After a Sunset Advisory Commission report recommended the complete abolition of the Texas Residential Housing Commission (TRCC), the Texas Legislature has asked the Sunset group to revise its recommendations and instead suggest how the TRCC can be overhauled without being abolished.

The Sunset commission issued its report recommending doing away with the TRCC Aug. 19.

Duane Waddill, executive director of the TRCC, said the legislature made the right decision in recommending changes to his agency, rather than its abolishment.

“Just because there are some issues doesn’t mean we can’t find solutions to those issues,” Waddill said. “They’ve asked Sunset to come up with a series of options to solve the issues that have been raised. We’re happy to come to the table with solutions.”

Waddill admitted his agency could be improved, and he hopes it will have the chance to do so, saying there are a lot of things the agency can do better.

“We’re always open to suggestions,” he said. “We want to be real open and literally be for the people of Texas.”

Tom Archer, president of Homeowners of Texas, supports the abolishment of the TRCC, but said major changes to the agency could constitute an acceptable alternative to its abolishment.

“In an ideal world, we would prefer to just abolish the agency and start over,” he said. “However, if the commission decides that they don’t want to abolish it, we want the agency transformed into a true regulatory agency.”

Archer’s group’s complaints with the TRCC focus on the commission’s inability to censure homebuilders who construct faulty houses and refuse to fix their mistakes.

“All the laws are written in such a way that builders are entitled to do almost anything they want to do, and it’s just not right,” Archer said. “When people can do things that are wrong and get away with it . . . that simply invites unscrupulous builders to come in and defraud people.”

The TRCC has garnered a reputation for ineffectiveness by its low rate of claims resolution. Statewide, the agency has resolved only 12 percent of claims received since its creation, leaving 88 percent unresolved.

In Taylor, the TRCC has received numerous complaints concerning shoddy construction in the Mallard Park subdivision. Many more have been made from the Legends of Hutto and Huttoparke subdivisions in Hutto.

Sandee Bradshaw, a homeowner in the Legends of Hutto neighborhood who was present at a public hearing at the capitol Sept. 23, said she and her husband Frank have spent years petitioning the TRCC to force Lennar to address structural problems with their house. She believes the agency lacks the teeth needed to pressure the homebuilder to action.

“Builders are not concerned about responding promptly to the TRCC,” she said. “[TRCC] cannot impose any penalties against the builder. From what I can see, they’re not an enforcement agency.”

Bradshaw, and other proponents of overhauling the commission, including Archer, said licensing homebuilders will give homebuilders an incentive to comply with the agency.

“I think that builders need to be licensed and they need to answer to some type of regulatory department,” Bradshaw said. “Then they’ll make sure that when they’re building homes, they build them right.”

Sunset staff will present recommendations to the commission around the end of October. In December, the commission will decide on the recommendations it will bring before the state legislature.

After a Sunset Advisory Commission staff report recommended the complete abolition of the Texas Residential Housing Commission (TRCC), the Sunset Commissioners asked their staff to revise its recommendations and instead suggest how the TRCC can be overhauled without being abolished. Homeowners of Texas is working with Sunset staff, home inspectors, engineers, and consumer groups across Texas to turn the TRCC into a true regulatory agency.

Traviss Thomas (NewsDesk@TheHuttoNews.com)
10/08/2008

Source: http://www.thehuttonews.com/articles/2008/10/08/living/news07.txt

 ↑ Back to Top