Question: We bought a new home from a homebuilder four years ago. Last week, during heavy rainfall, we had a major roof leak. The next day, when we called the homebuilder's sales representative who sold the home to us, they said that we only had a two-year warranty for our home. The sales rep said the homebuilder had no obligation four years later to do roof repairs, similar to a two-year warranty for an automobile battery or tires. Is the sales rep correct?

Answer: No. Under centuries-old English and American common law, a homebuilder impliedly warranted forever the proper construction of a home. In other words, the homebuilder had to do repairs for a construction defect for an unlimited period of time after the sale of the house. In 1991, the Arizona Court of Appeals ruled that a homebuilder had an implied warranty of construction to repair defective stucco on a home built 12 years earlier. The Arizona Legislature then adopted A.R.S. § 12-552, which limited this implied warranty of construction to eight years. Bottom line: Under the statutory eight-year implied warranty, your homebuilder will probably now be responsible for roof repairs four years after building your home.

Note: To further limit the liability of homebuilders for defective construction of a home, in 2002, the Arizona Legislature passed the Purchaser Dwelling Act, which limits the claim of a homebuyer against the homebuilder for a construction defect (e.g., the homebuyer waives the right to a jury trial).

Contact real estate attorney Christopher A. Combs at azrep@combslawgroup.com.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: How long is a homebuilder responsible for defects in Arizona?