Changes to Laws Impacting Construction Lawsuits in Florida

– Florida SB 360 was signed into law by Governor Ron DeSantis on April 13, 2023.
– The new law shortens the statute-of-repose period for commencing an action based on the design, planning, or construction of improvements to real property.
– The amendments to the statute of limitations and statute of repose set forth in section 95.11(3)(c), Florida Statutes (2023), apply only to actions commenced on or after the act’s effective date, regardless of when the cause of action accrued.
– Any action that would not have been barred under section 95.11(3)(c) before the act was amended must be commenced on or before July 1, 2024. – Previously, any party filing a legal action related to the design, planning, or construction of a real property improvement had to commence the action within 4 years of specific dates such as actual possession by the owner or the completion of the contract.
– If the action involved a latent defect, the time limit was from the discovery or should have been discovered with due diligence.
– In all cases, the action had to be commenced within 10 years of specific dates such as the date of possession or the completion of the contract. 1. The statute of limitations for filing an action based on design, planning, or construction of real property has been changed to 4 years from the date of issuance of a temporary certificate of occupancy, a certificate of occupancy, a certificate of completion, or the date of abandonment of construction, if not completed. The date of actual possession by the owner is no longer considered an accrual date.
2. Each building within a project is considered its own improvement for determining the limitations period.
3. The statute of repose for latent defect construction actions has been reduced from 10 years to 7 years, with the repose period also running from the earliest of the issuance of a temporary certificate of occupancy, a certificate of occupancy, a certificate of completion, or the date of abandonment of construction, excluding the date of actual possession by the owner.

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