Construction Defects Reform Stuck In Neutral Again?
Efforts to reform Colorado's construction-defects law, which has had the effect of stifling most condo development in the state during the post-recession real estate boom, has hit a delay once again in the Colorado legislature. The policy committee of the Homeownership Opportunity Alliance voted this week to oppose this year’s compromise construction-defects bill (HB 1279) unless it is amended, the Denver Business Journal reports.
The group is a coalition of business groups, metro mayors and affordable-housing advocates, and while it does not actually pass legislation, its actions have an important influence on bills. HOA has worked since 2013 to make it harder for small groups of condo owners to file multimillion-dollar class-action lawsuits, which has been deemed too easy under current law.
The main sticking point is a provision in the bill that would add more time — as much as 120 days — to the statute of limitations for finding defects in a condo project. The bill's sponsor, state Rep. Alec Garnett, accused business leaders of giving up on negotiations, and has postponed hearings on the compromise bill. He characterized the vote as a delay in the bill, rather than its death.
