Senator Larson Calls for Solutions to Crumbling Foundation

From the office of Senator Tim Larson:

HARTFORD, CT – Senator Tim Larson (D-East Hartford) is calling for cooperative action between state and local officials to address the concerns of beleaguered residents whose homes’ concrete foundations are failing, more than 25 years after being poured.

“What we really need to do is figure out who is responsible for correcting this issue, because it is certainly not the fault of the homeowners,” said Sen. Larson, who believes corrective action could cost billions of dollars, as more homes are identified. “Somebody has to do something about this, and given the state’s current fiscal climate there will be no easy solution, but it is inherently unfair to abandon homeowners who are experiencing this problem through no fault of their own.”

Sen. Larson said the private and public sectors must coalesce on the problem, to find a solution that is satisfactory to affected homeowners, and reasonable in cost.

“Everyone will have to weigh in on this, and municipalities, state lawmakers and industry professionals need to come to the table to pinpoint a solution that will provide support to residents in a financially manageable way,” said Larson. “If homeowners walk away from these houses because they can’t afford to identify and fix the issue, or properties go into foreclosure, it will have a negative impact on the budgets of local governments – so local towns must find a way to be part of the solution too.”

Residents in Windsor, East Windsor and Ellington – as well as other towns – are among those concerned about significant damage. Larson says he is hopeful a bill raised in the Planning and Development Committee will contain language that addresses this issue at the local level, and is committed to working with federal, state and municipal officials to study and address this critical issue for homeowners.

Hundreds of residents in towns across the north central part of the state have filed complaints with the State Department of Consumer Protection (DCP), related to damaged foundations. At the request of Governor Dannel Malloy, the DCP and Office of the Attorney General have spearheaded a multi-agency investigation into the faulty foundations.

The Planning and Development Committee, Chaired by Senator Cathy Osten (D-Sprague), has raised HB 5180, which would mandate that the name of the individual or entity that poured a concrete foundation at a new residential or commercial building be documented, along with the date on which it was poured, before a certificate of occupancy can be issued. The legislation was introduced after homeowners reported difficulty in pinpointing who is at fault for the defective foundations. The bill received a public hearing on February 19 and is pending a vote in committee this week.