Welcome to Homeowners of Texas

Homeowners of Texas, Inc. (H.O.T.) is a non-profit corporation, formed in May 2008 to enact legislative reforms that make builders accountable to homeowners. We are working with the public to enhance the homebuilding industry with policy proposals that replace or enhance the TRCC, and we encourage all Texas homeowners and stakeholders to join us as we development and advocate new statutes and regulations.

Our aim is to ensure that new construction and remodeling is properly engineered and then built with licensed skills and regulatory oversight to protect homeowners from the devastating effects of substandard construction. We also advocate the adoption of a Homeowners Bill of Rights that would extend the lemon law for automobiles to the purchase and construction of new homes in Texas.

TRCC Sunset Review

Homebuilding is a top priority in this legislative session. The TRCC (Texas Residential Construction Commission) was established in 2003 to reduce lawsuits and oversee parts of the homebuilding industry, with an automatic Sunset scheduled for 9/1/2009 unless approved for an extension and additional funding.

Some officials want to kill the agency while others want to fix its problems and turn it into a regulatory agency that protects the public.

KILL IT: The Sunset Advisory Committee Staff, in a State-mandated review of the TRCC, recommended abolishing the agency, saying it “fails to provide meaningful oversight and public protection … is fundamentally flawed … and does more harm than good.” And Texas Comptroller Carole Keeton Streyhorn, in an older 2006 study, said, "If it were up to me personally, I would blast this TRCC builder-protection agency off the bureaucratic books." (See back for a summary of Staff recommendations)

FIX IT: The Sunset Commission held public hearings and asked for alternatives that could save the agency. HOT provided testimony, comments and alternatives that include regulation through Licensing. (See back for a summary of our recommendations)

TRCC Unintended Consequences

Texas, with 118,000 single-family housing starts in 2007 (23% of the 776,000 U.S. total per U.S. Census), has become the nation’s biggest homebuilding market, partially because of an abundant supply of cheap land & labor, but also because there’s no accountability. In fact, Texas provides special builder protections that aren’t found in any other State or industry. While 28 other states have licensing authority to keep builders accountable, Texas substitutes registration for regulation, making it a magnet for unscrupulous builders from out-of-state.

By superseding DTPA (Texas Deceptive Trade Practices-Consumer Protection Act of 1973) and RCLA (Residential Construction Liability Act of 1989), the TRCC has had the effect of removing builder accountability and replacing it with regulation of homeowners, leaving them with limited access to courts. As a result, lives have been ruined and neighborhoods decimated.

The Devastating Effects of Substandard Homes

Just as subprime loans contributed to record foreclosures and a global financial collapse, substandard construction impacts more than just individuals and families. It also affects entire neighborhoods, towns, the state, and even the national and global economy.

As an example, the Bradshaws must abandon their home, walk away from their mortgage and accept the financial consequences, because the home is defective and now unsafe. Built on a post-tension slab foundation that can’t handle expansive clay soil, the house is crumbling around them and now filled with toxic mold. The mold exacerbates Frank’s reparatory problems and will kill him if he stays, and the TRCC has been powerless to force a fix by the builder, who refuses to buy back the home. Surrounding homes have similar problems, and the relatively new neighborhood is already in decline.

Did you know?

TRCC Sunset Staff Recommendations
(HOT Summary)

A Sunset Commission Staff report recommends abolishing the TRCC, saying it was flawed from the start, lacks the authority to force builders to fix problems, and does more harm than good.

HOT Blueprint for TRCC Reforms 

Protect the Public; not the Practitioners

• First Do No Harm, a premise of the Hippocratic Oath.
• Rename the Commission because the TRCC has an image problem and lacks public trust.
• Change the TRCC Mission to actually “protect consumers.”
• Restructure the Commission makeup with more public representatives.
• Institute a Consumer Rating System that is “Market-Driven” like AngiesList.com.
• Improve Consumer Information with online access and an automated public information line.
• Facilitate Consumer Surveys by unlocking homeowner data, which has been unavailable, even to public record requests.
• Replace the TAB Sales Contract, which includes an onerous and mandatory Binding Arbitration clause.
• Add a Q&A Section to the TRCC website using Web 2.0 social network technologies.

Prevent Construction Defects (and the disputes they cause)

• Require a License to practice construction trades, and provide the authority to grant and revoke.
• Require More Inspections during the construction process to find and fix problems earlier.
• Improve Building Codes state-wide and revise the Texas Engineering Practice Act to eliminate home exemptions.
• Require Geotechnical Soil Analysis on all sites and/or enforce stronger foundation standards for expansive soils.
• Require 10-year Archival of home and foundation plans by home builders and engineers.
• Adopt Best Practices from states like FL, LA and CA, which established its Contractors License Bureau in 1929.

Help Resolve Conflicts with Flexible Alternatives

• Remove Legal Roadblocks. SIRP adds time & expense and stacks the deck against homeowners, so make it optional.
• Promote Jury Trial Alternatives such as Ombudsman, Mediation and Arbitration.
• Require Builders to Carry Insurance that covers liability and includes workman’s comp.
• Require Builders to Provide Home Warranties that are state-approved and insurance-backed.
• Establish a Victim Recovery Fund for unforeseen situations.
• Establish a Homeowner’s Bill of Rights, similar to the Lemon Law we have now for cars.

Call to Action

• Testifying  - Thank You! to all of the homeowners who came to Austin to participate in our 9/22/08 rally and to testify at the 9/23/08 Sunset Advisory Commission hearings. Your personal stories will help us abolish the TRCC or turn it into a true consumer protection agency, instead of mostly builder protection.  
• Legislative Session - For an agency to be continued, a bill must be passed by the Legislature, and the public can participate in the same way as with any other legislation. (Here's how) 
• Share Your Story - HOT will continue participating in the legislative process even after public hearings, so we can use your feedback, help with examples, and financial support if you're so inclined. Send us an email at  with your story and permission to use it. Soon we'll announce a way to post it yourself.