Luxury Homes and Estates of Florida Magazine
by Houston E. Short
The housing market has boomed in recent years in Central Florida. New home construction has strained the capacity of local builders, laborers and material suppliers. Litigation concerning faulty design or construction methods respecting homes is likewise on the rise.
To combat the marked increase in court filings, the legislature enacted Chapter 558 as an alternative to resolve construction disputes. Pursuant to the law a dissatisfied homeowner must supply his contractor, design professional, subcontractor or supplier notice of a claim listing all construction defects. The notice must include language as set forth in Section 558.005(2) of the Florida Statutes. The notice must also be delivered by certified mail. Upon receipt of the notice of defects a contractor has thirty (30) days to inspect the property and assess each of the alleged construction defects.
Within forty-five (45) days a contractor must provide a written response. In the response the contractor must address each of the alleged defects by:
(a) Offering to fix problem at no cost to the claimant;
(b) Offering to make a monetary payment to settle the disputed item;
(c) Disputing the claim and stating that it will not fix the problem; or
(d) Deferring to the contractor's insurance company to determine a monetary offer which the homeowner may subsequently accept or reject.
If the contractor does not respond to the notice the homeowner is free to initiate litigation.
The statutes will not allow any lawsuit or arbitration to go forward without compliance with the notice provisions.
