New Ruling Makes Quality Control in Homebuilding Even More Vital

Changes to the interpretation of the Right to Repair Act may expose contractors to more construction defect lawsuits

A few months ago, the California Court of Appeal made a ruling which drastically altered the way homeowner construction defect lawsuits will be treated in our state. Prior to the new ruling, the Right to Repair Act was considered the sole means of redress for homeowners who purchased properties later discovered to have a construction defect. Now, the court has ruled that homeowners may still pursue common law claims for construction defects, giving them a much longer window for initiating a claim and potentially leading to more lawsuits against builders.

The Right to Repair Act

Prior to the adoption of the Right to Repair Act in 2002, in order for a construction defect to be actionable in court, it must have caused actual property damage. The Act changed this, allowing actions to be brought before a defect caused any damage. However, homeowners only had 4 years to file a claim. For the next 10 years, the Right to Repair Act essentially served as the sole means of redress for homeowners who found themselves saddled with a construction defect.

New Ruling

In a new ruling, the Appeals Court found that the language of the Right to Repair Act can be interpreted so as to mean the Act was only meant to apply to cases where there was not actual property damage. In other words, the Act does not prevent homeowners who suffer actual property damage from seeking redress under common law statutes, which have a 10-year statute of limitations.

What This Means for Builders & Contractors

As a result of the new ruling, homeowners who suffer actual property damage due to a construction defect have a choice of remedies and are now able to delay filing of a claim for up to 10 years after the incident. Experts expect that this longer window will result in more construction defect lawsuits being filed.
Contractors and builders need to be more careful than ever to use good building designs, expert workers, and quality construction materials in order to limit the risk of a construction defect suit as much as possible. Grove Construction Hardware can help with quality control on the materials side of the equation. Builders can trust us to source high-quality construction materials, from masonry products to fasteners, that will support the integrity and performance of the structures they build.