On October 13, 2014, the Lakewood City Council passed an ordinance altering the way a construction defect action can proceed within the City’s limits. The overall purpose of the statute is to “encourage the construction of owner-occupied multi-family developments” in the City of Lakewood. The ordinance adds additional steps that homeowners and homeowner associations must take prior to filing any action against the developer or builder.
With respect to homeowners’ associations, the ordinance requires the “informed consent” of homeowners to be obtained by the board. This means that a board must obtain the written consent of homeowners who hold at least a majority of the total voting rights in the association prior to any action being filed.
Importantly, the ordinance also requires that if a builder offers to repair a construction defect, the builder “has the right” to make the repair and the homeowner “may not directly or indirectly, impair, impede or prohibit the builder from making the repairs.” This language differs significantly from Colorado’s Construction Defect Action Reform Act, which allows a homeowner to reject an offer from the builder to repair any alleged defects.
Click on the following link for full text of the new Lakewood City ordinance.