The state Senate passed a bill Thursday that reduces the amount of time the owner of a single-family home gets to take legal action over faulty work done by a home builder, from six years to five years.
Senate Bill 91 passed on a partisan 18-17 vote, with Republicans in the majority. It is scheduled for a third and final vote Friday before it heads to the Democrat-controlled House, where its fate is far less certain.
Last month the bill was stripped of its most controversial element, whereby multifamily homes along with single-family units would have been subject to a reduction in the “statute of repose” — the period during which a notice of claim of a defect can be filed.
The bill is one of two pieces of legislation introduced this year designed to amend Colorado’s controversial construction-defects statutes, which have been blamed for slowing condominium construction to a crawl.
The main construction-defects bill, SB177, is scheduled to hit the Senate floor Friday for a vote.
SB91 provides a “statute of repose” of five years to take action against a builder for compromised foundations, leaky windows or cracked walls. Home owners would get an additional year to file a claim if a defect is found in the fifth year.
Sen. Matt Jones, D-Louisville, decried the bill on the floor Thursday.
“This is about regular Coloradans being able to live in a mistake-free house,” he said. “This makes it harder for regular people to fix their homes, and that’s just not right.”
But bill sponsor Sen. Ray Scott, R-Grand Junction, said current law puts excess burden on builders, who can be held responsible for natural wear and tear on a building or “acts of God.”
“Builders are being put under undue pressure to resolve problems that are not necessarily problems of their doing,” Scott said.