Two clocks are running, not one, and the second one can run out before you ever find the problem. The statute of limitations starts when the claim arises. The statute of repose is an absolute cutoff measured from when the job was finished, and it can bar a claim about a defect nobody could have seen yet. Forty-five states have one, six do not, and in fifteen states it does not stop a contract claim at all.
SiteKiln is written for contractors. This page is for you, the homeowner. It is general information, not legal advice, and on a serious defect you should take some.
The two clocks
The statute of limitations is the one everyone has heard of. It runs from the point your claim arises, and in most states a construction defect starts that clock when you discovered it, or reasonably should have. It also depends on what you are suing on: a written contract almost always buys you longer than a handshake.
Across the 51 jurisdictions, the breach-of-written-contract limitation runs from 3 years to 10 years, with a median of 6. The oral-contract limitation is shorter almost everywhere. That difference is the single strongest practical argument for getting the job in writing, and it costs nothing.
The statute of repose is the one that catches people. It is an absolute deadline measured from completion of the work, and it does not care when you found the defect. Once it expires, the claim is gone whether or not it had ever become visible. It exists so a builder is not exposed forever, which is reasonable, and it means the person who finds a defect in year eleven of a ten-year repose has no claim at all.
What the repose clock actually runs from, which is not one thing
Eighteen states measure it from substantial completion. The rest do not, and the difference can be years.
- Illinois runs it from the act or omission itself, not from completion of the job. On a long build, the clock on early work starts while the house is still going up.
- Ohio runs it from the first of first use or first availability for use, whichever comes first.
- Florida runs it from the earliest of the certificate of occupancy, completion, or abandonment.
- North Carolina runs it from the later of your last act on the job or substantial completion.
- Several states run it per-defendant, from when that defendant last performed its services, so the architect's clock and the roofer's clock are different clocks on the same house.
If you are anywhere near the edge of the window, the date the clock started is a question for a lawyer and not for a website. What we can tell you is that it is rarely the date you think it is.
Where the states land
| State | Written contract | Oral contract | Repose | Runs from |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 6 years | 6 years | none | no statute of repose |
| Illinois | 10 years | 5 years | 10 years | the act or omission itself |
| Pennsylvania | 4 years | 4 years | 12 years | completion of the improvement |
| Texas | 4 years | 4 years | 10 years | substantial completion |
| California | 4 years | 2 years | 10 years | substantial completion |
| Ohio | 6 years | 4 years | 10 years | first use or first availability |
| Georgia | 6 years | 4 years | 8 years | substantial completion |
| Arizona | 6 years | 3 years | 8 years | substantial completion |
| Florida | 5 years | 4 years | 7 years | earliest of CO, completion or abandonment |
| Washington | 6 years | 3 years | 6 years | substantial completion |
| North Carolina | 3 years | 3 years | 6 years | later of last act or substantial completion |
| Virginia | 5 years | 3 years | 5 years | when the services were furnished |
Look at North Carolina and Illinois together. Same country, same kind of claim, and one gives you three years on a written contract while the other gives ten.
Our calculator does this per state. The "Warranty & Claim Deadline Calculator" at /tools/warranty-calculator gives your state's limitation and repose periods and what each one runs from.
The six states with no statute of repose
Connecticut, Idaho, Kansas, Maine, New York and Vermont have no construction statute of repose at all. There is no absolute cutoff waiting for you. The ordinary limitation period still applies, so this is not unlimited time, but the defect that surfaces in year twelve is not automatically dead on arrival the way it would be in most of the country.
The fifteen states where repose does not kill a contract claim
This is the most useful thing on this page and almost nobody knows it.
In Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, New York, Oklahoma, Rhode Island and Vermont, the statute of repose does not bar a claim for breach of contract. It bars tort claims, typically negligence. So in those fifteen jurisdictions, a homeowner with a written contract may still have a route long after a neighbor relying on a negligence claim would have none.
That is a second reason the written contract earns its keep. It is not just a longer clock. In a third of the country it is a different clock.
What to do, in order, when you find defective work
- Photograph it before anything is touched. Wide shot for context, close shot for detail, and something in frame for scale. Date-stamped is better. If water is involved, photograph it wet.
- Write to the contractor, and be specific. What is wrong, where, when you noticed it, and what you want done. Email is fine and creates the record. Most defects are fixed at this step by a contractor who wants their reputation intact.
- Give them a real opportunity to put it right. Several states require this by statute before you can sue, under right-to-repair or notice-and-opportunity-to-cure laws, and skipping it can cost you the claim. It is also the fastest and cheapest fix available to you.
- Check your contract for a warranty period, which is a separate promise from anything the statute gives you. A one-year workmanship warranty is common and runs alongside your legal rights, not instead of them.
- Find your dates. When was the work substantially complete? When did you first occupy or use it? When did you notice the defect? Those three dates decide which clocks apply and how much of them is left.
- If it is structural, or the money is serious, get advice early. Not because the contractor is the enemy, but because the repose clock does not stop while you negotiate, and a claim that expires during a friendly conversation is still expired.
What none of this covers
Statutory rights sit alongside, not instead of, whatever you were promised. A manufacturer's product warranty on a roof covering, a builder's own workmanship warranty, a new-home warranty program, and any express promise written into your contract are all separate. Read them, because they often run on shorter clocks than the statute and require notice in a specific form to a specific address.
Common questions
How long do I have to sue a contractor for bad work?
Two clocks run. The written-contract limitation runs 3 to 10 years by state, median 6. A statute of repose then sets an absolute cutoff from completion, most commonly 10 years, and it applies even if the defect had not appeared.
What is a statute of repose?
An absolute deadline measured from when the work was completed, rather than from when you found the problem. Once it expires the claim is gone. Forty-five states have one for construction, most commonly running 10 years.
Which states have no statute of repose for construction?
Connecticut, Idaho, Kansas, Maine, New York and Vermont. The ordinary limitation period still applies, so the time is not unlimited, but there is no absolute cutoff running from completion.
Does a statute of repose block a breach of contract claim?
Not everywhere. In fifteen jurisdictions, including New York, Georgia, Michigan and DC, it bars tort claims but not contract claims. A written contract can therefore outlive a negligence claim on the same defect.
Do I have to let the contractor fix it first?
Often yes. Several states have right-to-repair or notice-and-opportunity-to-cure statutes that require you to give notice and a chance to put it right before suing. It is also usually the fastest fix.
Does a written contract really give me longer than a verbal one?
In almost every state, yes, and often double. The oral-contract limitation is shorter than the written one nearly everywhere, and in fifteen states the written contract also survives the repose cutoff that kills a tort claim.
Where these figures come from
The limitation periods, repose periods and what each repose runs from are read from SiteKiln's own 51-state construction warranty and claim-deadline dataset. Every one of the 51 rows carries a last-verified stamp covering the WHOLE row, not only its numbers, and naming the source read and the date.
The counts on this page were taken across all 51 rows: 45 with a statute of repose and 6 without, 36 whose repose bars a contract claim and 15 whose does not. Where the repose trigger is unusual, this page quotes the dataset's own wording for that state rather than flattening it into "substantial completion".
The honest bit
Most defects are not lawsuits. They are a callback, an awkward phone call and a fix, and the contractor who did the work is nearly always the cheapest and fastest person to put it right. Going in hard on day one usually costs a homeowner money and time.
What we would say is this: know your dates before you start being patient. Patience is a good strategy and a terrible accident. The people who lose these claims are almost never the ones who fought too early. They are the ones who accepted "we will get to it in the spring" three springs running, and then found out the clock had been running the whole time.
Write it down, be reasonable, be specific, and know when the door closes.
Know someone who needs this?
Keep reading
Was this guide useful?
Didn't find what you were looking for?
Spotted something wrong or out of date? Email us at hello@kilnguides.co.uk.
In crisis? 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline 988 ·