A bill is advancing in the Florida House of Representatives that would shorten the time period when homeowners can file lawsuits alleging construction defects – a move supporters say would cut down on costly litigation and promote housing affordability.
House Bill 85, authored by Rep. John Snyder (R-Stuart), aims to clarify when the state’s statute of repose would be triggered for such construction defects. Generally, the reform would reduce the statute of repose (SOR) from 10 years to seven years and start the clock ticking at the earliest possible triggering point, according to an analysis of the bill by the legislative staff.
Among the supporters of the proposal is the Associated Builders & Contractors of Florida (ABC of Florida), which points out that many defects can be the result of owners deferring regular maintenance.
“Over the last decade or so, the numbers of Chapter 558 construction defect claims have increased dramatically in Florida, with claims often dozens and dozens of pages in length with hundreds and hundreds of items listed, few of which amount to a defect,” the ABC of Florida’s chief lobbyist, Carol Bowen, told the Florida Record in an email. “Sometimes they are aesthetic items in need of an update while other times they are more serious but can be traced back to a clear and continued practice of deferring maintenance.”
Currently, contractors are tied to construction projects well beyond the 10-year time period in the statute of repose because there is no clear triggering point, according to Bowen.
“Many states around the country have SOR periods of less than 10 years, and with singular trigger points, which results in increased predictability not just for contractors, but for the owners as well,” she said.
Having more transparency and predictability in the law would better ensure that contractors can resolve construction errors in completed homes and not be liable for problems they had no control over, Bowen said.
Under HB 85, trigger points for the statute of repose include issuance of a certificate of occupancy or certificate of completion, with the statute of limitations starting at the earliest event. For patent or obvious defects, the time period for a lawsuit to be filed would be four years under the reform bill, with the time period not going beyond seven years for latent or hidden defects.