Abolition of state home-builder agency recommended
The controversial state agency that registers home builders is too broken to fix and should be abolished, according to a report from the Texas Sunset Advisory Commission... The report said the TRCC is not a true regulatory agency and is not effective in keeping problem builders from working. The report also said that the process for homeowners to resolve disputes can be difficult and frustrating and that homeowners do not trust the inspection process.The sunset commission concluded "that anything short of a true regulatory program does more harm than good, and should be abolished."

Agency recommends ending construction commission
Dallas Morning News: Duane Waddill, TRCC executive director, upon learning the Sunset Commission Report recommends to abolish TRCC, calls it: "…a basic misunderstanding of what we were created to do. He said his agency's mission is to help resolve disputes between home-owners and builders…and not necessarily to regulate an industry."...The original legislation was backed by Houston homebuilder Bob Perry, who is also the largest political donor in the state. His spokesman, Anthony Holm, said it was a rare case where the industry came to the Legislature and asked to be regulated.

Texas Sunset Advisory Commission Says Texas Residential Construction Commission Should Go
If you have a problem with your new house and the builder won’t fix it you go to the Texas Residential Construction Commission with a complaint. The Commission has been under fire almost since it started and now the Sunset Advisory Commission is recommending the TRCC be abolished.Texas Watch Director Alex Winslow agrees with that recommendation. “The TRCC is not serving the needs of homeowners and the legislature needs to go back to the drawing board and start over again.” The Commission is fighting back. It says it has shut down hundreds of bad homebuilders and without it consumers would have not protection and homebuilders could do whatever they want without someone looking over their shoulder.

TEXAS WATCH PRESS RELEASE: SUNSET STAFF: TRCC SHOULD BE SCRAPPED
Alex Winslow, Executive Director of Texas Watch issued the following statement: “Like many of the homes built by bad builders in our state, the TRCC is beyond repair.  We need to scrap it, go back to the drawing board, and implement a process that truly protects homeowners. “We endorse the Sunset staff’s recommendation to bring an end to the TRCC as we currently know it.  Lawmakers should replace the feckless TRCC with real reforms that ensure builder accountability, quality building standards, and true oversight and regulation of the homebuilding industry.  Instead of a builder protection agency like the TRCC, homeowners need an agency designed to serve their needs. “Consumers need real protections against unscrupulous builders who build shoddy homes, and the TRCC has never provided homeowners with that kind of protection.  Indeed, homeowners – not builders – are the ones regulated by the TRCC.

INSPECTORS FOR SALE IN TEXAS - Texas Association of Builders makes a mockery of builders lack of regulation in Texas
The builder/remodeler may use the same or different Fee Inspector for each of the required inspections. Additionally, the builder/remodeler has the ability to hire the Fee Inspector of their choice and is not forced to use any one Fee Inspector for all the inspections.  Inspection records and documents will not be turned over to the TRCC by the inspector or builder. However, the TRCC will conduct random audits of the inspection records...

CONSUMER WATCH: Prescreen home-repair contractors?
Although maybe unintentional the article directs readers to sources that endorse a program which exploits a false sense of security that can be misleading. The end result actually better serves unreliable sources that promote business rather than to serve the good of Texas consumers...Most people understand that the Better Business Bureau (BBB) is in business established to promote its paying members. The Texas Residential Construction Commission (TRCC) was established by the homebuilding industry to promote and protect its dues paying homebuilding business members. The truth is both agencies are self-promoting businesses that exploit the scheme of “consumer protect thyself,” rather than good State Public Policy. Texans have a better chance with a roll of the dice than trusting big business promoters like the BBB, TRCC and this state for advice or help. When it comes to consumer protection Texas is a very high risk state.  Read more, plus comments...

Give Texas homeowners better tools to force irresponsible builders to fix construction defects
The mounting numbers of unresolved complaints make increasingly clear that the Texas Residential Construction Commission Act, passed in the 2003 Legislature, has become for buyers of poorly constructed homes the nightmare many feared it would. Adding insult to this injurious legislation is how the law is falsely touted as an aide to homeowners stuck in shoddily built houses...families spent countless hours in futile attempts to get their builder to fix the problems and thousands of dollars out of pocket on repairs.Then the aggrieved owners were further abused by the Texas law that was supposed to help homeowners at the mercy of predatory builders.

Letters to the Editor: Reaction to 'flawed homes'
It has been nearly six long years since "Bob the Builder" Perry and his builder friends bought, built and now operate the Texas Residential Construction Commission (TRCC). The state agency offers no help for aggrieved homebuyers; instead, its process forces homeowners into costly protracted legal disputes ending in abusive, binding mandatory arbitration that most cannot afford.  There is far too much blame to go around. It is our obligation as victims to fight for our basic rights that the building industry has systematically taken from us. No one group or group of organizations can possibly stop this madness, which will continue to devastate families unless more become actively involved. See: YouTube Video on Tremont Towers

TRCC Sunset Commission Hearing 
Watch activists will have the unique opportunity to get involved in the TRCC sunset process.The agency will be undergoing a top to bottom review by the Sunset Commission, a panel of legislators and citizens.  Activists can provide input in the process by testifying at hearings and sending letters.  Texas Watch will also have a hand in this process, ensuring that the agency is streamlined and improved for homeowners. THE REAL IMPACT OF THE TRCC