New Contractors Bill unlikely this year

Fri, Sep 23rd 2011, 09:59 AM

As the BCA prepares to stage its first Homeowner Education Workshop tomorrow, important consumer protection measures in the new Contractors Bill may have to wait until next year to be codified into law.
President of the Bahamian Contractors' Association (BCA), Godfrey Forbes, told Guardian Business that a Government/BCA/Insurance industry meeting to address final issues surrounding the bill was held in the first week of July, but the BCA is still awaiting feedback from the Attorney General's office on revisions coming out of that meeting.  With the revisions not finalized, Forbes is doubtful the bill will make it to Parliament this year.
"We were being hopeful that it would get into Parliament for this coming session.  It appears that that's looking a little doubtful at this point in time," Forbes told Guardian Business.
"It's now two months later" said Forbes referencing the time elapsed since the tri-party meeting.  "We still don't know what the status is."
One of the key issues remaining was who would fund a reserve to assist consumers that did not receive the work they contracted, Forbes said.  Based on a maximum home value of $500,000, Forbes said that no more than 10 percent of that value, or $50,000, would be the maximum any consumer could receive from that fund.
The BCA's position is that the initial funding should come from the government, according to Forbes.  Contractors, he said, are held liable for anything that goes wrong with a project.  If they were responsible for the initial funding, they would not only have to take out contractor's all-risk insurance for their projects - to protect against losses during the construction period - but would also have to pay into the fund.  He says it was more reasonable for contractors to make contributions to the fund over time.
As for the amount of the fund or the exact contributions individual contractors would make, Forbes said those matters would be best addressed through regulations rather than legislation.  Pre-defined amounts would limit the flexibility of the fund to meet changes in the industry.
The fund is likely to be managed by insurance industry professionals, Forbes said, and procedures including a special committee that would review the legitimacy of any complaints would be put in place to govern it.
"Defects could be real or perceived and something like the fund could be abused," Forbes said.
In a first for consumers, the BCA is launching a special workshop that ultimately could help participants to avoid ever having to turn to such a fund.  Saying that the BCA has been "in a sense inundated with calls about shoddy workmanship," Forbes said the association felt obligated to put on the workshop.
"Rather than having persons who had to suffer this experience, we want to say if you are considering building a home, you want to be more-or-less the manger of the construction project.  There are things they need to know, and we want to arm them with that information," Forbes said.
Scheduled for September 24th, 2011 at the Wyndham Nassau Resort, Cable Beach, the workshop cost is $50 prior to the event at the door.  The president of the not-for-profit association said it's costly to stage such a workshop and that, considering the value of the information, the price would be well worth it for those setting out on the building process.
Presentation subjects will include how to: choose a construction team; prepare a contractor contract; and understand stage and monthly payment schedules and contract close-outs.  JM Appraisers and Royal Bank of Canada/FinCo representatives will also make presentations.

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