Builders should offer warranty on their work

The Olympian • Published February 12, 2009

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Homebuilders should stand behind the quality of their workmanship by offering a warranty to new homebuyers.

State lawmakers have repeatedly wrestled with the warranty issue, but efforts to create a homeowners bill of rights have been thwarted.

Former Sen. Brian Weinstein, D-Mercer Island, said too many homeowners are victims of shoddy workmanship. He pushed a bill in 2007 to create a statutory warranty for homebuyers. When that failed, he came back in 2008 with a bill setting liability standards for the construction industry — the practice followed in other states.

While Weinstein had success in the Senate, the House speaker killed his legislation.

At one point in the heat of battle, Rep. Brendan Williams, D-Olympia, a strong supporter of homeowner protections, threatened to resign over the issue. Williams said there were plenty of votes in the House to pass Weinstein's bills, but he couldn't convince the speaker to bring the bills to the floor for a vote.

Up stepped former Rep. Pat Lantz, D-Gig Harbor, with an amendment to build on the existing warranty protections guaranteed to condominium owners. Her bill would have provided homebuyers with a four- to 10-year warranty against defects for single-family homes and duplexes. It gave builders a chance to "cure" or fix flaws before a buyer could sue. It was a reasonable approach that drew the support of both Weinstein and Williams. But it never made it into law.

One of the reasons Williams has battled so strenuously — and drawn the ire of the Building Industry Association of Washington — is the homeowners in the 140-unit Cooper Crest subdivision on Olympia's west side who have several inches of water under their homes. Water has pooled in the crawl spaces of some homes and allegedly caused structural and other problems. Play areas outside some homes were covered in tarps to repel rain. Cooper Crest residents have been caught in the middle of blame fixing among developers, city inspectors and builders.

Williams, who has said he is serving his last two-year term in the House, has made a homeowner-protection bill a top legislative priority this year. "Those struggling to pay mortgages on new homes should not also pay twice for homebuilder negligence," Williams said. "Why should our state government fail to accord the same rights to those buying single-family homes as those wealthier citizens buying condominiums? In other words, why are military families in Lacey treated more poorly than rich downtown Seattle condo owners? Indeed, even those buying manufactured homes in our state have statutory warranty rights."

To that end, Williams has introduced House Bill 1045. It creates a home warranty of up to four years, and allows payment of attorney fees to the winning party in cases that go to court.

Rep. Larry Springer, D-Kirkland, has sponsored House Bill 1393. It has tighter contractor licensing, creates a state complaint office, calls for a study on standards and creates a three-year warranty for most defects — four for latent foundation problems.

Builders are fighting back. They say additional regulatory burdens would threaten the industry. Olympia contractor Daimon Doyle said the industry is "hanging by a thread." He warns that warranties would drive builders out of business and increase costs to homebuyers.

Karen Weaver, an adjunct law professor at the University of Washington, said contractors would have difficulty getting insurance to cover their new legal liability.

Even Doyle admits that fewer than 2 percent of the contractors are doing shoddy work.

We would argue that good contractors, those doing quality work, have nothing to fear with the warranty legislation.

Condominium builders in this state have been able to purchase insurance and stand behind their warranties. People purchasing single-family and multi-family homes merit the same protection.