Academy/Developer / Declarant Transition
Warranties
What a construction warranty actually promises, and when the clock starts running.
A capital project's warranty period begins at substantial completion, the point the contractor and architect certify the work is usable, not at final completion. What the warranty actually covers, materials, workmanship, and duration, comes from the construction contract itself. Statutory warranty protection is narrower than most boards assume, and it varies by state.
Substantial completion starts the clock, not final completion
A board that sees a punch list attached to a "substantially complete" project often assumes something went wrong. Nothing did. Substantial completion is the milestone where the association can start using the work, and it is also the date the standard certification process uses to fix when warranties begin.
"[The certificate] was developed to establish the date of Substantial Completion for the purpose of commencement of applicable warranties and to allow the Owner to occupy or utilize the Work."
Source: Instructions, G704 Certificate of Substantial Completion, American Institute of Architects
Final completion, when every item on the punch list is closed out, is a separate and later milestone. Waiting for it before treating the warranty as active gets the sequence backward.
A warranty is what the contract says it is
There is no single, universal warranty length or scope for a capital project. Standard-form construction contracts, such as AIA's owner-contractor agreements or ConsensusDocs' equivalents, set out what the contractor is promising and for how long, and that language is the warranty your board actually has. Read it before the project starts, not after something fails.
A remaining punch list item is not a warranty claim, it is unfinished contract work the contractor already owes you. A warranty claim is something that worked at substantial completion and later failed. Keeping the two separate in your own tracking prevents disputes about which process applies.
Statutory warranty protection is narrower than most boards assume
Some states layer a statutory warranty on top of the contract, but do not assume yours does, or that it covers your project. Whether a statutory construction warranty applies to your project, and what it covers, depends on your state and the nature of the work, check with counsel before relying on one.
"[The Right to Repair Act] applies to original construction intended to be sold as an individual dwelling unit."
Source: California Civil Code, section 896, California Legislative Information
That statute speaks to developer-built defect claims on new homes, not to a roof replacement or clubhouse renovation your board commissioned. For a board-commissioned capital project, the contract's warranty clause is usually doing the real work, not a statute.
Check yourself
Answer before you read the explanation, recalling it is what makes it stick.
A resurfaced pool deck reaches substantial completion with three punch list items still open. When did the warranty period start?
The board's newly built clubhouse addition shows cracking two years later. Does California's Right to Repair Act cover it?
The pool resurfacing project is marked substantially complete, but the punch list still lists three items. What does that mean?
Sources
- Instructions, G704 Certificate of Substantial Completion, American Institute of Architects
- A Series, Owner Contractor Agreements, American Institute of Architects
- California Civil Code, section 896 (Right to Repair Act), California Legislative Information
Developer / Declarant Transition
Next, learn how closeout documentation packages the warranties, as-built drawings, and records your board will need if a claim ever comes up.
Whether a statutory warranty applies to your project, what it covers, and how long the contract's own warranty runs all vary by state and by the construction contract your board signed.