Florida Real Estate and Construction Litigation Attorneys
Construction liens, defect claims, contract disputes, and commercial real estate litigation under the Florida Statutes: the notices, the deadlines, and the remedies.
Real estate and construction disputes in Florida are governed by statutes that impose strict sequences. A construction lien must be recorded with specific contents no later than 90 days after the lienor’s final furnishing of labor, services, or materials, and enforced by an action filed within one year after recording. A construction defect claim on a completed building or improvement cannot be filed until a statutory notice has been served and the contractor has had a chance to inspect. Commercial real estate disputes over purchase agreements, leases, and title turn on the contract and on the limitation periods in Chapter 95.
Industria Business Lawyers represents owners, contractors, subcontractors, suppliers, lenders, and investors in these disputes in the Florida courts. Every provision cited on this page was read from the 2026 Florida Statutes. A consultation is free.
The Statutes That Govern These Disputes
Florida’s lien, defect, and limitation statutes, with the text that controls.
Recording a Claim of Lien
Section 713.08(1), Florida Statutes, provides that to perfect a lien every lienor, including laborers and persons in privity, shall record a claim of lien stating the lienor’s name and address, the name of the person with whom the lienor contracted, the labor, services, or materials furnished and the contract price or value, a description of the real property, the name of the owner, the time when the first and last items were furnished, the amount unpaid, and, for a lienor not in privity with the owner, the date and method of service of the notice to owner. Section 713.08(2) requires the claim to be signed and sworn, and section 713.08(5) bars recording it later than 90 days after the lienor’s final furnishing of labor, services, or materials, or earlier if the original contract is terminated under section 713.07(4).
Duration of a Lien
Section 713.22(1) provides that a lien does not continue for a longer period than one year after the claim of lien has been recorded unless within that time an action to enforce the lien is commenced. Section 713.22(2) allows an owner to record a notice of contest of lien, after which the lienor’s time to sue is limited to 60 days from service of the notice, and a lien not enforced within that period is extinguished automatically.
Construction Defect Notice
Section 558.004(1)(a) provides that in an action alleging a construction defect, the claimant shall, at least 60 days before filing any action, or at least 120 days before filing an action involving an association representing more than 20 parcels, serve written notice of claim on the contractor, subcontractor, supplier, or design professional. Section 558.004(1)(b) requires the notice to describe in reasonable detail the nature of each alleged defect and its location.
Inspection and Response
Section 558.004(2) entitles the person served with a notice of claim, within 30 days (or 50 days for an association of more than 20 parcels), to perform a reasonable inspection of the property to assess each alleged defect, and provides for destructive testing by mutual agreement under the terms the statute sets. The claimant must provide reasonable access during normal working hours.
Contract and Commercial Real Estate Disputes
Disputes over purchase and sale agreements, commercial leases, construction contracts, and financing are governed by the contract and by Florida contract law. Section 95.11(2)(b) sets five years for a legal or equitable action on a contract, obligation, or liability founded on a written instrument, and section 95.11(3)(j) sets four years where the contract is not founded on a written instrument, but section 95.11(6)(a) sets one year for an action for specific performance of a contract.
Construction Claims Limitation
Section 95.11(3)(b) sets four years for an action founded on the design, planning, or construction of an improvement to real property, running from the earliest of the temporary certificate of occupancy, the certificate of occupancy, the certificate of completion, or abandonment, except that for a latent defect the time runs from discovery or when the defect should have been discovered with due diligence, and in any event the action must be commenced within seven years after the same triggering date.
Sequence, Remedies, and Deadlines
In this area the order of steps decides the case as often as the merits.
Lien enforcement. A claim of lien that omits an item section 713.08(1) requires, or that is not sworn as section 713.08(2) requires, is open to challenge, although under section 713.08(4)(a) an omission or error does not, in the trial court’s discretion, prevent enforcement against a person who was not adversely affected by it. Once recorded, the lienor has one year under section 713.22(1) to file an enforcement action, and an owner who records a notice of contest under section 713.22(2) shortens that to 60 days from service. The statutory warning in section 713.08(3) tells the owner that, unless the owner takes action to shorten the time period, the lien may remain valid for one year from the date of recording.
Defect claims. Section 558.004(1)(a) makes the pre-suit notice a condition of filing, and section 558.004(1)(d) provides that the notice does not toll any statute of repose under Chapter 95. The 60-day or 120-day notice period and the seven-year outside limit in section 95.11(3)(b) are therefore calendared together.
Owner remedies. An owner facing an unsupported lien may record the notice of contest and force the lienor to sue or lose the lien. An owner with a defect claim serves the section 558.004 notice, allows the inspection, accepts or rejects in writing within 45 days any timely settlement offer as section 558.004(7) requires, and files after the period runs if the matter is not resolved.
Contractor and supplier remedies. A lienor who has recorded a compliant claim of lien and served the notices the statute requires enforces the lien by action within the period, and a contractor must first deliver its final payment affidavit to the owner at least 5 days before filing, under section 713.06(3)(d)1. Contract claims for the unpaid balance run alongside the lien claim under the periods in section 95.11.
Commercial real estate. Purchase agreement, lease, and financing disputes are decided on the contract’s terms and Florida contract law; section 95.11(2)(b) sets five years for an action on a written instrument, but section 95.11(6)(a) sets one year for an action for specific performance of a contract.
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How We Handle a Construction or Real Estate Matter
Contracts, change orders, pay applications, notices to owner, claims of lien, inspection reports, and the correspondence between the parties.
Every period under sections 713.08(5), 713.22, 558.004, and 95.11 calendared from the final furnishing dates, recording dates, certificates, and discovery dates.
Section 558.004 notices served or answered, inspections coordinated, and lien contests recorded where the facts support them.
Lien enforcement, defect, contract, or a combination, chosen on the parties’ positions and the remedies each offers.
The unpaid balance, cost of repair, diminution in value, or delay damages, documented from the records and the inspection findings.
The action filed in the correct Florida court within the shortest applicable period.
Mediation, summary proceedings on lien issues, and trial where the matter does not resolve.
FAQ
01 • Owners and Contractors How long does a construction lien last in Florida?
Under section 713.22(1), one year after the claim of lien is recorded unless an action to enforce it is commenced within that time. An owner can shorten that to 60 days from service of a notice of contest of lien recorded under section 713.22(2).
02 • Owners and Contractors Can I sue a contractor for defective work right away?
For a completed building or improvement, section 558.004(1)(a) requires written notice of claim at least 60 days before filing (120 days for an association of more than 20 parcels), and section 558.004(2) gives the contractor a period to inspect.
03 • Owners and Contractors What must a claim of lien contain?
Section 713.08(1) lists the required contents, including the lienor’s name and address, the contracting party, the work furnished and its value, the property description, the owner’s name, the first and last furnishing dates, the amount unpaid, and the notice to owner details where applicable.
04 • Owners and Contractors How long do I have to bring a construction claim?
Section 95.11(3)(b) sets four years from the triggering date the statute defines, extended for latent defects to discovery, with an outside limit of seven years.
05 • Owners and Contractors What is the deadline on a written contract claim?
Section 95.11(2)(b) sets five years for a legal or equitable action on a contract founded on a written instrument, but section 95.11(6)(a) sets one year for an action for specific performance of a contract.
Owners, contractors, subcontractors, and suppliers in Florida. Call (202) 860-1210 or describe the project through the form. Free consultation. Every matter is evaluated against the statute text in force.
This page provides general information about real estate and construction litigation under Florida law and does not constitute legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship with Industria Business Lawyers. Whether a claim or defense exists depends on the facts and the law in force. Provisions cited were read on October 9, 2026 from the 2026 Florida Statutes at flsenate.gov.