Senate Bill 360 was signed by Governor DeSantis on April 13, 2023. The new law impacts both the statute of limitations period and the statute of repose period for construction defect claims. The more impactful changes are outlined below:
- The statue of limitations period refers to the time period during which a party may bring a claim (i.e., file suit) against another party. For latent (unknown) defects, the limitations period begins when the claimant knew or should have know of the claim/defect. For a patent (known) defects, SB 360 changes the point in time when the limitations period begins to run. Under the new law, the limitations period begins to run from the earliest date of: (1) the issuance of a temporary certificate of occupancy, (2) the issuance of a certificate of occupancy or a certificate of completion, or (3) the date construction was abandoned (if the project was not completed).
- The statute of repose period is a strict deadline that is set is stone regardless of when the cause of action accrued / regardless of when the claimant discovered the defect. The statute of repose period for construction defect claims has now decreased from 10 years to 7 years. The repose period begins to run based on the same “triggering events” listed in Paragraph 1 above.
- Subsequent work performed pursuant to a contractor’s warranty obligation does not extend the deadline for filing a claim.
- For multi-building communities, each building is to be considered its own improvement for the purpose of determining the deadline for filing a claim.
IMPACT ON COMMUNITY ASSOCIATIONS:
Community associations now have less time to pursue construction defect claims, so it is imperative for boards to investigate any suspected defects in a timely manner, and for boards to discuss potential legal remedies with counsel early in the investigation process.
In the case of developer-turnover claims, the window to pursue a claim following turnover is limited, so communities need to be prepared to move quickly once turnover occurs. The membership should be proactive in vetting legal counsel, engineers, etc. prior to turnover so that there is a team already in place ready to assist.
Senate Bill 360 Text: http://laws.flrules.org/2023/22
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