PulteGroup and its subsidiary, Pulte Home Company, allegedly built homes in the state of Florida that were not to code and hid that information from homebuyers, according to the office of Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi.
Bondi’s office announced last week that it reached a settlement with the Pulte companies after a two-year investigation found that Pulte allegedly failed to disclose to certain Florida buyers that some of its homes were being built in violation of applicable building codes.
Bondi’s office filed a complaint against Pulte that accused the homebuilder of violating the Florida Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices Act.
The complaint alleged that Pulte was “unfairly denying” certain homeowners’ repair claims for various reasons, including accusing homeowners of failing to maintain their property, when the home’s problems were actually caused by Pulte’s defective construction.
The complaint also alleged that Pulte violated Florida law by “unfairly denying certain Florida homeowners’ repair claims without performing an adequate inspection of the home,” and “Unfairly withholding a customer’s deposit in certain instances.”
According to Bondi’s office, before and during the investigation, Pulte spent approximately $64 million to repair affected homes in Florida. The settlement agreement stipulates that Pulte must repair additional homes that are as much as 10 years old and meet certain criteria.
Bondi’s office also said that during the investigation, Pulte spent more than $10 million to upgrade building materials, improve its construction techniques, and provide additional training to its employees and trade contractors in Florida to address the issues in question.
Additionally, Pulte must also provide $4.7 million for restitution, including out-of-pocket expenses incurred by homeowners because of construction defects and repair work.
Bondi’s office said that information will soon be made available to the public about how they can claim a portion of the settlement amount.
HousingWire attempted to contact Pulte about the settlement, but as of publication, the company has not responded. This article will be updated should the company respond.
