Better Building Code

“The Liberals are calling on government to step up and protect homeowners from poor building practices in the wake of the evacuation of the Penhorwood Condos. Calgary-McCall Liberal MLA Darshan Kang says Municipal Affairs Minister Hector Goudreau has failed to introduce legislation to protect homeowners. Goudreau says he continues to work with his counterparts and with industry, and it’s still their intent to look at changes in legislation in the near future. He says the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo administers the Safety Codes Act in its jurisdiction and, as such, has the authority to address the particular case. Goudreau says the majority of buildings in the province are constructed to code, but he has no doubt there are a few that need additional attention. He would not get into specifics about the ongoing lawsuit involving the Penhorwood Condos as it is under litigation. Goudreau says Municipal Affairs continues to work with Wood Buffalo to resolve the issue.”

Original link: K-Rock 100.5

“The Alberta government’s own report on this issue nearly three years ago called for immediate action. But the province continues to fiddle while condos creak. The study, carried out for Alberta Municipal Affairs by Edmonton MLA Thomas Lukaszuk, warned: ‘The system of construction and inspection is not performing adequately to protect the home and condominium owner. … If the codes and standards in place to protect the public are not complied with, it leads to disastrous results.’”

Edmonton Journal: original link

“How many builders are exceeding code levels?
All of them? Not likely.
We acknowledge that the majority of builders in Alberta are building a quality product. I would agree that as many as 80 per cent of all builders far exceed the minimum code. But that still leaves over 5,000 of the 27,000 homes built in Alberta each year out in the cold -literally. Homeowners are spending more than is needed to heat and cool their homes, each and every year, year after year. And the lower the code, the greater the opportunity for the less scrupulous builder to get away with building a substandard home.”

Read the original at: EdmontonJournal.com

This is a letter to the editor written by Ken Elsey, President and CEO of the Canadian Energy Efficiency Alliance.

“Re: “Too much delay on building code,” Opinion, Feb. 4.

I applaud The Journal for recognizing the importance of the province acting on its promises to adopt a warranty program and update the building code to adequately protect new home and condo owners.

Continuous delays and the current standstill do not help Alberta home-buyers.

On the warranty side, without increased protection at the time of sale, coupled with stricter inspections, consumers are left to respond retroactively to problems, almost always with a higher cost incurred.

On the building code side, Alberta homeowners are experiencing similar issues with the energy efficiency of their homes. Energy efficiency standards in the Alberta Building Code have not been updated in 30 years. While some Alberta homes are built to premium standards, all Albertans need to be protected from buying poorly insulated homes built to out-of-date regulations.

Thanks to economies of scale, efforts made at the time of construction are much cheaper than fixing problems after they arise. Without warranties, consumers are paying large amounts to fix problems in below-standard housing. Similarly, inefficient homes increase monthly costs, which makes it an ongoing challenge for the consumers to make ends meet.

Legislation needs to be updated to reflect today’s standards. Albertans deserve better — it is time to deliver.

Stephen Koch, executive director, NAIMA Canada”

From the Edmonton Journal, original link here.