Construction Defects Time Limitations Across States
Often community managers will know of at least one particular community that has recurring problems. It is always important not to delay investigation because of applicable legal time limitations. Depending on the age of the buildings and a specific set of events, suit can or cannot be brought by the association. Typically, associations in Colorado have the first six years of when the building was completed to inspect to determine whether there are problems with the buildings and file suit. This is called statute of repose. The statute of repose for Florida is ten years and for Arizona it is eight years; however, within the statute of repose, the association has a certain number of years to bring an action from the date of discovering a particular defect. This is called statute of limitations and is different for each state. See the charts below.
There are many exceptions to both these time limitations. For example, if the association remains in the control of the developer, these deadlines don’t start to run until the date of formal turnover. There are several other factors that may extend these deadlines so it is wise to have an attorney analyze the statute of limitation and statute of repose issues because the analysis is complex and multifaceted. If the statute of limitations and/or repose is missed, the association is barred from filing a suit and will have to make all necessary repairs on its own.