New Construction Defect Law Effective September 2015
Becoming effective on September 1, 2015, the Texas Legislature recently passed a construction defect law that is favorable for homebuilders. This law states that a condominium association must take major steps before filing a construction defect claim.
A condominium association with eight (8) or more units cannot engage in litigation or arbitration until it first takes the following actions:
- The Association — or its construction defect attorney — must hire a licensed professional engineer to perform an investigation and issue a report identifying the defects at the community and their location, among other information.
- The Association must hold a meeting to secure the approval of greater than 50% of its voting members to move forward with the claim.
- Prior to the meeting, the Association must provide the members with a notice that includes the engineer’s report, and additional information related to the claim including the projected costs of the litigation and the proposed agreement with the Association’s attorney.
In summary, it will be more challenging to hold homebuilders responsible for defective construction. Although, it’s not impossible to overcome these new barriers.
If you are involved in a condo community that is experiencing construction defect issues, we highly recommend that you present your claims to builders before September 1, 2015.
If you have any questions, please give us a call at 1-800-996-1770.
