What do I do if faced with a construction defect? Pt. 2

In a prior post we began laying out a list of the basic steps that may be taken in the case of a construction defect in California. The simple idea of living in a safe residence can become complicated when there are structural problems or other construction concerns. 

While it would be a relief to say that the formal process when it comes to filing a claim for a construction defect is easy, there are layers of steps and statutes to abide by. This continues the list of the general rules applied to incidents of defects in construction:

Once a property owner has identified a supposed defect and properly notified the builder, the builder has procedural expectations to meet.

• If the builder doesn't respond within the 14 days allotted, the property owner is not tied to the non-adversarial process initiated by their written notice of the defect.
• The owner can then move forward with filing a legal action of their construction defect, which turns the matter into litigation rather than negotiation and cooperation between the two parties.
• If the builder does receive and chooses to acknowledge the owner's initial notice, the builder has another 14 days after that acknowledgement to inspect the property and its alleged defect. The cost of that inspection is the responsibility of the builder.
• If the builder fails to schedule and/or carry out the inspection during that 14 day-period, again, that means the builder is relinquishing the right to repair the defect before litigation might proceed.

As you can see, timing and the understanding of the steps related to construction defect cases are important to the overall process of getting a property fixed and pursuing potentially necessary litigation to do so.

There are more details to the process than we have listed. If you have any immediate concerns related to the proper construction of your property, talk to a construction lawyer soon in order to understand and protect your rights as a California property owner.