By the Mountain Cove Homes team · Miami, Florida
Buying pre-construction in Miami-Dade is not a purchase with a delay, it is a sequence of legal moments that each open and close a right you may need later.
Money changes hands before a house exists. Protections attach at some steps and not others, and one clock — the most important one — starts on a date most buyers never hear about.
The good news is that almost none of it is discretionary. Florida wrote the deposit rules, the county publishes the permits, and the deadline that governs defect claims is in one sentence of one statute.
The ongoing cost of the finished house is in the full cost of owning a home in Miami-Dade. This is the transaction that gets you there.
First, Establish Which Set of Rules You Are Under
Before anything else, establish whether you are buying a single-family home or a condominium unit. Florida treats them as different transactions with different protections, and buyers routinely read advice written for one while signing the other.
A single-family or two-family dwelling falls under the deposit rules in Chapter 501. A condominium unit falls under Chapter 718, which has its own escrow mechanics and its own cancellation right.
Get this wrong and you will look for a right you do not have, or miss one you do.
What Actually Protects Your Deposit
This is where the money is, and the protection is narrower than most buyers assume.
On a single-family home
For a builder or developer selling one-family or two-family dwellings, Florida requires notice to the buyer that any deposit, up to 10 percent of the purchase price, shall — unless waived in writing by the buyer — be deposited in an escrow account with a bank, savings and loan, trust company, Florida Bar member attorney, licensed Florida real estate broker or title insurer.
Three limits sit inside that sentence, and each one is worth reading twice.
The protection covers up to ten percent of the purchase price, not the whole deposit. It can be waived in writing, which means the contract may already do it. And it does not apply to a person who sells or constructs fewer than 10 units per year statewide.
The contract must carry the disclosure in conspicuous type, stating that the buyer of a one-family or two-family residential dwelling unit has the right to have all deposit funds up to ten percent placed in escrow, and that the right may be waived in writing.
Find that legend before you sign. If you cannot, ask why.
Withdrawals normally require both signatures. A builder who wants to use escrowed money for construction must first notify the buyer and obtain a surety bond payable to the buyer in the amount of the deposit, or, where no bond is available, borrow an equivalent amount. And a developer who willfully fails to comply with the escrow provisions commits a felony of the third degree, with failure to place funds in escrow within ten days treated as prima facie evidence of a violation.
One asymmetry to note: if the buyer defaults, the builder can reach the funds after certified-mail notice and a seventy-two hour wait. And once closing occurs, the buyer has no right to claim escrowed funds for breach of contract.
On a condominium
The mechanics are different and, on the excess, more permissive. A condominium developer must pay into an escrow account all payments up to 10 percent of the sale price, and hold amounts above ten percent in a special escrow account — from which the developer may withdraw once construction of improvements has begun, for actual construction and development costs.
The statute expressly bars using those funds for salaries, commissions, sales expenses, advertising, marketing or promotion. Willful non-compliance is again a third-degree felony.
Condominium buyers also get a cancellation right that single-family buyers do not: the agreement is voidable by written notice within 15 days after execution and receipt of the required documents, a right that cannot be waived and terminates at closing.
There is no equivalent fifteen-day right on a single-family pre-construction contract. If a community has a homeowners’ association, the three-day cancellation right attached to the association disclosure summary is a separate and much shorter window.
The Disclosures That Are Genuinely Mandatory
Four statutory disclosures can attach to a Florida new-home purchase, and they are easy to lose in a stack.
The escrow legend described above, in the contract itself.
The community development district notice, required in the contract for the initial sale of a parcel inside a district, in boldfaced type larger than the rest of the contract and immediately above your signature — and what it costs over its full term is a calculation of its own.
The homeowners’ association disclosure summary, with its three-day cancellation right — and once you are past it, the documents that association has to publish are the ones that describe the fee.
And the flood disclosure, which a seller must complete and provide at or before the time the sales contract is executed. On a new build its usefulness is limited, because it is anchored to flooding during the seller’s ownership — the county’s own maps and criteria are the real research.
Separately, a contract for construction of residential real property must contain a written statement about the Florida Homeowners’ Construction Recovery Fund, which can pay a limited amount where a licensed contractor’s specified violations cause a loss.
The Permit File Is Public, and Worth Watching
You do not have to take anyone’s word for where a project stands.
Miami-Dade publishes a building permit lookup with searches by folio, by address and by permit number. Open permits by folio, inspection history, project status, outstanding requirements and inspection holds are all queryable.
Plans go through review by discipline — building, electrical, roofing, mechanical, plumbing, structural, zoning, impact fees and public works, plus fire, environmental and health review. Inspections are required for new construction, run as rough and final inspections, and include a zoning inspection to confirm the landscape and site plan were executed as approved before a certificate of occupancy is issued.
Check the file periodically during construction. A permit with an inspection hold is a fact; a schedule update is an opinion.
CO, TCO, and Why the Difference Costs You
This is the step that changes the rest of your rights, and almost no sales presentation covers it.
Miami-Dade describes a certificate of occupancy as validating that a building has been completed in compliance with applicable codes, issued for new construction, remodeling, renovation or change of use. A temporary certificate grants the right to occupy based on certain conditions and is valid for a temporary period of ninety days.
A TCO gets you into the house. It also starts the clock.
The Clock That Starts at the TCO
Here is the sentence worth the whole article.
An action founded on the design, planning or construction of an improvement to real property runs from the date the authority having jurisdiction issues a temporary certificate of occupancy, a certificate of occupancy, or a certificate of completion, or the date of abandonment of construction if not completed, whichever date is earliest. For a latent defect, time runs from when the defect is discovered or should have been discovered with due diligence.
Two periods run, not one, and confusing them is expensive. The provision sits in the section headed within four years — four years is the limitations period, running from that earliest certificate date, or from discovery in the case of a latent defect.
Seven years is the outer limit. In any event, the statute says, the action must be commenced within seven years of that same earliest date, and that ceiling applies even to a latent defect discovered late.
So a patent defect you could have found gives you four years, not seven. The seven-year figure is the wall at the end of the corridor, not the length of the corridor.
Read what that does. Not the closing, not the walkthrough, not the day you moved in.
It is the earliest of the TCO, the CO, the certificate of completion or abandonment — and a TCO is often months earlier than everything else.
The statute closes the obvious workaround too. Where construction was performed under a duly issued permit and a certificate was issued, correction of defects to completed work or repair of completed work, whether performed under warranty or otherwise, does not extend the period within which an action must be commenced.
Warranty repairs do not restart anything. That is the single most expensive misunderstanding in new-home ownership.
Ask for the date and the number of the certificate, in writing, and put it somewhere you will find it in six years.
If Something Is Wrong, There Is an Order to It
Florida requires a notice and cure process before litigation over construction defects.
A claimant must, at least 60 days before filing any action — or 120 days where an association representing more than 20 parcels is involved — serve written notice describing in reasonable detail the nature of each alleged defect and, if known, the damage.
The recipient is then entitled to inspect within thirty days, and must serve a written response within forty-five days: an offer to remedy at no cost with a description of the proposed repairs, an offer to settle by monetary payment, or a statement disputing the claim.
Contracts entered into after October 1, 2009 must contain a notice that claims for construction defects are subject to these provisions, though omitting it carries no penalty — the notice exists to promote awareness rather than to punish.
Separately, Florida provides a statutory civil action for damage caused by a material violation of the Florida Building Code. Note the defense built into it: where the permits were obtained, plans approved, and all required inspections passed, and there is no personal injury or damage to other property, the section does not apply unless the party knew or should have known the violation existed.
Passing inspections is a meaningful shield for the builder. Which is another way of saying your own inspection matters.
The Walkthrough Miami-Dade Itself Recommends
The county publishes guidance for buyers of newly constructed homes, and it is more direct than most private advice.
It says to walk through and inspect the house with the developer or builder before signing the closing documents, and to bring someone knowledgeable in the building trade as your representative, such as a licensed engineer or architect.
It also says to obtain a list of contractors and subcontractors with certificate of competency numbers, and copies of product approvals for the roof system and other items subject to product control requirements. And it recommends that a buyer obtain, at a minimum, a one-year warranty from the developer or builder.
That last line is a recommendation, not a statutory entitlement. Which is exactly why it should be a negotiated term rather than an assumption.
What the Recovery Fund Does and Does Not Cover
Florida keeps a fund for homeowners who lose money to a licensed contractor, and it is narrower than its name suggests.
A claimant becomes eligible only after exhausting the limits of any available bond, surety, guarantee, warranty, letter of credit or policy, and after obtaining a final judgment, an arbitration award or a final order from the licensing board. The judgment must rest on specific violations — mismanagement or misconduct causing financial harm, abandoning a project, or falsely certifying bonding, payment or insurance.
There is more. The claimant must have attempted execution on the judgment and had it returned unsatisfied, and must file within one year after the conclusion of the underlying proceeding.
Payments are capped. The statute sets a maximum of $100,000 for each Division I claim and $30,000 for each Division II claim, with aggregate ceilings per licensee.
Read that as what it is: a backstop after litigation, not an insurance policy. The practical protections in a pre-construction purchase are the escrow, the contract and the permit file — in that order.
Buying Pre-Construction in Miami-Dade: Where to Slow Down
An escrow legend you cannot find in the contract, or one that has already been waived on your behalf.
A deposit above ten percent with no explanation of where the excess sits and under what rules.
A sales team that cannot produce the permit number, or a permit file with open inspection holds and a confident delivery date.
A closing scheduled without a stated certificate date. That date starts your defect clock, and you are entitled to know it.
A verbal warranty. Miami-Dade recommends one year in writing, and a promise that is not in the contract is not a warranty.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is your deposit protected when buying pre-construction in Florida?
Up to ten percent of the purchase price must be held in escrow for a one-family or two-family dwelling, unless the buyer waives that right in writing. The requirement does not apply to sellers or builders handling fewer than ten units per year statewide, and condominium deposits follow a separate set of rules.
Can you cancel a pre-construction contract in Florida?
A condominium purchase agreement is voidable within fifteen days after execution and receipt of the required documents, and that right cannot be waived. There is no equivalent fifteen-day right on a single-family contract, though a homeowners’ association disclosure carries a three-day cancellation window.
What is the difference between a CO and a TCO?
A certificate of occupancy validates that a building was completed in compliance with applicable codes. A temporary certificate allows occupancy subject to conditions and is valid for a temporary period of ninety days. Both can start the clock on construction defect claims.
How long do you have to sue over a construction defect in Florida?
The limitations period is four years, running from the earliest of the temporary certificate of occupancy, the certificate of occupancy, the certificate of completion or abandonment of construction — or from discovery in the case of a latent defect. Separately, no action may be commenced more than seven years after that same earliest date. Warranty repairs do not extend either period.
Do you have to notify the builder before filing a construction defect suit?
Yes. Written notice describing each alleged defect must be served at least sixty days before filing, or one hundred twenty days where an association representing more than twenty parcels is involved. The builder may inspect within thirty days and must respond in writing within forty-five.
Can you check a builder’s permits before buying?
Yes. Miami-Dade publishes a public permit lookup searchable by folio, address or permit number, returning open permits, inspection history, project status, outstanding requirements and inspection holds.
Pre-construction rewards the buyer who treats it as a series of dated events rather than a waiting period. Every protection in it has a moment when it attaches and a moment when it expires, and the calendar is public.
About Mountain Cove Homes. Mountain Cove Homes is a boutique home builder based in Miami, Florida, building single-family homes and townhomes in small communities across Miami-Dade County — including Golden Park and other communities currently selling. Its personnel have been constructing homes in South Florida since the early 1980s. More about how the company works and where it builds.
This article is general information about the purchase of new residential construction in Florida. It is not legal, financial or engineering advice, and it does not describe any particular contract. Statutes, thresholds and deadlines change, and what applies to a specific transaction depends on its documents. Verify your own situation with a licensed professional before relying on any of it.
For additional legal disclaimers please see the legal information document.
Talk to Mountain Cove Homes
Mountain Cove Homes is a boutique home builder in Miami, Florida, building single-family homes and townhomes in small communities across Miami-Dade County — most of them with no HOA and no CDD tax. If you want to walk through lot availability, pricing, and what is included at this stage of construction, we will give you the numbers directly.
Office 4878 Southwest 74th Court, Miami, FL 33155 786.458.1805 [email protected]
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