Home buyers vs. builders in Legislature
Some home buyers are battling homebuilders over a proposed law about construction defects. House Bill 1338, sponsored by Rep. Jack Pommer, D-Boulder, is designed to give homeowners more rights to get a defective home fixed. But home builders say it will dramatically increase liability insurance premiums as well as their liability when a construction defect is discovered and a homeowner sues.
Home buyers vs. builders in Legislature
The Denver Business Journal -Tuesday, April 3, 2007
by Amy Fletcher
Some home buyers are battling homebuilders over a proposed law about construction defects.
House Bill 1338, sponsored by Rep. Jack Pommer, D-Boulder, is designed to give homeowners more rights to get a defective home fixed. But home builders say it will dramatically increase liability insurance premiums as well as their liability when a construction defect is discovered and a homeowner sues.
The Senate Business, Labor & Technology Committee passed the measure Tuesday 4-3 on a party-line vote, with Democrats voting for it and Republicans against.
The bill's proponents say nearly all major homebuilders in Colorado today use contracts that force home buyers to waive rights protected under the Construction Defect Action Reform Act, which the Legislature passed in 2003.
The 2003 law limits the amount of damages homeowners can recover and requires that home builders have an opportunity to fix problems before a lawsuit is filed over a construction.
Proponents say HB 1338 would prohibit homebuilders from "systematically waiving the rights of homeowners."
"These are not uncommon," said Sen. Jennifer Veiga, D-Denver, the Senate sponsor of the legislation. "Contract provision after contract provision ... giving away any rights to seek remedies in the event they have a defect."
Critics, however, say HB 1338 is an apparent attempt to un-do the 2003 law that home builders touted as a fix for skyrocketing insurance premiums.
Scott Hente, a home builder in Colorado Springs and a member of the City Council there, said home builders will pass on increased insurance costs to buyers.
"The effect this will have on affordable housing is detrimental to what we are trying to do," he said.
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