An agency designed to protect homeowners from construction defects actually shields builders from responsibility, according to an audit released by the Texas Comptroller's Office on Monday.

The Texas Residential Construction Commission, composed of four registered builders, three members of the public, an engineer and an architect or inspector, was created under legislation passed in 2003 to provide consumers with protection against defects in their new homes. It has no power to force builders to make repairs.

"My research found no evidence the Texas Residential Construction Commission has had a favorable impact on the homeowner," Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn said in a statement. "It is clear that the Texas Residential Construction Commission functions as a builder protection agency."

The audit also found other problems such as builders not paying to register homes and a lack of protection from builders that go bankrupt.

"The agency merely issues a report that either confirms or denies home construction defects," Strayhorn said. "After the report is issued, the agency has absolutely no enforcement power to make the builders fix defects."

Duane Waddill, executive director of the commission, said he will prepare a formal response to Strayhorn's review. But his initial reaction is that he finds audits valuable.

"We'll be able to use this to make improvements in our system and look forward," said Waddill, who took over the agency this past year.

Strayhorn suggests giving the commission the authority to make builders fix defects. "Without this authority, the agency cannot give Texans the fair treatment they deserve in this critical area," she said.

Homeowners must go through the commission's dispute resolution process before they can take builders to arbitration — a lengthy and costly process.

A comptroller's survey found that 86 percent of homeowners questioned said their builders failed to repair home construction defects even after they went through the state inspection and resolution process.

Strayhorn suggested "blasting this agency off the bureaucratic books," a measure supported by the national consumer group Homeowners Against Deficient Dwellings.

http://www.mysanantonio.com/business/stories/MYSA012406.3E.homedefects.cbf2096.html

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