Home Construction Standards, Warranties Now Effective in Texas
Texas / South Central News • June 13, 2005
All homebuilders and remodelers in Texas must now offer new mandated warranties and building performance standards for home construction as outlined by the Texas Residential Construction ...
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Subject: Texas new home warranties. What a joke.
Posted On: June 13, 2005, 11:53 am CDT
Posted By: John Cobarruvias
Comment:
An OP-ED on the new home warranties which take effect June 1, 2005.
Texas new home warranties. A trick on the public.
by John R. Cobarruvias
Mr. Cobarruvias is President of Homeowners Against Deficient Dwellings, Texas and a long time consumer activist in new home construction, insurance and tort reform. He has testified in many hearings during the legislation session with an emphasis on the Texas Residential Construction Commission.
Two years after the creation of the Texas Residential Construction Commission (TRCC), a Commission to regulate homebuilders in Texas, the Commission has released warranty standards for all new home construction in Texas. This standard, which comes into effect June 1, 2005, was created on a flawed foundation of promises of consumer protection and heavy influence by the homebuilding industry. For new homebuyers, there are only two words of encouragement available: Good Luck.
The first version of the warranty standard created by Texas A&M University was nearly identical to the numerous 10-year warranties provided by the homebuilding industry in the past, and it contained just as many flaws, exceptions, excuses, and extremely limited protection. The final set of standards isn't much better.
By law, the standards cover 1 year for workmanship, 2 years for air and electrical, and 10 years for structural damage. Common sense defects such, as hardwood floors buckling after 1 year is not covered. Neither is ceramic tile cracking and lifting off the floor. Leaking roofs, paint fading or cracking, siding coming apart, carpets buckling, driveway cracking and literally coming apart, bricks cracking, mortar prematurely deteriorating all are examples of what is not covered once the 1-year warranty expires.
Even within the 1-year limitation defects such as cracks in the walls wide enough to insert a credit card is within the warranty standards, as well as hundreds of cracks in the wall, cracks in the exterior bricks, and cracks in exterior stucco.
Prior to the creation of the TRCC, homeowners were protected by the "implied warranty of good workmanship" granted in 1968 which covered defects based simply on the common sense of a home inspector, or a jury. This common sense warranty has now been waived, replaced with the explicit litmus test warranty standards now with a rock solid 1-year limitation on workmanship.
The homebuilding industry, claiming to be acting on behalf of the consumer, convinced the Texas House and Senate that the implied warranty was "vague" and created confusion between builders and owners on what defects should be covered. This resulted in the waiving of the implied warranty, a great loss to the consumer and a huge boom for the homebuilders.
The standards also expressly limit air conditioning, heating, and electrical problems to only 2 years. Defects such as an air conditioner failing on a hot summer day after 2 years is not covered. A new air conditioner installed in an existing home usually is warranted for up to 10 years, but on a new home it is now limited to 2 years.
Structural damage is warranted for 10 years, although the loopholes and exceptions in the standard will make it difficult to qualify. The homeowner is also required, by the warranty, to maintain the water content of the ground around the foundation, in short, homeowners are required to "water" their foundation in order to preserve their foundation warranty. This is unreasonable especially since the TRCC cannot determine how to achieve this water content. This is just one of many exclusions and unnecessary requirements that are throughout the standard.
With the release of this extremely limited warranty standard and waiving of the implied warranty of common sense, the TRCC, appropriately pronounced, "trick", an agency created by the homebuilding industry for the homebuilding industry, has played its final trick on the homebuyers of Texas.
John R. Cobarruvias
--
John R. Cobarruvias
Homeowners Against Deficient Dwellings
john.cobarruvias@hadd.com
14646 Cardinal Creek Ct
Houston, TX 77062
281-486-5203 H
281-483-9357 W
http://www.hadd.com
Subject: Texas new home warranties. What a joke.
Texas new home warranties. A trick on the public.
by John R. Cobarruvias
Mr. Cobarruvias is President of Homeowners Against Deficient Dwellings, Texas and a long time consumer activist in new home construction, insurance and tort reform. He has testified in many hearings during the legislation session with an emphasis on the Texas Residential Construction Commission.
Two years after the creation of the Texas Residential Construction Commission (TRCC), a Commission to regulate homebuilders in Texas, the Commission has released warranty standards for all new home construction in Texas. This standard, which comes into effect June 1, 2005, was created on a flawed foundation of promises of consumer protection and heavy influence by the homebuilding industry. For new homebuyers, there are only two words of encouragement available: Good Luck.
The first version of the warranty standard created by Texas A&M University was nearly identical to the numerous 10-year warranties provided by the homebuilding industry in the past, and it contained just as many flaws, exceptions, excuses, and extremely limited protection. The final set of standards isn't much better.
By law, the standards cover 1 year for workmanship, 2 years for air and electrical, and 10 years for structural damage. Common sense defects such, as hardwood floors buckling after 1 year is not covered. Neither is ceramic tile cracking and lifting off the floor. Leaking roofs, paint fading or cracking, siding coming apart, carpets buckling, driveway cracking and literally coming apart, bricks cracking, mortar prematurely deteriorating all are examples of what is not covered once the 1-year warranty expires.
Even within the 1-year limitation defects such as cracks in the walls wide enough to insert a credit card is within the warranty standards, as well as hundreds of cracks in the wall, cracks in the exterior bricks, and cracks in exterior stucco.
Prior to the creation of the TRCC, homeowners were protected by the "implied warranty of good workmanship" granted in 1968 which covered defects based simply on the common sense of a home inspector, or a jury. This common sense warranty has now been waived, replaced with the explicit litmus test warranty standards now with a rock solid 1-year limitation on workmanship.
The homebuilding industry, claiming to be acting on behalf of the consumer, convinced the Texas House and Senate that the implied warranty was "vague" and created confusion between builders and owners on what defects should be covered. This resulted in the waiving of the implied warranty, a great loss to the consumer and a huge boom for the homebuilders.
The standards also expressly limit air conditioning, heating, and electrical problems to only 2 years. Defects such as an air conditioner failing on a hot summer day after 2 years is not covered. A new air conditioner installed in an existing home usually is warranted for up to 10 years, but on a new home it is now limited to 2 years.
Structural damage is warranted for 10 years, although the loopholes and exceptions in the standard will make it difficult to qualify. The homeowner is also required, by the warranty, to maintain the water content of the ground around the foundation, in short, homeowners are required to "water" their foundation in order to preserve their foundation warranty. This is unreasonable especially since the TRCC cannot determine how to achieve this water content. This is just one of many exclusions and unnecessary requirements that are throughout the standard.
With the release of this extremely limited warranty standard and waiving of the implied warranty of common sense, the TRCC, appropriately pronounced, "trick", an agency created by the homebuilding industry for the homebuilding industry, has played its final trick on the homebuyers of Texas.
John R. Cobarruvias
--
John R. Cobarruvias
Homeowners Against Deficient Dwellings
john.cobarruvias@hadd.com
14646 Cardinal Creek Ct
Houston, TX 77062
281-486-5203 H
281-483-9357 W
http://www.hadd.com