New Hampshire's WMRU-TV, 5/02/10, http://www.wmur.com/specialreports/23323232/detail.html

While many professionals need to be licensed by the state, home contractors don't, and many say that opens the door to shoddy work.

New Hampshire requires auctioneers, dentists, lobbyists and land surveyors to be licensed, but those who build homes need no formal training, skills or licenses.

Resident Dennis Johnson said his dream home turned into a nightmare because of shoddy construction.

"I just know it didn't look good," he said. "It was not good."

His house was built in Washington four years ago, but within months, there were issues.

"I think the builder in this case may have been in a little over his head," Johnson said.

The roof started leaking, the floor started peeling and the stairs had no railing installed. Johnson said that when a replacement vanity top didn't fit, workers dug it into the drywall to make it work.

Problems came to a peak last summer when the foundation did more than settle. Half the house sank into the earth, leaving an inch and a half gap that continues from the basement up to the living area.

Victim Of Poor Construction? Contact The Better Business Bureau

Johnson said he believes poor site preparation was the cause. He said neither the builder's insurance nor his own will cover the $20,000 fix.

"It's extremely frustrating," he said. "My wife on more than one occasion has been in tears over this."

Johnson said that since no insurance company wants to cover the home, the lender may foreclose on it.

News 9 tried contacting the local builder for comment, but the calls were not returned.

The buildings do require safety inspections, but how those are carried out vary widely from town to town. In 2006, the town of Washington didn't even require an inspection.

File A Complaint With The Attorney General

That has changed, but the process is limited, and checking out the builder still doesn't catch everything.

The attorney general's office said it gets complaints about home contractors every week.

"Either the work wasn't done, or it was done in an unsatisfactory manner," said James Bofetti of the attorney general's consumer protection division.

Bofetti said that in some cases, the builders end up filing for bankruptcy, but that doesn't mean they won't be back.

"That company could be dissolved, and down the line, they could open another business doing the same type of work under a different name," he said.

For years, the attorney general's office has supported making general contractors get a state license, which, in theory, could improve building standards.

The license would be similar to what subcontractors such as plumbers or electricians already have. They're required to get a certain amount of updated training and knowledge of building codes and pay an annual fee to the state.

The Home Builders and Remodeling Association of New Hampshire is a private contractors group that enlists members who, it says, have higher standards. About half the group's members support a licensing process, but many legitimate builders said they want licenses to be about education and setting standards. They said they fear it would focus more on weeding out criminals instead.

"How do you license against lazy behavior, incompetent behavior?" said group member Paul Morin. "That's not going to change. That person is going to find another way. If it's a rip-off person, you're not going to license that away."

The idea of licensing contractors has met with resistance before. In at least one case, the loss of life pushed it forward. The Lurhman family helped pass a bill requiring that New Hampshire gas pipe fitters be licensed after their 5-year-old daughter died in a Moultonborough explosion seven years ago.

As Johnson tries to rehabilitate his damaged house, he said he supports more oversight for builders. When he complained to the state about his situation, he said, he was politely told there is little it can do, advising him to go through the court system.

Johnson is working with an attorney to file a lawsuit against his builder and others.

Several bills that would have required building contractor licenses have failed in the past. Lawmakers said there is heavy resistance from some builders because they don't like the regulation or don't want forced to get education in a field they have been working in for years.

HOT'S READER COMMENT:

Building codes, city inspections, and contractor licensing are all related to protecting the health, safety and welfare of citizens. Licensing is a form of regulatory oversight that grants permission to do something that’s otherwise forbidden and usually involves the police power of the state. For instance, a driver’s license is required to legally drive a car or truck on public roads. If one violates the licensing law, either by acting without a license, or failing to uphold the rules governing the license privilege, one is subject to prosecution under civil or criminal laws. Disobey the rules, and you could land in jail.

To obtain a license usually requires proof of competency through education and an examination, as well as proof of financial accountability through proof of insurance. That way, if a licensed builder screws up, cheats, or does shoddy work, insurance could cover the damages; and market forces would cause insurance premiums to be higher for bad builders than for good ones.

Homeowners of Texas strongly endorses builder licensing and introduced a bill last year to require it. The bill was stopped by a fraudulent parliamentary procedure, but we’ll try again next year. Check out www.homeownersoftexas.org/Licensing.html.

We believe that builder licensing will help restore consumer trust in the homebuilding industry and increase sales and economic development in our state. It can also address the foreclosure problems that put entire neighborhoods in a downward spiral and lower the home values for everyone and threaten the property taxes that fund city services. Texas has no laws to regulate builders or hold them accountable, leaving us with less protection when buying a new home than buying a used one (or even a used car).