Bill Text: NJ A2251 | 2016-2017 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires builders to provide information about fire suppression system to new homebuyers.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2016-01-27 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Housing and Community Development Committee [A2251 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2016-A2251-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman JOHN S. WISNIEWSKI
District 19 (Middlesex)
SYNOPSIS
Requires builders to provide information about fire suppression systems to new homebuyers.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning information about fire suppression systems to new homebuyers and supplementing Title 46 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "New Home Fire Protection Act."
2. As used in P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill):
"Builder" means any individual, trustee, partnership, corporation, or other entity engaged in the construction of new homes.
"Buyer" means any individual, trustee, partnership, corporation, or other entity for whom a new home is built and sold for initial occupation as a home.
"Division" means the Division of Fire Safety in the Department of Community Affairs.
"Fire suppression system" means an engineered or pre-engineered system that suppresses a fire using an extinguishing agent distributed through fixed piping and nozzles that are activated either manually or automatically. The system may include containers, nozzles, controls, automatic detection, manual releases, equipment shut downs, and alarms. In such systems, an extinguishing agent is discharged through fixed pipes and nozzles into or over a potential fire hazard.
"New home" means a dwelling, having three stories or less, which was not previously occupied, and is intended for residential use by no more than two households.
3. a. Prior to agreeing to the final contract price for construction of a new home, a builder shall provide to the buyer:
(1) written materials prepared and promulgated by the division pursuant to section 5 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), which detail the benefits of a fire suppression system; and
(2) a bona fide estimate of the cost to the buyer to install and maintain a fire suppression system in the new home.
b. The builder shall have the buyer sign a written statement, acknowledging receipt of the information required to be disclosed pursuant to this section.
c. Upon request of the buyer, the builder shall, at the buyer's expense, install, or cause to be installed, a fire suppression system.
4. a. A builder's failure to disclose the information required pursuant to section 3 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) shall constitute an unlawful practice under the New Jersey consumer fraud act, P.L.1960, c.39 (C.56:8-1 et seq.). The Attorney General shall have the same authority in enforcing, remedying, and otherwise carrying out the provisions of the "New Home Fire Protection Act," P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), as is provided by the New Jersey consumer fraud act, P.L.1960, c.39 (C.56:8-1 et seq.).
b. The remedy provided for in this section shall not be exclusive and shall be in addition to any other rights or remedies available, including criminal prosecution and any legal action available to private parties under common or statutory law.
5. Within 90 days of the effective date of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) and after public hearing, the division shall prepare and make available a statement, in a form and size suitable for distributing pursuant to the provisions of the "New Home Fire Protection Act," P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), of the safety benefits and economic benefits that a fire suppression system may provide in one- and two-family homes.
6. This act shall take effect immediately and apply to all new home purchases for which a final construction contract price has not been agreed upon, except that section 3 shall remain inoperative until the 30th day next following the division's preparation and promulgation of the written materials referenced in section 5 of this act.
STATEMENT
This bill, entitled the "New Home Fire Protection Act," would require the builder of a new single- or two-family home that is less than three stories to distribute a statement regarding the benefits of a fire suppression system to the home's buyer. The Division of Fire Safety in the Department of Community Affairs would prepare the statement of the safety benefits and economic benefits that a fire suppression system may provide in one- and two-family homes.
Under this bill, a builder would also be required to provide a bona fide estimate of the cost of installing a fire suppression system in the new home to the home's buyer. Upon request of the buyer, the builder would be required, at the buyer's expense, to install, or cause to be installed, a fire suppression system in the new home. The builder would be required to have the buyer sign a written statement, acknowledging receipt of the information the builder must disclose pursuant to this bill.
A builder's failure to disclose the information required under this bill would constitute an unlawful practice under the New Jersey consumer fraud act, P.L.1960, c.39 (C.56:8-1 et seq.). In addition, the buyer would be entitled to any other remedies available under law, including criminal prosecution and other private legal action. The Attorney General would enforce the provisions of this bill in the same manner in which he enforces the New Jersey consumer fraud act.
A builder's obligation to distribute the fire suppression information would commence on the 30th day after the Division of Fire Safety in the Department of Community Affairs prepares the statement of the safety benefits and economic benefits that a fire suppression system may provide in one- and two-family homes.
