Colorado's “vexing construction defects law” has hampered the building of new condominiums in the state, according to an editorial in the Denver Post.
State lawmakers have unsuccessfully tried to change the 2005 law blamed for creating an “overly litigious environment around construction defects claims,” the newspaper says. The result of the law has been “a dearth of new, affordable condos or townhomes.”
In the past, this had been a fight between attorneys and builders. Increasingly, though, Colorado communities have taken steps to challenge the state law. The law now allows a majority of a homeowners association board — not homeowners themselves — to approve litigation against a builder. “The problem is, once a lawsuit is filed, homeowners often have trouble selling or refinancing units,” the newspaper says.
The most recent figures show condos represented only 4.6% of the total new home starts in metro Denver, compared to 26% in 2008, the Post says.
(http://www.denverpost.com/editorials/ci_26794194/state-must-fix-rules-colorado-condo-construction)
Related Stories
| Feb 17, 2014
Tulsa, Okla., mulls code change to require storm shelters in new schools
State and city officials are pushing for increased bonding capacity to pay for the storm shelters.
| Feb 13, 2014
Appraisal Institute issues guidelines on evaluating green property
The Appraisal Institute and the Institute for Market Transformation have issued guidelines for training property appraisers to evaluate green buildings.
| Feb 7, 2014
New LEED Dynamic Plaque system will measure building performance
The U.S. Green Building Council recently unveiled the LEED Dynamic Plaque, which is a new system designed for benchmarking and comparing post-occupancy building performance on a global scale.
| Feb 7, 2014
Los Angeles officials struggle to deal with needed seismic retrofits
Sixteen years ago, the Los Angeles City Council decided against requiring retrofits of existing buildings because of the projected cost and the threat of losing 20,000 apartment buildings.
| Feb 7, 2014
Los Angeles officials struggle to deal with needed seismic retrofits
Sixteen years ago, the Los Angeles City Council decided against requiring retrofits of existing buildings because of the projected cost and the threat of losing 20,000 apartment buildings.
| Feb 7, 2014
EPA, Freddie Mac collaborate on energy- and water-efficient apartments
Freddie Mac will gather data on energy and water use from property owners, and encourage lenders to spend on energy-efficient investments for multifamily housing.
| Feb 7, 2014
ASHRAE releases new refrigerant standards
The 2013 editions of ASHRAE’s major refrigerants-related standards, incorporating 41 new addenda, have been published.
| Feb 7, 2014
Ohio legislature moves to bar LEED standards on state projects
The use of LEED standards is being barred for public construction in Ohio under a state senate resolution.
| Jan 31, 2014
Center for Environmental Innovation in Roofing releases solar panel racking criteria for asphalt shingle roof systems
The Center for Environmental Innovation in Roofing’s PV Taskforce is releasing the first public draft of PV Racking and Attachment Criteria for Effective Asphalt Shingle Roof System Integration for an initial round of public comment.
| Jan 31, 2014
Developers are exceeding LEED standards for marketing purposes
Using LEED certification as a marketing tool is perceived by developers to be a successful tool, and this has pushed them to go above the minimum requirements at each level of certification, according to a study in the Environmental Science & Technology journal.