BILL REQ. #:  S-0180.1 

Read first time 01/09/2007.   Referred to Committee on Judiciary.

     AN ACT Relating to the real property statute of repose; and amending RCW 4.16.310.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

Sec. 1   RCW 4.16.310 and 2002 c 323 s 9 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1)(a) All claims or causes of action as set forth in RCW 4.16.300 shall accrue, and the applicable statute of limitation shall begin to run only during the period within ((six)) ten years after substantial completion of construction, or during the period within ((six)) ten years after the termination of the services enumerated in RCW 4.16.300, whichever is later. The phrase "substantial completion of construction" shall mean the state of completion reached when an improvement upon real property may be used or occupied for its intended use. Any cause of action which has not accrued within ((six)) ten years after such substantial completion of construction, or within ((six)) ten years after such termination of services, whichever is later, shall be barred((: PROVIDED, That)). This limitation shall not be asserted as a defense by any owner, tenant or other person in possession and control of the improvement at the time such cause of action accrues. The limitations prescribed in this section apply to all claims or causes of action as set forth in RCW 4.16.300 brought in the name or for the benefit of the state which are made or commenced after ((June 11, 1986)) the effective date of this section.
     (b) If a written notice is filed under RCW 64.50.020 within the time prescribed for the filing of an action under this chapter, the period of time during which the filing of an action is barred under RCW 64.50.020 plus sixty days shall not be a part of the period limited for the commencement of an action, nor for the application of this section.
     (2) This section does not apply to a cause of action for a structural defect in the construction of a residence.
     (3)(a) For the purposes of this section, "structural defect" means any defect in the load-bearing portions of a residence that adversely affects its load-bearing function to the extent that the residence becomes or is in serious danger of becoming unsafe, unsanitary, or otherwise is not reasonably safely habitable. "Structural defect" also includes damage due to subsidence, expansion, or lateral movement of soil that has been disturbed or relocated by the builder.
     (b) "Structural defect" does not include damage to a residence caused by movement of the soil:
     (i) Resulting from a flood or earthquake; or
     (ii) For which compensation has been provided.