July 8, 2025
By: Mike Randolph
Effective July 1, 2025, the new Florida Statute 553.837 establishes a mandatory statutory home warranty for all new residential construction that has never been occupied. This law will apply broadly to builders, general contractors, subcontractors, and material suppliers through contractual pass-through provisions.
For those of you working directly with homeowners, revisions to your existing contract templates may be needed to ensure compliance. For those of you who are subcontractors or material suppliers, your agreements should also be reviewed, as general contractors may incorporate this statutory warranty obligation into their subcontracts.
Key provisions of the statute and features of the new warranty:
- One-year minimum warranty is mandatory. Builders must provide a one-year warranty against material code violations related to construction, workmanship, materials, or equipment.
- Applies to newly built single-family homes; duplexes, triplexes; quadruplexes, and manufactured or modular homes.
- Scope of Warranty - Covers defects in materials, equipment, and workmanship supplied by contractors or subcontractors that are ‘material violations’ of the Florida Building Code. A ‘material violation’ is generally a code violation that causes, or is likely to cause, physical harm to a person(s) or significant damage to the building’s performance of systems.
- Transferability - The warranty automatically transfers to any subsequent new owner(s) within the one-year period.
- Exclusions - The warranty does not apply to appliances or other components that are covered by manufacturer warranties; normal wear and tear; expected settling; damaged caused by the owner, third-party damage, or damage from natural events (“Acts of God”).
- If your contract or agreement provides a written warranty that meets or exceeds the requirements of Florida Statute §553.837, no additional warranty is required.
Questions?
Contact GrayRobinson Shareholder Mike Randolph or a member of the Construction Team.