Are Florida roofers required to warranty their roofs for any certain amount of time? If a house is reroofed and the roof leaks within the first year, is there any legal recourse for the homeowner?
No. Welcome to homownership
What does their contract with the roofer say? Most general workmanship guarantees are at least 1 yr if not specified in the contract. There is always a legal recourse, within reason.
The industry standard in your area is 2 years on workmanship. Some roofing contractors have started doing 10 years on workmanship, though. No state “requirement” exists, though.
Here are some statutes that may help:
“IV. Breach of Warranty – Implied Warranty
IV-A: Contractor’s Implied Warranty of Fitness
Florida recognizes various implied warranties. Under Florida law, privity of contract is required to maintain an action for breach of an implied warranty. Mann v. Island Resorts Dev., Inc., 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 102725, 7-8 (N.D. Fla. 2008). One such implied warrant is the so-called “implied warranty of fitness.” To be in compliance with a contractor‟s implied warranty of fitness, the contractor must provide work and materials which conform to generally accepted standards of workmanship of similar work and materials meeting the requirements specified in the contract. Leisure Resorts, Inc. v. Frank J. Rooney, Inc., 654 So. 2d 911, 914 (Fla. 1995). See also Fla. Stat. § 718.203(2).”
Amazing. So it is left up to the roofer if they would like to offer a warranty or not, and no warranty is an option?
A warranty is only as good as the one offering it. Legally, it’s at least “implied” as Reece pointed out.
Most home builders provide a 1 year warranty unless you buy the one through the bonded builders home warranty.
Homebuyer can purchase different levels just like on a new car;)
If it’s a new roof, it kind of makes you wonder why there is no recourse on the AHJ that inspected it.
That’s a big can worms to open:mrgreen:
And is there an average minimum warranty that decent roofers offer? Surely they should be giving 3+ years if they believe in their work.