Florida · Construction-defect rights
Here is what you have, and here is how to keep it.
You have a one-year builder warranty by law on a new Florida home, and it transfers if you sell in that first year. Beyond it you have four years from when you discovered, or should have discovered, a hidden defect, and never more than seven years from the earliest of the temporary certificate of occupancy, certificate of occupancy or certificate of completion (s.95.11(3)(b), F.S.). The step people miss is the notice: before you can sue you must send a 60-day written notice describing the defects and let the builder inspect and offer to repair. That notice is not a formality - a case can be dismissed for skipping it. Which is why the day you notice something is the day to write it down.
What you have
Your builder must give you a one-year warranty on a newly built Florida home, and IT FOLLOWS THE HOME if you sell during that year - s.553.837, in force since 1 July 2025. Separately, Florida case law extends the common-law implied warranty to LATER BUYERS, not just the original purchaser - so buying second-hand does not mean buying without protection.
The deadline
7 years to bring a construction-defect claim
s.95.11(3)(b), F.S. (as amended ch. 2023-22)
7 years from the EARLIEST of: temporary CO, CO, certificate of completion, or date of abandonment. VERIFIED FROM PRIMARY SOURCE - s.95.11(3)(b) as amended by ch. 2023-22. Industry compilations still circulating "10 years" are OUT OF DATE. Three further rules in the statute text: (1) correction or repair of completed work, whether under warranty or otherwise, DOES NOT extend the period where the work was permitted and a CO issued; (2) where the improvement is multiple buildings, EACH BUILDING IS ITS OWN IMPROVEMENT with its own clock; (3) for a newly constructed single-dwelling used as a MODEL HOME, time runs from the date the first deed transferring title is recorded. FRAUD/REPOSE (verified 2026-08-03, Fla. Stat. § 95.11(3)(b) full text): NO fraud or fraudulent-concealment exception in the construction repose. The only relief within it is the latent-defect discovery rule, which runs INSIDE the 7-year outer wall and does not extend beyond it. fraud_exempts_repose = false, verified from statute (not absence-of-record).
“In any event, the action must be commenced within 7 years after the date the authority having jurisdiction issues a temporary certificate of occupancy, a certificate of occupancy, or a certificate of completion, or the date of abandonment of construction if not completed, whichever date is earliest.”
Before you sue: A 60-day written notice describing the defects, with an opportunity to inspect and repair. Failure to follow the Chapter 558 process can result in dismissal of the lawsuit. (Ch. 558, F.S.)
What to do now
Write it down the day you notice it. Photograph it with something for scale. Note the date, the room, and what you saw. If it gets worse, photograph it again - a sequence is far stronger than one picture. Keep every message with the builder. You are not starting a fight; you are keeping the option open. Florida requires written notice to the builder before you sue: see "Before you sue" on this page for the exact rule. Describe each defect in reasonable detail; a record made at the time is what most people are missing later.
The same defect, a different answer next door
The construction-defect deadline is a state-by-state accident of geography. The identical crack in the identical house can be dead in one state and live in another.