsoring that study bill.
Even so, the issue of homeowners' rights is getting more attention, and momentum may be building in Olympia.
Republican Senator Bob McCaslin, Spokane Valley, is a former real estate broker who, according to BIAW, voted in support of the group's positions 100 percent of the time during the 2005 legislative session. Addressing association representatives during one hearing, McCaslin said the building industry association had not in the past pushed for legislative efforts to weed out problem builders.
"If (Weinstein) had not introduced the bill, you wouldn't be here today," McCaslin said.
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