Florida and Texas have signed new bills into effect recently. In both cases, the changes create new opportunities for home builders to reduce risk. Use the links below to access our summary of each new law.
Texas
On Friday, June 9, 2023, the Texas Governor signed HB 2022 and HB 2024 into effect. Here are the highlights:
- Builders that provide warranties meeting specified standards can shorten their liability for construction defect claims from ten to six years.
- References to the TRCC and the standards it created have been eliminated.
- The new law also constrains warranty of habitability claims and should prevent recoveries for mere technical code violations.
There are many other important changes, and we have outlined these for you in this summary.
HB 2024 went into effect immediately after the Governor signed the bills on June 9th. The change allowing builders to limit their liability to six years applies if construction commenced and the sales contract was entered after this date. HB 2022 becomes effective on September 1, 2023.
Florida
On Friday, April 14, 2023, SB 360 was passed in the state of Florida. SB360 includes substantial changes for home builders, but the most important is a change in the statute of repose for latent defects from ten years to seven years. Check out our complete summary of SB 360 here.
SB 360 went into effect immediately after the Governor signed the bill on April 14th. The law is also retroactive. This means the statute of repose for latent defects for all homeowners (not just those who purchase a home after April 14th) has been reduced to seven years. There is an exception for claims that would have been timely under the preexisting law. Those claims can be made through July 1, 2024.
Stay Protected with PWSC
Remember, you can only make the most of these new laws by making updates to your warranty program. The warranty experts at PWSC are here to help you implement those changes. Contact us to learn more!
