Construction defects bills back in the spotlight this session

The Colorado Municipal League continues to support common sense reforms to Colorado’s construction defects statute. These reforms would create a quick resolution process that is fair to homeowners who need repairs while protecting the rights of all owners in a community. Legislation like SB 17-156 promotes the construction of more diverse and affordable housing options.

Today, owner-occupied attached housing represents just 2 percent of new housing starts in the Denver metro area, compared to 20 percent in 2007. Because of this, would-be first-time homebuyers, including young professionals, have significantly fewer options and are increasingly being forced into the skyrocketing rental market. The lack of owner-occupied options also leaves behind seniors who are looking to downsize from single-family homes. Rising rents all over the state and lack of housing stock are amounting to a “housing squeeze” on Colorado citizens, and that is not even taking into account low-income families.

Since the General Assembly has yet to adopt a statewide fix, several municipalities have taken action and adopted their own reforms. These communities include Aurora, Arvada, Broomfield, Castle Rock, Centennial, Colorado Springs, Commerce City, Denver, Durango, Fort Collins, Lakewood, Littleton, Lone Tree, Loveland, Parker, Westminster, and Wheat Ridge. Each municipality designed a reform ordinance that they believe will work for its community. Solutions vary from allowing a developer a period of time to fix the issue to utilizing plat notes to creating barriers for suit involving specific building code violations.

CML supports:

Alternative Dispute Resolution
Notice given to all unit owners
A simple majority vote of all unit owners before entering in a lawsuit
CML opposes:

Local preemption without a comprehensive statewide solution

While CML supports the common sense fixes in SB 17-156, the League opposes another construction defect bill, SB 17-157, because it contains language to preempt municipal construction defect ordinances. The League is neutral on SB 17-45: Allocation of Defense Costs, SB 17-155: Definition of Construction Defect, and HB 17-1169: Right to Repair because we are throwing our full support behind the meaningful changes in SB 17-156. CML hopes that 2017 will finally be the year the state adopts comprehensive construction defect reform that addresses outcomes without making the process even more cumbersome.