Guam § 32501 - Legislative Findings; Protections to Home

§ 32501. Legislative Findings; Protections to Home

Purchasers.

The Legislature finds that owners of new homes are entitled

to protection through implied warranties since most people cannot

detect shoddy construction in new homes, since it is usually

hidden. For purposes of this section, if an existing building not a

condominium is remodeled into residential condominium units or

otherwise converted into residential condominium units, the

resulting residential condominiums shall be considered new

homes. Consumers purchasing new homes or contracting for the

construction of new homes after the effective date of this chapter

are entitled to the following protections:

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(a) A new home has the following implied warranties:

(1) That the home was built in a workmanlike

manner of suitable new materials of at least average

quality, and that any exceptions thereto were

communicated to the purchaser thereof in a separate

writing signed by the purchaser before he occupied the

home. Compliance with this subsection (1) shall not

excuse compliance with any other warranty.

(2) That the home was built according to plans and

specifications filed with Department of Public Works

(the "Department"), and that the home fully complies

with all laws, the Building Code and all rules and

regulations relating thereto. The failure of a building

inspection to detect noncompliance with plans, laws, or

rules and regulations, the Building Code, or

specifications shall not be a defense to a claim under this

warranty.

(3) If the home was purchased from a developer

who supplied both the lot and the home to the purchaser

and did not build on a lot supplied by the purchaser,

there is a warranty that the home will not flood for a

period of five (5) years, in the absence of any negligence

by the homeowner.

(4) In addition to the foregoing warranties, the

home is warranted against all defects of construction,

materials, and workmanship for eighteen (18) months.

(b) The warranties of this section do not include

damages caused by typhoon with sustained winds in excess

of one hundred fifty-five (155) miles per hour nor damage by

an earthquake exceeding an intensity on Guam of four and

seven tenths (4.7) on the Richter Scale. Neither do the

warranties cover extraordinary damages caused by acts of

God, the negligence or intentional act of any other person,

nor damages caused by failure to do normal maintenance, nor

for damage caused by unusual usage, abandonment, or

neglect of the property.

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(c) All times for warranties start to run when the new

home is sold to the first occupant or owner or when the new

home is completed as evidenced by a certificate of occupancy

issued by the Department, as the case may be; or if both

events occur, the latest date thereof.

(d) No bonding company which is bonding a contractor

constructing a new home shall be responsible for any of the

warranties set out in this section for breaches which occur

more than one (1) year after the date the certificate of

occupancy is issued for the home by the Department.