Just introduced last week are two bills (HB25-1272 and HB25-1261) focused on construction defects legislation, bringing back the legislative fight from last year to combat the lack of condo development in Colorado. Both bills mirror the two construction defects legislation bills introduced in 2024 that both died, and seek to include updates to either support or oppose construction defects legislation. According to a report published by Common Sense Institute, condo development had fallen from a roughly 20% share of the new housing starts in 2008 to only 3% of the new housing stock in 2022, and has all but grinded to a halt in 2024 – a drop attributed to the high number of lawsuits filed against developers and builders. According to Zillow, the median single-family home cost is $610,316 in Arvada, and $540,789 in Colorado. Condos provide a key income-aligned housing solution for Colorado workers, particularly those earning 60% – 120% of the Area Median Income. Increasing the stock of income-aligned housing is one key area of the Advocacy KAPS 2025 Policy Pillars.
The lack of development of middle-income housing stock is having significant effects for business leaders across the state, particularly in the Denver-metro area. More business leaders are seeing high housing costs and lack of income-aligned housing stock lead to higher employee turnover, difficulty recruiting and retaining top talent, and more members of the workforce moving out of the metro area or state due to high housing costs.
Additionally, another key piece of legislation was introduced that could be harmful to business leaders. SB25-157 does not deal with housing or construction defects specifically, but is tangential to construction defects as it would increase litigation against all businesses. This bill seeks to provide updates to the Consumer Protection Act and decrease barriers to litigation from consumers across all businesses.
As these bills have been freshly introduced, the Greater Arvada Chamber of Commerce Advocacy initiative seeks to provide updates on these key pieces of legislation. The Chamber will provide regular updates on the progress of these bills and insight into future positions on legislation from the Advocacy KAPS Committee.
HB25-1272: Construction Defects & Middle Market Housing
This bill focuses on addressing construction defects and promoting middle market housing development, such as condos. This bill has bipartisan support, and like last year, seeks to offer developers options against litigation that prioritize repair. Key aspects of this bill include:
- Claimants must file an affidavit from a licensed professional for construction defect claims while properties with a certificate of occupancy are presumed defect-free.
- Claimants are required to mitigate defects, and construction professionals must offer settlements or justify why repairs are necessary.
- The statute of limitations is set at 10 years (or 6 years with a qualified warranty) and pauses during mitigation efforts.
- Qualified professionals can use affirmative defenses, and executive boards need 65% owner approval to initiate defect claims.
- Monetary damages from successful claims must be first used for repairs.
Bill Sponsors: Representative Shannon Bird, Representative Andrew Boesenecker, Senator James Coleman, Senator Dyland Roberts
As of February 28, 2025, this bill has been introduced and is under consideration. It has been assigned to the House Transportation, Housing & Local Government Committee. Currently no other partner advocacy organizations have taken a position on this bill.
HB25-1261: Consumers Construction Defect Action
This bill, which functions as a counter bill to HB25-1272, focuses on enhancing protections for homeowners related to improvements to real property. This bill aims to strengthen homeowner rights in construction defect cases and make it easier for homeowners to hold builders accountable for construction defects. By contrast to 1272, key aspects of this bill include;
- Requires construction professionals to provide detailed building records to claimants, including soil report, engineering calculations, and maintenance recommendations
- Mandates courts to award an 8% prejudgement interest to prevailing construction defects claimants
- Voids contract provisions that prohibit group lawsuits against contractors or impose additional requirements for legal action
- Changes the starting time for the two-year statute of limitations from when a defect is discovered to when the cause of the defect manifests and extends the period for defect claimants to file suits as a result
Bill Sponsors: Representative Jennifer Bacon, Senator Robert Rodriguez, Senator Faith Winter
As of February 28, 2025, this bill has been introduced and is under consideration. It has been assigned to the House Transportation, Housing & Local Government Committee. Currently no other partner advocacy organization has taken a position on this bill.
SB25-157: Deceptive Trade Practice Significant Impact Standard
This bill aims to reduce certain perceived burdens on the enforcement of laws prohibiting deceptive acts. It aims to strengthen consumer protections by refining the standards for deceptive trade practice claims in Colorado.
This bill establishes that certain evidence that a person has engaged in an unfair or deceptive trade practice constitutes a significant impact to the public. This bill also clarifies that a deceptive trade practice claim cannot be based solely on contract breaches, negligence, or professional service damages unless the include: material misrepresentation of facts, failure to disclose material information, or actions not characterized as providing advice, judgment, or opinion.
Currently, an individual can not sue a business under the Consumer Protection Act unless there has been a large consumer impact (i.e. impacted a large group of people). However, this bill would eliminate that bar to allow for individual consumer litigation and would affect all businesses and increase the risk of litigation for all businesses.
Bill Sponsors: Senator Mike Weissman, Senator Julie Gonzales, Representative Javier Mabrey, Representative Brianna Titone
As of February 28, 2025, this bill has been introduced and is under consideration. It has been assigned to the Senate Business, Labor, & Technology Committee. The Colorado Competitive Council has taken an oppose position to this bill.
The Colorado Legislative session is in full swing – stay tuned for updates on these key pieces of legislation from the Greater Arvada Chamber Advocacy KAPS as they continue to progress in the upcoming weeks. Please join the Advocacy Network to continue to stay informed on the 2025 Colorado legislative session.
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