When homes in a community have construction defects, the HOA sometimes sues on the owners' behalf. This bill addresses an HOA's authority to bring those dwelling-action/construction-defect claims and the limits on it.
In short: Addresses an HOA's authority to bring dwelling-action/construction-defect claims on members' behalf.
Introduced — no action Mixed
HB2713, the 'Home Ownership Act,' changes the deadlines and procedures around construction-defect lawsuits, including those brought by HOAs (A.R.S. 12-552 and 33-2002). It shortens how long after construction a claim can be filed and adds new steps an HOA must take, including an engineer's inspection and a member vote, before suing over dwelling defects.
For homeowners: Mixed, with the dominant effect favoring builders: it halves the defect-claim statute of limitations from eight to four years and adds pre-suit hurdles (engineer inspection, seller notice, and a two-thirds member vote), which slow and shrink an HOA's ability to pursue construction defects. The offsetting owner-side pieces are the two-thirds vote giving members control over whether to sue and a 30-day proceeds-allocation disclosure with five-year record retention.
What the bill actually does, point by point — from the Arizona Legislature’s official fact sheet.
- Shortens the statute of limitations for construction/design defect claims by non-government claimants from 8 years to 4 years after substantial completion.
- Sets a 6-year outer limit for related injury claims by non-governmental claimants.
- Before holding a vote to sue, the HOA must obtain an inspection from a professional engineer.
- The seller/builder must receive written notice at least 7 days before the inspection date.
- At least two-thirds of the members must vote to authorize a dwelling action, and each member's vote may be submitted only once.
- The HOA must distribute a plan for allocating any proceeds within 30 days after receiving them, and must keep compliance records for 5 years.
The A.R.S. sections this bill amends, adds, or repeals — taken from the bill text. Click one to read the current law.
Organizations and industry insiders who registered a position on this bill through the Legislature’s public Request to Speak system — simply where each stood: For, Against, or Neutral. Individual homeowners are not listed. Whether this bill helps or hurts homeowners is our own read, shown by its label above — a group’s position doesn’t set our call. Each row links to that entity’s report card and to the source at azleg.gov.