On January 1, 2006, New Hampshire HB 469, goes into effect. This new law will regulate disputes between homeowners and building contractors relative to residential construction defects. The law essentially provides for a process in which homeowners and builders may attempt to resolve disputes over alleged construction defects before going to court.
Under this law, homeowners will be required to provide notice to builders of the alleged defects before filiing suit, and all evidence in their possession which relates to the defects. The builder is then given the opportunity to react to this notice, and may do so in a number of ways.
The bill originally included a clause that required homeowners to allow builders to come into their home to inspect after a notice of defect was provided. However, such a requirement was not included in the final version.
It remains to be seen just how this law will affect homeowners’ and builders’ rights, but the main gist appears to be to provide an outline for the parties to attempt to avoid the adverse aspects of litigation. The law is fairly detailed, and should be carefully reviewed in any such cases.
Jim
Dave