Florida
Time frame to report construction defects in Florida to shift from 10 to 7 years starting July 1
FLORIDA – Florida construction law is changing, cutting the amount of time homeowners have to file construction defect claims by 30%.
Beginning Monday, July 1, the time frame to report construction defects in the state of Florida will shift from 10 years to seven years.
The change in the law affects anyone who owns a home that was recently built, but it especially impacts homeowners in that 7-to-10-year time frame.
The News4JAX I-TEAM receives complaints regularly about construction defects in newer-built homes. Most recently, we heard from a Middleburg homeowner dealing with mold, humidity, and improper ventilation issues.
“It’s a brand-new house. It’s unacceptable,” homeowner Erin LePage said last year. “If we could have been here for our walkthrough, it would have been different.”
RELATED | ‘It’s unacceptable’: Middleburg homeowner says new build troubled with mold, humidity, ventilation issues
Brian Crevasse, a board-certified construction attorney, said this change will impact hundreds of thousands of people in Florida — if not more.
Senate Bill 360 was signed into law last summer changing the time limit from 10 years to seven years.
Crevasse said this is a real concern because he deals with clients who are often past the seven-year threshold when reporting construction defects.
“Oftentimes, these defects are actually concealed. And you wouldn’t be able to necessarily see that you have water intrusion, just by taking a walk around the building and looking at it, you would have to actually remove some of the exterior facade to look for the types of issues that we typically see,” Crevasse said.
The new law also changes when the countdown starts for filing claims. Previously, the time frame started when you got possession of your home or when construction was finished.
MORE | Worried about construction fraud? Here are some ways you can protect yourself
“If you are a homeowner or association that was built, you know, seven to 10 years ago, you know, you’re going to want to run out and get counsel as soon as possible to see if there’s a way to file by Monday. And then, for everybody else that may have homes that are four or five, six years old, you know, you’re just going to want to be extremely diligent about pursuing any potential issues that you might see with your home going forward so that you don’t run out of time at that seven years,” Crevasse said.
The new law starts the countdown from the earliest of the following events:
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When the building gets a temporary or permanent certificate of occupancy
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At the completion of the building
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At the abandonment of construction, even without completion
Copyright 2024 by WJXT News4JAX – All rights reserved.
FORT MYERS, Fla. – An injured manatee and her calf are recovering after authorities on a boat rescued them from the Orange River near Fort Myers on Thursday.
What we know:
The Lee County Sheriff’s Office said its Marine Unit, Advanced Technology Support Unit, drone pilots and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission helped in saving the pair after the mother was found hurt in the water and in need of medical attention.
READ: Missing Florida man found stuck in mud without food or water for days: PFD
Video shows authorities pulling the frantic manatees safely onto the boat in netting before taking them to shore.
Courtesy: Lee County Sheriff’s Office
Both animals will be taken to ZooTampa for evaluation and medical care.
What we don’t know:
LCSO did not say the extent of the mother’s injuries.
By the numbers:
As of Feb. 20, there have been 85 manatee deaths across Florida in 2026, according to the FWC. Last year reportedly saw a total of 632 manatee deaths.
Dig deeper:
Earlier this month, the FWC began investigating a spike in manatee deaths, specifically in Lee County, where officials say 25 were found dead within a week.
READ: FWC investigating spike in manatee deaths over the past week
The FWC believes these manatee deaths could be from several factors: cold stress, a lack of seagrass and polluted waterways.
The Source: Information for this story was provided by the Lee County Sheriff’s Office and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
Trump threatens tariffs on countries that supply oil to Cuba
Trump warned Cuba to reach an agreement with the U.S. after signing an executive order to impose tariffs on countries that supply the island with oil.
HAVANA (Reuters) – Four people were killed and seven others were wounded on Feb. 25 after a speedboat from Florida entered Cuban waters and opened fire on Cuban forces, who returned fire, Cuba’s Interior Ministry said.
All four dead were aboard the Florida-based speedboat, and another six were injured, Cuba said. In addition, the Cuban commander of border patrol boat was wounded, Cuba said.
The wounded foreign attackers were evacuated and received medical attention, Cuba said.
The incident took place amid heightened tension between Cuba and the United States, which has blocked virtually all oil shipments to the island, increasing pressure on the Communist-run government. American forces captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in Caracas on Jan. 3, removing a key Cuban ally from power.
“Faced with the current challenges, Cuba reaffirms its commitment to protecting its territorial waters, based on the principle that national defense is a fundamental pillar for the Cuban state in safeguarding its sovereignty and stability in the region,” the Cuban statement said.
Reporting by Daniel Trotta in Havana.
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