A new law in Florida regarding warranty coverage for new homes will soon affect Florida home builders. See how you can prepare for this change to protect your business, along with how 2-10 Home Buyers Warranty (2-10)—the industry leader in new home warranty administration—can help you.
What Does the Law Change?
Florida House Bill 623 (HB 623), which will be codified as Fl. Stat. § 553.837 and which you can read in full here, will create a mandatory 1-year warranty for all newly occupied single-family homes, duplexes, triplexes, and quadruplexes, including any manufactured, modular, or factory-built structures.
This change means that if you are the builder who contracts and oversees construction of a permitted project like a new home, you are responsible for supplying this warranty. Subcontractors that you use are NOT attached to this warranty—it will be your sole responsibility. [See Fl. Stat. 553.993(2) for the full definition of a “Builder” responsible for the warranty.]
When Does the Law Go Into Effect?
The law goes into effect on July 1, 2025.
How Does This Law Affect Me?
If you’re a current 2-10 Builder Member, rest assured that this law will not impact your 2-10 warranty products. There are three important things to note about how this law could affect you as a Florida builder.
1. Must address material violations
This new law requires you to fix material violations of the Florida Building Code at your expense.
A material violation, as it relates to this law, is defined as “a failure to comply with the code in a manner that may reasonably result, or has resulted, in physical harm to a person or significant damage to the performance of a building or its systems.”
2. Things you don’t need to address under the law
However, the law does NOT require builders to warrant against other issues, such as the following:
- Normal wear and tear
- Normal settlement
- Defects caused by third parties the builder did not employ or contract with
- Acts of God
2-10’s warranty products also exclude these conditions.
3. Transferability
According to the new law, the 1-year warranty must be transferable to any subsequent purchaser of the home for the entire year. So, if you build a home for Jim that he buys on January 1, and then Jim sells that house to Mary on June 1, the warranty must still apply to Mary until January 1 of the next year.
You Build it, We'll back you up.
Learn why 1 in 5 new homes nationwide are covered by a 2-10 HBW Structural Warranty.
What Can I Do to Address This Change?
Coupled with Senate Bill 360 passed in 2023, the Florida legislature is clearly taking a more direct interest in the home-building industry. The good news is that HB 623 expressly states that builders can satisfy the requirements of this law by providing home buyers an express written warranty.
As the industry leader in express written warranty administration, 2-10 offers express written warranties to help builders meet the law’s requirements. This means that when you enroll your homes in the 2-10 New Home Warranty Program—like 1 in 5 new homes in the US—you can effectively address the new law without having to reinvent the wheel on the warranty side of your business.
The warranties that 2-10 administers are already fully transferable, which addresses a major change the law creates.
Additional ways to protect yourself
Additionally, a 2-10 New Home Warranty provides coverage against structural defects that render a home unsafe, unsanitary, or otherwise unlivable. This can be a major help to Florida builders because it shifts many of the risks and responsibilities created by the new statutory warranty away from you when you elect 2-10’s insurance-backed structural warranty.
Even better, a 2-10 structural defect warranty helps builders address structural defects under the full 7-year statute of repose in HB 360, with up to 10 years of coverage via 2-10’s core 10-year structural defect warranty. When choosing a 2-10 structural defect warranty, builders can use 2-10’s workmanship and systems construction performance guidelines to further refine and clarify home buyer expectations. Combining a 2-10 warranty with additional language that your counsel recommends provides you with a powerful strategy for satisfying the needs of the new law.
Finally, if the warranty you provide is longer than a year, the law requires that you must advise the home buyer of the warranty term and whether the warranty is transferable after the initial year. When you enroll your homes in the 2-10 New Home Warranty Program, the warranty terms are clearly defined on the certificate of warranty the homeowner receives.
Final Thoughts
You should always consult with your insurance agent and Florida counsel to help ensure you mitigate your risks and responsibilities from all possible angles.
For example, your legal counsel may advise that it’s a prudent decision to insert a clause in your contracts stating that you will remedy issues in a situation where the 2-10 express written warranty does not provide coverage for a “material violation” under HB 623 for one year after the home is sold. Although many items will be captured under the express written warranty, your insurance agent and legal counsel can advise you how to best cover all possible situations that might arise under this new law.
By becoming a 2-10 Builder Member and enrolling your homes in the 2-10 New Home Warranty Program, you have access to our experienced warranty administration team to help resolve any disputes that arise while shifting a significant portion of your risks—and the headaches they create—off your plate, giving you more time to focus on building homes and expanding your business.
You Build it, We'll back you up.
Learn why 1 in 5 new homes nationwide are covered by a 2-10 HBW Structural Warranty.
Disclaimer: 2-10 is not a law firm and is not providing legal advice. The information provided in this article is subject to the terms and conditions of this website. It is only intended to be used for informational purposes and not for the purpose of providing legal advice. This information is related to a new law, and is subject to ongoing interpretation and analysis by Florida courts and legal professionals. You should contact your attorney to obtain advice with respect to any particular issue or problem. Use of and access to this information or any of the links contained herein does not create any obligation or relationship between you and 2-10.
