ORS 701.570: Secondary notice of defect; inspection of residence; response to notice or secondary notice.

(1) A contractor, subcontractor or supplier that receives a notice of defect sent under ORS 701.565 shall, not later than 14 days after receiving the notice of defect, send a secondary notice to any other known contractor, subcontractor or supplier that may be responsible for some or all of the defects described in the notice of defect. The contractor, subcontractor or supplier must send the secondary notice by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested, to an address described in ORS 701.565 (2). The secondary notice must be accompanied by a statement describing the basis for contending that the other contractor, subcontractor or supplier may be responsible for some or all of the defects. (2) A contractor, subcontractor or supplier that receives a notice of defect or secondary notice may send the owner a written request to conduct a visual examination of the residence. Except as provided in ORS 701.572, the written request must be sent not later than 14 days after the requesting contractor, subcontractor or supplier receives a notice of defect or secondary notice. The written request to conduct a visual examination of the residence must state the estimated time required for the visual examination. (3) A contractor, subcontractor or supplier that receives a notice of defect or secondary notice may send the owner a written request to inspect the residence. Except as provided in ORS 701.572, the written request must be sent not later than 14 days after the requesting contractor, subcontractor or supplier conducted a visual examination of the residence. The written request to inspect the residence must state the nature and scope of the inspection, whether any testing is to be performed and the estimated time required for the inspection. The recipient of a secondary notice that requests to inspect the residence shall send a copy of the request to the sender of the secondary notice. (4) A contractor, subcontractor or supplier that sends a secondary notice and intends to hold the recipient of the secondary notice liable for a defect described in a notice of defect shall coordinate the scheduling of any inspection with the owner and all recipients of a secondary notice from the contractor, subcontractor or supplier. The contractor, subcontractor or supplier shall deliver a copy of any written request to inspect the residence to each recipient of the secondary notice in time to provide the recipient with an opportunity to attend the requested inspection and to participate in any remediation. The sender of a secondary notice shall give reasonable advance notice to the owner or the owner’s legal representative, if any, of the identity of any contractor, subcontractor or supplier who will attend the inspection. If the sender of the notice of defect is a homeowners association or an association of unit owners, the response to the secondary notice must conform with ORS 701.572. (5) Unless otherwise agreed to by the owner, a contractor, subcontractor or supplier that receives a notice of defect or secondary notice shall send a written response to the owner not later than 90 days after the contractor, subcontractor or supplier receives a notice of defect or secondary notice. A contractor, subcontractor or supplier that receives a secondary notice also shall send a copy of the written response to the sender of the secondary notice. The written response must be sent by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested. The written response must include: (a) One or more of the following for each defect described in the notice of defect or secondary notice or discovered during the course of any visual examination or inspection: (A) An acknowledgment of the existence, nature and extent of the defect without regard to responsibility for the defect. (B) A statement describing the existence of a defect different in nature or extent from the defect described in the notice of defect or secondary notice, without regard to responsibility for the defect. (C) A denial of the existence of the defect. (b) A copy of the documents described in ORS 701.575 (4). (c) One or more of the following: (A) An offer to perform some or all of the remediation. The offer must specify the date by which the offered remediation will be completed. (B) An offer to pay a stated amount of monetary compensation to the owner for some or all of the acknowledged defects and any incidental damage. The offer must specify the date by which payment will be made. (C) A denial of responsibility for some or all of the acknowledged defects or incidental damage. [2003 c.660 §3; 2011 c.268 §2; 2025 c.578 §13]