ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times

DATE: Tuesday, March 25, 1997                TAG: 9703250075
SECTION: VIRGINIA                 PAGE: C-5  EDITION: METRO 
DATELINE: RICHMOND
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS

BOARD PUTS A PROPOSED STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS FOR HOUSES ON HOLD SOME FEEL 5 YEARS ISN'T LONG ENOUGH FOR DEFECTS TO SHOW

There now is no time limit placed on builder responsibility in the Virginia building code.

Public opposition has prompted the state housing board to suspend, at least temporarily, a plan to limit to five years the time home builders can be held responsible for construction defects.

The Board of Housing and Community Development voted unanimously Monday to put the proposed statute of limitations on hold for at least 45 days while it receives more public comment.

The state building code now has no statute of limitations on builder responsibility. The board rejected two-year and three-year limits last year, then voted in January to impose a five-year limit that chairman Hobie Mitchell described as a compromise.

``However, citizens have continued to express concern with this issue and a desire for the board to be provided additional information prior to any new regulation becoming effective,'' Mitchell said.

The board will receive written comments and will conduct a public hearing on the issue April 28.

Stephen Seldon, director of Homeowners for Better Building, welcomed the reprieve but said he would have preferred that the board simply drop the proposal.

Some builders have argued there are time limits on manufacturer responsibility for most products and that they should not be treated any differently. No builders spoke at Monday's board meeting.

David Woodruff, who has spent years battling a builder over rotting siding on his Louisa County home, urged the board to ``use your power for the common good.'' He said it is not uncommon for construction defects to show up several years after a home is built, and that builders should be held accountable.

``Please do not cater to a special group that is subject to your oversight,'' he told the board.

Seldon questioned whether the board has authority to impose the statute of limitations or whether that is a policy decision to be made by the General Assembly.

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