HomeLatest NewsFeatured HomebuildersHome Buyer ResourcesBinding ArbitrationResource LinksSubmit ComplaintsView ComplaintsTake Action 101!Report Mortgage FraudMortgage Fraud NewsForeclosure NewsConstruction DefectsHome DefectsPhoto GalleryFoundation ProblemsHomeowner Website LinksHOA Reform
Main Menu
Home
Latest News
Featured Homebuilders
Home Buyer Resources
Binding Arbitration
Resource Links
Submit Complaints
View Complaints
Take Action 101!
Report Mortgage Fraud
Mortgage Fraud News
Foreclosure News
Construction Defects
Home Defects
Photo Gallery
Foundation Problems
Homeowner Website Links
HOA Reform
Featured Topics
Builder Death Spiral
Report Mortgage Fraud
Foreclosure Special Report
Mold & New Home Guide
Special News Reports
Centex & Habitability
How Fast Can They Build Them?
TRCC Editorial
Texas TRCC Scandal
Texas Watch - Tell Lawmakers
TRCC Recommendations
Sandra Bullock
People's Lawyer
Prevent Nightmare Homes
Choice Homes
Smart Money
Weekly Update Message
HOBB Archives
About HOBB
Contact Us
Fair Use Notice
Legislative Work
Your House

 HOBB News Alerts
and Updates

Click Here to Subscribe

Support HOBB - Become a Sustaining Member
Who's Online
ABC Special Report
Investigation: New Home Heartbreak
Trump - NAHB Homebuilders Shoddy Construction and Forced Arbitration
Editorial - Drop the hammer on code violators
Saturday, 13 November 2004

An Asbury Park Press editorial

Drop the hammer on code violators

The agency responsible for overseeing housing code enforcement in New Jersey presented a list of proposed reforms last week in response to an 18-month investigation by the State Commission of Investigation that found deficient construction practices, inadequacies in home warranty programs and a badly flawed code enforcement system... But the suggested reforms don't absolve Community Affairs, or the Legislature, of responsibility for a system that is badly broken. And they won't help the thousands of consumers who have been victimized over the years by unscrupulous or incompetent builders and code enforcement officers. Five hearings and 40 hours of testimony on the issue confirmed what SCI Chairman Francis F. Schiller said the agency's earlier investigations had found -- "a startling lack of proper and appropriate enforcement and follow through" at both the state and local levels.

An Asbury Park Press editorial

Drop the hammer on code violators

Published in the Asbury Park Press 10/20/04

 

The agency responsible for overseeing housing code enforcement in New Jersey presented a list of proposed reforms last week in response to an 18-month investigation by the State Commission of Investigation that found deficient construction practices, inadequacies in home warranty programs and a badly flawed code enforcement system.

The recommendations by the Department of Community Affairs are welcome. They include increasing the number of state personnel to monitor local code inspectors from three to 12, creating an online database that would allow the public to view building and inspection records, and providing extended warranty coverage.

But the suggested reforms don't absolve Community Affairs, or the Legislature, of responsibility for a system that is badly broken. And they won't help the thousands of consumers who have been victimized over the years by unscrupulous or incompetent builders and code enforcement officers.

Five hearings and 40 hours of testimony on the issue confirmed what SCI Chairman Francis F. Schiller said the agency's earlier investigations had found -- "a}startling lack of proper and appropriate enforcement and follow through" at both the state and local levels.

"This is a phenomenon rooted not only in misplaced government priorities," Schiller said, "but also in influence peddling, conflicts of interest and compromised ethics. It is also apparent that, given the campaign cash that is spread around regularly by elements of this industry, pay-to-play is alive and functioning at its most insidious. In short, the system is broken and it needs to be fixed."

The system does need to be fixed, and it's incumbent upon the Legislature to act on all reasonable recommendations by the SCI and Community Affairs. But the state needs to do more. It must prosecute those who have broken the laws.

The SCI has forwarded evidence of potentially improper and criminal behavior to the state Attorney General's Office for further investigation. Attorney General Peter C. Harvey needs to follow through vigorously. It's imperative that those responsible for the hardships and headaches experienced by thousands of New Jersey homebuyers due to shoddy workmanship, lax code enforcement and laughably weak home warranty laws are held fully accountability.

 

 
< Prev
Search HOBB.org

Reckless Endangerment
BY: GRETCHEN MORGENSON
and JOSHUA ROSNER

Outsized Ambition, Greed and
Corruption Led to
Economic Armageddon


Amazon
Barnes & Noble

NPR Special Report
Part I Listen Now
Perry Home - No Warranty 
Part II Listen Now
Texas Favors Builders

Washington Post
The housing bubble, in four chapters
BusinessWeek Special Reports
Bonfire of the Builders
Homebuilders helped fuel the housing crisis
Housing: That Sinking Feeling

Consumer Affairs Builder Complaints

IS YOUR STATE NEXT?
As Goes Texas So Goes the Nation
Knowledge and Financial Responsibility are still Optional for Texas Home Builders

OUTSTANDING FOX4 REPORT
TRCC from Bad to Worse
Case of the Crooked House

TRCC AN ARRESTING EXPERIENCE
The Pat and Bob Egert Building & TRCC Experience 

Build it right the first time
An interview with Janet Ahmad

Bad Binding Arbitration Experience?
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
or call 1-210-402-6800

top of page

© 2024 HomeOwners for Better Building
Joomla! is Free Software released under the GNU/GPL License.