Editorial: Poorly built houses are troubling

Monday, April 12, 1999 | 10:22 a.m.

Such attention has been focused on the battle in the Legislature on when lawsuits alleging faulty construction can be filed by homeowners against builders. The contentious debate has pitted builders against trial lawyers and homeowners. While it is significant a compromise on this issue was reached last Friday between these warring factions, other legislation involving shoddy construction, which is equally as critical if not more so, is moving through the Legislature.

Assembly Bill 636, authored by Assemblywoman Barbara Buckley, D-Las Vegas, would allow homeowners to receive up to $30,000 from the creation of a new fund to fix bad work when a contractor refuses to make needed repairs. Homeowners could still sue, but the legislation would enable them to sidestep the potentially costly and lengthy legal process and opt for a faster resolution to their problems. The recovery fund would be financed by a fee on residential contractors. The bill last week received a recommendation for approval by the Commerce and Labor Committee and is now up for a vote in the Assembly.

Meanwhile a Senate bill giving homeowners more rights also received committee endorsement and is awaiting full approval in the upper house. Senate Bill 32's preamble, written by Sen. Randolph Townsend, R-Reno, says all licensing boards should protect consumers -- not the licensees. Consumers too often have found that under the current regulation, it is just the opposite when lodging a complaint against a builder with the state Board of Contractors.

Townsend believes the most important part of the bill is the provision that gives the Board of Contractors the power to use deceptive trade practices laws against a builder. "It's illegal in Nevada to sell something that cannot be used for its intended purpose. If you've built a house people can't live in, that's deceptive trade practices," Townsend told the Associated Press.

The vast majority of builders do excellent work, but there have been enough instances of shoddy construction in Southern Nevada to require legislative action. It's important to reserve the possibility of suing for defects, but when setting public policy every effort should be made to get the dispute resolved without having to resort to litigation. The Legislature should pass AB636 and SB32, bills that give homeowners the added consumer protections they need.