Opinion ID: 2616171
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: proposal for change

Text: As demonstrated by the foregoing discussion, questionable rationale supports all but one of the elements of the warranty of habitability. To understand why, one need only recall that the doctrine of caveat emptor once governed all real estate transactions. To mitigate the injustice inherent in that doctrine, courts around the country created the common law warranties of workmanlike quality and habitability. Uncomfortable with the prospect of broad builder-vendor liability, however, the courts imposed certain elements on a case-by-case basis, without much consideration of the rationale supporting these elements. Unfortunately, we are left today with requirements which make little or no sense, and lead to unconscionable results. To rectify this problem, this court should modify the existing warranty of habitability and apply it to serious structural defects existing in any residential structure constructed by a professional builder, regardless of whether the buyer is the first or subsequent occupant of the structure. Accord, Oates v. Jag, Inc., ___ N.C. ___, 333 S.E.2d 222 (1985) (builder owes duty of reasonable care to anyone who might foreseeably be injured by defective construction, including subsequent purchasers). This modified warranty of habitability would apply to all residential structures, whether single-family houses, duplexes, apartments or condominiums. Furthermore, the warranty would apply regardless of whether the structure was built for purposes of resale, as long as the builder-vendor was a professional builder in the business of building. Finally, the warranty would apply regardless of whether the structure was new, meaning that intervening tenancies would not destroy warranty protection. Although at first glance this might appear to be a heavy burden to impose upon professional builders, the duration of the warranty would be limited statutorily to 6 years from the date the structure is substantially completed. RCW 4.16.310. Furthermore, the warranty would apply only to professional builders and would cover only serious structural defects. Finally, where the purchaser is acquiring the property for investment purposes, the court could hold that a contractual disclaimer is permissible. In short, imposition of the warranty of habitability, as described, would not be unreasonable given the large sums of money involved and the reliance generally placed upon professional builders by unsuspecting purchasers. Accordingly, I would modify Klos v. Gockel, supra , and House v. Thornton, supra , and would impose instead the warranty of habitability in all sales of residential property. Because Sunnyside is a professional builder and Sunnyside Sands is a residential complex, I would hold that the Frickels are entitled to warranty protection.