Warranty claims
What a warranty claim actually covers, whose clock is already running, and why a change in developer does not reset it.
A warranty claim is a demand that the developer, a contractor, or a manufacturer fix or pay for a defect covered by a written warranty from turnover, or by an implied warranty some states extend to common elements. Deadlines often run from a fixed date, not discovery, so waiting too long can end the claim.
What a warranty claim actually covers
At turnover, Florida law requires the developer to hand over "all written warranties of the contractor, subcontractors, suppliers, and manufacturers, if any, that are still effective" as part of the records package. Whether your state requires this delivery, and what it must include, is set by your own state's turnover statute. Read those documents before assuming the roof, the elevators, or the HVAC system are covered. Coverage periods, and what triggers a claim, differ warranty to warranty.
Some states go further and recognize an implied warranty that exists whether or not the developer wrote anything down. Illinois's Condominium Property Act, for example, warrants that a unit and the common elements are suitable for ordinary use.
"A unit and the common elements in the condominium are suitable for the ordinary uses of real estate of its type."
Source: Implied Warranty of Habitability: Key Insights for New Construction Condominiums in Illinois, Illinois Condo and HOA Law Blog (Kovitz Shifrin Nesbit)
Not every state recognizes this warranty for common elements, and some courts have declined to extend it to condominiums at all. Ask your association's attorney whether your state does, and what it covers.
The clock started before your board existed
Two different deadlines can end a claim, and boards routinely confuse them. A statute of limitations starts when the defect is, or reasonably should have been, discovered. A statute of repose starts on a fixed calendar event, often substantial completion, and cuts off the claim after that period no matter when anyone finds the problem.
"No action may be brought to recover under this title more than 10 years after substantial completion of the improvement."
Source: California Civil Code, section 941, California Legislative Information
California's ten year period is one state's rule. Other states set different lengths and start the clock on different events, and many stack a discovery based limitations period on top of a fixed repose period. Find your own state's period, and do it before you suspect a deadline is close, not after.
A new declarant does not erase old claims
Developers sell their remaining development rights to other companies more often than boards expect, and it is easy to wrongly assume the sale wipes the slate clean. Under the model act adopted in states like Nevada, transferring special declarant rights requires a recorded instrument that both the outgoing and incoming declarant sign, and the outgoing developer is not released from obligations or warranty liability that existed before the transfer.
The exact transfer mechanics, and what survives them, are set by your own state's version of this rule. If the association has a warranty or defect claim against the original developer, a change of ownership at the top does not close that door by itself.
Finding the problem before the deadline runs
A reserve study is a funding plan. It estimates how long the roof, the pool, and the parking lot will last and what it will cost to replace them. It is not built to catch construction defects, and treating it as if it were is how boards miss the window.
"Design, construction, or code-related issues that could impact the association's future management and financial well-being."
Source: Condominium Transition and Turnover Studies: Inspections, Reports, and Capital Reserve Analysis, VERTEX
A transition or turnover study is a separate engineering review built for exactly this purpose. Commissioning one, alongside a reserve study, gives the board an actual record of what might be a defect claim instead of a guess found too late. Pair it with a construction defect attorney licensed in your state, well before any suspected deadline.
Check yourself
Answer before you read the explanation, recalling it is what makes it stick.
An owner in a California condo finds a cracked foundation beam eleven years after the building's substantial completion date. What happens to a defect claim against the builder?
A different company buys out the developer's remaining rights. A director assumes the old developer's warranty problems left with it. Is that right?
The board has a reserve study estimating when the roof needs replacing. A director asks if that document is enough to flag construction defects before any deadline passes.
Sources
- Florida Statutes, section 718.301 (2025), The Florida Senate
- Nevada Revised Statutes Chapter 116, Nevada Legislature
- California Civil Code, section 941, California Legislative Information
- Implied Warranty of Habitability: Key Insights for New Construction Condominiums in Illinois, Illinois Condo and HOA Law Blog (Kovitz Shifrin Nesbit)
- Understanding the Difference Between Statutes of Limitations and Statutes of Repose, Matthiesen, Wickert & Lehrer, S.C.
- Condominium Transition and Turnover Studies: Inspections, Reports, and Capital Reserve Analysis, VERTEX
Construction Defects
Not sure whether your association's deadline is a limitations period or a repose period? Learn the difference next.
Whether your state recognizes an implied warranty for common elements, what a written warranty must cover, and how long you have to file, whether that is a statute of limitations, a statute of repose, or both, vary by state and by what your turnover documents actually promised.