New Construction Home Inspections in Florida: When to Book Each Phase, and Why

Do you need a new construction home inspection in Florida?

It is a fair question. The house is brand new, the building department has inspected it several times, and the builder gives you a warranty. So why hire anyone to look at it? Because none of those three things does what an independent new construction home inspection does. The building department checks permitted work against the minimum requirements of the Florida Building Code at specific moments. The builder's quality staff report to the builder. And a warranty only pays off for problems that somebody notices and reports before the deadline.

New houses go up fast, and they are built by a chain of separate trades: framers, roofers, plumbers, electricians, A/C installers, insulation, drywall and paint crews, often working back to back on a tight schedule. Each crew can damage or bury the work of the crew before it. A truss chord cut to make room for a duct, a hurricane strap left with empty nail holes, a drain with too little slope or a missing section of insulation behind a tub can all disappear behind the next layer. None of that means a builder is careless. It means a second set of eyes, hired by the buyer, is the normal way to catch what slips through.

No Florida law requires you to get one, as our guide on whether Florida requires a home inspection explains. It is your decision, and it pays off most when each visit is timed to a moment when a problem can still be corrected without a fight: before the walls close, before you close on the house, and before the first-year warranty period ends.

What a new home inspection is not

It is not a code inspection. We do not issue permits, approve work or sign off on a certificate of occupancy, and nothing in our report overrides the building official. It is not an engineering review of the design either. It is a visual, non-invasive look at the accessible structure, systems and finishes, following the InterNACHI Standards of Practice, with photos and plain explanations, delivered as a report you can hand straight to the builder.

The three phases of a new construction inspection

Most buyers think of a single inspection right before closing. In practice there are three windows in the life of a new house when an independent look is worth the most, and a fourth, optional piece of paperwork that is easiest to handle at the same time as the final visit.

If you can only book one, the final inspection before closing covers the most ground, because the whole house is finished and every system can be run. The pre-drywall visit is the only one that sees inside the walls and ceilings, and it cannot be repeated once the drywall is hung. The 11th-month visit shows how the house behaved after a year of real use.

If you are buying a spec home that is already finished, the pre-drywall window has passed, but the final and 11th-month visits still apply. If you are buying a house that is less than a year old from its first owner, ask the seller for the builder's warranty booklet and find out whether the remaining coverage transfers to you. If it does, an inspection now doubles as your warranty inspection.

City inspections vs. an independent new construction inspection

Every permitted new home in Florida is inspected by the authority that issued the permit. Section 110.3 of the Florida Building Code lists the required building inspections: the foundation, the framing, the roof and wall sheathing, exterior wall coverings and soffits, roofing, and a final inspection once the building is ready for occupancy. Electrical, plumbing, mechanical and gas work get their own underground, rough-in and final inspections. Where impact-resistant windows, doors or shutters are installed, the building official schedules inspections to confirm that the system on the plans was installed according to the manufacturer's instructions and its product approval.

The code lets the building official decide when each inspection happens and which elements are looked at in each one. Some builders also use a private provider, a licensed engineer, architect or building code administrator hired to perform the required inspections under Section 553.791 of the Florida Statutes. Either way, the local building official is the one who issues the certificate of occupancy (CO) at the end, the document that allows the house to be lived in.

That system works, and it catches real problems. But it was designed to enforce the code, not to represent you. The code itself says that approval as a result of an inspection is not an approval of a violation. Here is how the two kinds of inspection differ:

Why "it passed every city inspection" is not the same as "no defects"

The code is a minimum, and a city inspection is a snapshot of specific elements on a specific day. Work done after that inspection, such as a plumber drilling through a stud the framer already had approved, may never be looked at again. A city inspector is not there to open every window, run every faucet, check that the A/C actually cools the bedrooms or tell you the grout lines in the shower are uneven. Those are exactly the things you will live with, and they are what an independent inspection is built to check.

Pre-drywall inspection: the one chance to see inside the walls

A pre-drywall inspection happens after the framing, roof dry-in, windows and the rough plumbing, electrical and A/C work are in place, and before insulation and drywall cover them. The best moment is right after the builder's rough-in inspections, because the trades have finished their work inside the walls but nothing has been closed yet. Insulation and drywall can follow within days, so this visit depends on good communication with the builder.

In South Florida, many new homes have exterior walls of concrete block topped by a poured concrete tie beam, with wood or light-gauge steel framing inside and engineered wood trusses on top. Two-story homes may use block on both floors or a framed upper floor. Whatever the system, these are the areas we work through at this stage:

What to do with the pre-drywall report

Send the report to the builder's representative named in your contract, usually the construction or project manager, and ask for a written answer on each item before insulation goes in. Ask to be told when corrections are finished, and take your own photos of them before the walls close. Keep the full set of pre-drywall photos with your house records: they show where pipes, wires and blocking run, which helps years later when you hang cabinets, mount a TV or plan a remodel. If you would like the corrections looked at again before drywall, ask us whether a short return visit fits the builder's schedule.

The final inspection before closing

The final inspection is a full home inspection of a finished house. The best time is a few days before the builder's walkthrough (some builders call it the orientation or the blue-tape walk), so you arrive with a written list instead of trying to spot everything yourself while being shown how the thermostat works.

The house needs to be complete and the utilities on: power, water and gas where the home has it. Appliances should be installed. If the water or power is off, we cannot test the systems, and the most important part of the visit is lost, so confirm with the builder before the date is set. On the day, we work through:

• Roof: cracked, slipped or poorly set tiles, shingle damage, flashing at walls and penetrations, and gutters and downspouts, inspected from the edge or by drone where walking could crack tiles.
• Attic: insulation depth and coverage, duct connections, exhaust fans vented outdoors, roof-to-wall connections and any staining under the deck.
• Exterior: soil sloping away from the house, cracks in stucco, sealant at pipes, lights and hose bibs, and irrigation heads that spray the walls.
• Windows and doors: every one opened, closed and locked, weatherstripping, sliding door tracks and the condition of impact glass and frames.
• Garage door: operation and the automatic reverse safety feature, plus the door between the garage and the house.
• Electrical: the panel with its cover removed, labeling, a sample of outlets for polarity and grounding, GFCI and AFCI protection, and smoke alarms.
• Plumbing: every fixture run, leaks under sinks and behind toilets, drain speed, water heater installation and its relief valve discharge line.
• A/C: cooling in every room, the temperature difference across the system, the condensate drain and its overflow safety switch, and the insulation on refrigerant lines.
• Appliances: built-in appliances started and checked for basic operation.
• Interior finishes: drywall, paint, flooring, trim, cabinets, countertops, tile and grout, called out so they can go on the punch list.

We also scan walls and ceilings with a thermal camera when the conditions allow it. With the A/C running, missing insulation, air leaks around openings and damp spots from a plumbing or window leak can show up as temperature patterns that are invisible to the eye. Anything the camera flags is checked with a moisture meter before it goes in the report. For a room-by-room view of what a full inspection covers, see our Florida home inspection checklist.

Final inspection and closing dates

Builders often schedule closing soon after the certificate of occupancy is issued, and the window between CO and closing can be short. Book us as soon as you know the walkthrough date. The report arrives within 24 hours, which leaves time to turn it into a punch list. If your insurer needs a wind mitigation form before you can bind coverage, it can be done during the same visit.

How to turn findings into a punch list the builder can act on

A punch list is the written list of items the builder agrees to correct, usually created at the walkthrough. A good one is specific enough that the person fixing an item can find it without calling you, and complete enough that nothing depends on memory. This is how we suggest building it from our report:

1. Start from the report, not from memory. Go through it section by section and copy each item you want corrected, with the photo number or page from the report.
2. Write one line per item. Room, exact location, what is wrong and what a correct result looks like: "Primary bath, left sink, slow drip at the trap connection," not "plumbing issue."
3. Split function from appearance. Leaks, safety items, A/C performance and anything that lets water in go at the top. Paint touch-ups and scuffs still belong on the list, just lower down.
4. Put it in writing to the right person. Send it to the representative your contract names, and keep a copy of what you sent and when. Verbal promises at the walkthrough are hard to rely on later.
5. Agree on timing. Some items get done before closing and some after. Ask for written confirmation of the items that will be completed after you move in.
6. Check the work. Look at each corrected item before closing, or at the final walkthrough. If you would like a professional to recheck the important ones, ask us whether a short re-inspection can be scheduled.

How much leverage a punch list gives you before closing depends on your purchase contract, so read what it says about completion, walkthroughs and closing. If the contract language is unclear, that is a question for a Florida real estate attorney, not for an inspector.

The 11th-month warranty inspection

The clock on a builder warranty usually starts at closing (check the start date your booklet uses), and coverage for workmanship and materials is commonly about one year. An 11th-month inspection, booked in the tenth or eleventh month after closing, looks at the house while that first-year coverage is still in force and leaves you time to file a written request before it ends. It is the visit people most often forget, and the one that can matter most, because a year of living in a house exposes things a brand-new house hides.

By then the house has been through a South Florida summer, with the A/C running hard, afternoon storms and wind-driven rain, and the framing has had a year to dry and settle. The items that tend to appear in that first year include:

• Stucco cracking, especially at the corners of windows and doors, and cracks that open up along joints in the wall.
• Drywall cracks and nail pops as framing lumber dries out, often at door corners and along ceiling seams.
• Window and slider leaks that only show up in wind-driven rain, leaving stains on sills, baseboards or flooring.
• A/C problems such as a clogged condensate line, water in the overflow pan, rooms that never cool down or ducts that worked loose in the attic.
• Plumbing drips under sinks, at supply connections, around toilets and at the water heater that started small and kept going.
• Roof issues such as tiles that slipped or cracked, flashing that pulled away, and stains under the deck in the attic.
• Drainage changes where soil settled against the foundation, water ponds near the house or downspouts empty against the wall.
• Doors and windows that started sticking, latching poorly or letting in light around the weatherstripping.
• Shower and tub caulk and grout that cracked or separated, which lets water get behind tile.

Which part of the warranty covers what

Read your warranty booklet with the report next to you. Builder warranties are usually split by component and by time: finish and workmanship items for a first period, mechanical systems such as plumbing, electrical and A/C for a longer one, and major structural defects, if covered at all, for longer still. Appliances and equipment often fall under their manufacturers' warranties instead of the builder's, so register them soon after closing. Then file the items that belong to the builder in writing, following the booklet's instructions, before the first-year deadline.

How to coordinate inspections with your builder

A house under construction is the builder's job site until closing, so you need the builder's cooperation to get an inspector inside. Builders handle this differently. Some welcome independent inspections at set stages, some limit them to particular phases, and some put conditions on them. The time to find out is before you sign the purchase contract, when you can still ask questions and get answers in writing.

Questions worth asking the builder, preferably by email so the answers are on record:

• Does the contract allow independent inspections at pre-drywall and before closing, and where does it say so?
• Who schedules access, and how much notice do they need?
• Will you notify me when the house is ready for a pre-drywall inspection, before insulation goes in?
• Does the inspector need to provide proof of liability insurance, be escorted or follow site safety rules such as hard hats?
• Will the utilities be on and the appliances installed for the final inspection?
• How do I submit inspection findings, and who will respond to them?
• How do I file warranty requests after closing, and when does each part of the warranty start?

On site, findings should go through the builder's representative, not to individual crews. Trade workers answer to the builder and cannot change the scope of their work on a buyer's request, and going around the representative tends to slow things down. We keep the visit professional: we inspect, we photograph, we write it up, and you forward the report through the proper channel.

Paperwork to collect before you close

Ask the builder for copies, and keep them together. Several of these documents are also what an insurance inspector will want to see:

• The certificate of occupancy and the list of permits for the house. Permit records can also be looked up at the city or county building department.
• Product approval numbers for the windows, exterior doors, garage door, shutters if any, and the roof covering.
• The roofing details, including the underlayment that was used. Keep the roof permit with them: it is the main proof of when the roof went on, which matters once insurers start asking about roof age.
• The termite treatment record. Florida's residential code requires a termite protective treatment on new construction, and the licensed pest control company issues a certificate of compliance to the building department once it is done.
• The warranty booklet, plus manuals and registration cards for the A/C, water heater and appliances.
• In a flood hazard area, the certification of the lowest floor elevation that the code requires as part of the final inspection.

Before you sign, it is also worth confirming that the builder holds an active Florida contractor license. The Department of Business and Professional Regulation has a free public license search at myfloridalicense.com.

Builder warranties in Florida: what to read before you need them

For condominiums, Florida's statutes spell out the developer's warranties in detail (more on that below). For a single-family home sold by a builder, the written warranty you rely on day to day is the one in your contract and the builder's warranty document, so its terms are what you need to know. Florida law also recognizes common-law implied warranties of fitness, merchantability and habitability for a new home, and Section 553.835 of the Florida Statutes limits those to the home and to improvements that immediately and directly support it, excluding things like streets, sidewalks, drainage and utilities off the lot. What that means for any particular claim is a legal question.

A consumer guide from the Federal Trade Commission describes how new home warranties are commonly structured: workmanship and materials on most components, such as siding and stucco, doors and trim, drywall and paint, for the first year; plumbing, electrical and HVAC systems generally for two years; and, with some builders, up to 10 years for major structural defects, sometimes defined as problems that make the home unsafe. The same guide notes that these warranties typically leave out household appliances, small cracks in brick, tile, cement or drywall, components covered by a manufacturer's warranty, and costs such as moving out while repairs are made. Some warranties are backed by the builder itself, and others by an outside company the builder buys coverage from.

Three things in your warranty booklet deserve a careful read:

• The claim procedure. How a request must be made, to whom, and whether it has to be in writing. The FTC advises putting repair requests in writing and keeping a record of every exchange.
• The standards. Some warranties define what counts as a defect, for example how wide a crack has to be before it is covered. Your inspection report gives you the facts to compare against those standards.
• Dispute resolution. Many new home warranties call for mediation and then binding arbitration instead of court. Know that before a disagreement starts.

This is where an inspection report earns its keep. A dated document listing each item with its location and a photo makes it easy to file a clear, complete request on time, and harder for anything to be lost between phone calls.

Florida's Chapter 558: the notice and opportunity to repair process

This section explains what the statute says in general terms. It is not legal advice, and if you are considering a claim, talk to a Florida attorney who handles construction defect cases.

Most new home problems are settled through the warranty. When they are not, Florida has a process that comes before any lawsuit or arbitration over a construction defect: Chapter 558 of the Florida Statutes. In short, the owner must give the builder (or a subcontractor, supplier or design professional) written notice of the claim and a chance to inspect and respond, including by offering to repair, before the case can go forward. The statute defines a construction defect as a deficiency coming from defective materials, products or components, from a code violation that gives rise to a claim under Section 553.84, from a design that fails professional standards, or from construction that does not meet accepted trade standards for good and workmanlike work.

What the notice must contain

Under Section 558.004, the notice must refer to Chapter 558 and describe each alleged defect in reasonable detail, with the damage known so far and the location of each defect, based on at least a visual inspection by the owner or the owner's agents. The owner is not required to do destructive testing for the notice. The statute asks the owner to try to serve the notice within 15 days after discovering a defect, though missing that target does not by itself bar the claim. If the claim arises from work under a contract, the notice goes to the party the owner contracted with.

Those requirements are one reason inspection reports matter: a report that describes and locates each condition, with photos, is the kind of factual record an attorney will ask for. Whether and how to use it is a decision for you and your lawyer.

The timeline

The deadlines below come from Section 558.004. Larger community associations get longer periods.

The response may offer to repair at no cost, offer money, offer a combination of both, dispute the claim, or say the claim has been sent to an insurer. If the owner accepts a repair offer, the builder must be given reasonable access to do the work, and if the repair or payment is completed on time, the owner cannot then sue on that claim. If the claim is disputed or nobody responds in time, the owner may proceed without further notice.

The contract notice, and the clock

Section 558.005 says written contracts for improvement of real property between an owner and a contractor, entered into after October 1, 2009, must include a notice in substantially this form: "ANY CLAIMS FOR CONSTRUCTION DEFECTS ARE SUBJECT TO THE NOTICE AND CURE PROVISIONS OF CHAPTER 558, FLORIDA STATUTES." Seeing that sentence in your paperwork is normal. The statute also allows the parties to agree in writing that the process does not apply.

Deadlines also run in the background. Section 95.11 generally gives four years to bring an action based on the construction of an improvement to real property, counted from the earliest of the temporary certificate of occupancy, the certificate of occupancy or the certificate of completion. For a latent defect, the time runs from when it was or should have been discovered, but in any event the action must start within seven years. Serving a Chapter 558 notice pauses the limitations period for a time, but it does not extend the seven-year limit. Those dates are a reason not to sit on a known problem.

Insurance paperwork for a new home: why wind mitigation is usually easy

If you are financing the purchase, your lender will want proof of homeowners insurance at closing, and in Florida the windstorm part of that premium can be reduced by credits for wind-resistant features, documented on the state's uniform mitigation form, OIR-B1-1802. New homes tend to document well on it, which is why we often complete it during the final visit.

Inspections on or after April 1, 2026 use the form's revised version, Rev. 04/26, with nine items. On a new house, several answers on the wind mitigation report come straight from recent paperwork. The building code item depends on the code in effect when the permit was applied for, which on a new home is easy to confirm from the permit record. In Broward and Miami-Dade, the region item always answers HVHZ. The roof covering is documented by its new permit and product approvals. The roof deck nailing and the roof-to-wall connections are verified from the attic, and the shape of the roof is measured on site.

Two items still trip up new homes. Opening protection is graded by the weakest opening, so every window, door, slider, skylight and the garage door needs protection that can be verified. Leave the labels on new impact glass until the form is done, and keep the product approval numbers. And the sealed roof deck item depends on the underlayment method, which is rarely visible once the roof is on, so ask the builder or roofer to put it in writing.

The form can remain valid for up to five years as long as nothing about the structure changes and nothing on it proves inaccurate, and your insurer decides what each answer is worth. A 4-point inspection is generally a question for older houses, so a brand-new home is usually far from needing one. For the full picture, read our guide on how a wind mitigation inspection works, or see our wind mitigation inspection service.

New construction inspections in South Florida

A new home in Hollywood or Miramar is not built quite like a new home in Central Florida, and a few local conditions shape what we pay attention to.

• The High-Velocity Hurricane Zone. The Florida Building Code applies its HVHZ provisions to Miami-Dade and Broward counties only. Palm Beach County is outside it. That changes the requirements for roofing, openings and connections, and it changes some answers on the wind mitigation form.
• Concrete block and stucco. Block walls with a stucco finish are common here, so stucco cracking, sealant at penetrations and water management around openings get extra attention, both at the final and at the 11th month.
• Heat, humidity and the A/C. The A/C runs most of the year, so condensate drainage, duct connections and insulation in the attic matter more than in milder climates. A small installation mistake becomes a water stain or a moldy closet within months.
• Rain and drainage. Heavy summer downpours test grading, gutters and window installation quickly. Ponding near the slab and irrigation aimed at the walls are worth fixing early.
• Termites. Where the builder used soil treatment, the code calls for a vertical chemical barrier after construction is finished, including the initial landscaping and irrigation, and soil disturbed after that should be retreated. If you plan new beds, pavers or additions along the walls, talk to a pest control company first. Our guide to termite (WDO) inspections explains how those inspections work.
• Salt air. Near the coast, salt speeds up corrosion on metal fasteners, connectors, A/C coils and exterior fixtures. On a new house, the aim is to note anything that is already rusting or was installed with the wrong materials.

We inspect new homes across Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach. If you are building in one of the communities below, our local pages explain what is typical in each city, and our home inspections in Hollywood page covers our home base.

Buying a new condo or townhome

New condominiums follow different rules. Section 718.203 of the Florida Statutes makes the developer give each unit buyer implied warranties of fitness and merchantability. For the unit itself, the warranty lasts three years from completion of the building. For the roof, structural components and the building's mechanical, electrical and plumbing elements, it runs three years from completion or one year after owners other than the developer take control of the association, whichever is later, but never more than five years. "Completion" generally means the issuance of a certificate of occupancy for the building.

A unit inspection covers what is inside your unit: the A/C, water heater, plumbing fixtures, electrical, windows and sliders, finishes and appliances. The roof, structure and shared systems belong to the association, and claims about them usually go through the association. Our condo unit inspection page explains what we check, and our condo buyer's guide to milestone inspections covers the building-level safety laws you will meet when the building ages.

Townhomes are a mixed group. Some are sold as condominium units and some as fee simple homes with their own lots, and the warranty rules differ, so check which one you are buying before you book anything.

Common myths about inspecting a brand-new home

• "New means nothing is wrong." New means nothing is worn out. Installation mistakes, missed connections and damage from one trade to another are exactly what new houses tend to have.
• "The city already inspected it." The city checks code minimums at set stages for the community, not finish quality or how the house performs for you.
• "The builder's walkthrough is the inspection." The walkthrough is the builder showing you the house. It is useful, but it is not an independent review.
• "I can catch the problems myself." Most buyers spot paint and trim issues. Few go into the attic, test GFCI protection, check the temperature split on the A/C or look behind the water heater.
• "The warranty covers everything for a year." Coverage depends on the component, has exclusions, and only helps with items reported correctly and on time.
• "Asking for an inspection will upset the builder." Many buyers inspect new homes. A clear, factual report sent through the proper channel is easier for a builder to act on than a list of vague complaints.

What a new construction inspection costs and how to book it

The price depends on the size of the house, which phase or phases you book and whether you add a wind mitigation form to the final visit. A pre-drywall visit, a final and an 11th-month inspection are different amounts of work, so we quote each house rather than publishing a flat number that might not fit. Our article on what a home inspection costs in Florida explains what drives the price of each type of inspection.

To book, call or text (954) 297-0317, seven days a week from 5 AM to 10 PM, with the community, the lot or address, the stage of construction, your expected closing date and the builder's procedure for scheduling access if you have it. You get a free estimate by phone and a firm price before anything is scheduled. Reports arrive within 24 hours. You can also see how our inspections work from booking to report.

The bottom line

A new construction home inspection is about timing. Before the drywall, it lets you see the structure, the hurricane connections and the hidden systems while they can still be corrected easily. Before closing, it turns a quick walkthrough into a complete, written punch list. Before the first-year warranty ends, it puts what a year of heat, rain and daily use revealed on paper while the builder is still responsible for it. Add Florida's Chapter 558 process and the insurance paperwork, and a dated, photographed report becomes one of the most useful documents you own on the house. If you are building or buying new in Broward, Miami-Dade or Palm Beach County, send us a request or call (954) 297-0317, and read more about our home inspections across South Florida.

About the author

Peter Lemos, Certified Master Inspector®

Owner and lead inspector of Global Home Inspectors in Hollywood, FL. Peter holds InterNACHI certifications in wind mitigation, 4-point and mold inspection and has served Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties since 2008.