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Building Industry Regulation Woefully Inadequate |
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Monday, 06 March 2006 |
Opinion: More Oversight Needed Of Home Builders
While there are a large number of good quality home builders in Tennessee, regulation of this industry is woefully inadequate...Under current Tennessee law, before the governor can appoint any residential contractor board member, he must first consult with the Tennessee Home Builders Association.
The Chattanoogan
Opinion
More Oversight Needed Of Home Builders
March 5, 2006
While there are a large number of good quality home builders in Tennessee, regulation of this industry is woefully inadequate.
Consider that regulation begins with the Board for Licensing of Contractors which under Tennessee law is made up of eight licensed contractors out of a total of nine members. Three of the members must be licensed as residential contractors (homebuilders) and they constitute the Residential Review Board.
Under current Tennessee law, before the governor can appoint any residential contractor board member, he must first consult with the Tennessee Home Builders Association. This is perhaps indicative of the lobbying power of this association within the General Assembly and a significant means by which the industry protects its membership. Unfortunately, Tennessee home buyers suffer because of this state of affairs.
Home builders are regulated by the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance but the Commissioner of Insurance has limited power to modify the make up of the licensing board. A review of the work of this board in recent years will reveal that its disciplinary practices are abysmal.
It is rare that a license is suspended or revoked for shoddy construction work. Far too often contractors who have been sued by their customers and against whom judgments have been handed down have taken bankruptcy then secure another license and move on. The citizen – he or she, is left “holding the bag.†So called “consent orders†against contractors are represented as fines but to the public but are never paid because the home builder has to agree with the order. Most don’t. Citizens who file complaints with this board are faced with a myriad of disappointments when months, even years pass before their case is heard, if ever. Only the strong and persistent citizen is able to secure action which is rare. Most simply give up. Don’t take my word; look at the 15-year record of this board.
Strong regulation will help the good contractors because it will eliminate unscrupulous competition from those who are incompetent, financially impaired, or dishonest. Arguments will be made by some that stronger regulation will drive up the cost of housing. That argument is hard to advance with the unfortunate home owner who has a mortgage but now must fork over large amounts of cash just to bring his home up to code to make it livable. This happens far too frequently.
A good start would be to totally revamp the Board for Licensing of Contractors by making the majority of its membership private citizens who do not hold construction industry related licenses. This will require legislative action by the General Assembly and any move in this direction will be strongly opposed by construction industry members and their lobbyists. If you don’t believe this, start to stir the pot and see what happens. This can be overcome when citizens remind their elected representatives they are no longer willing to tolerate an environment which permits the licensing of incompetent or dishonest operators within the home building industry. Elected officials have the ability to change laws when they discover their own longevity in office is dependent upon their willingness and ability to make those changes.
The granting of any license by the citizens of this state constitutes a privilege, not a right. A license should never carry with it the guarantee of a profit for the licensee or the assumption that somehow its possession is a right. Licenses must not be granted to the incompetent, financially impaired, or the dishonest. Regulation must not permit the incompetent, financially impaired, or the dishonest to pray on the public by the continued maintenance of licenses. Tennessee regulators must be forced to adopt this point of view.
Jim Edwards
Longview Ridge
Hendersonville, Tn.
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