TALLAHASSEE — PulteGroup Inc. and its subsidiary, Pulte Home Company LLC, have reached a multimillion dollar settlement with the state of Florida to resolve allegations the home builder denied warranty coverages and failed to disclose that some of its homes under construction did not meet building codes.
According to the Florida Attorney General's Office, an investigation into Pulte revealed the company violated the state's Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices Act. The Attorney General's Office alleges Pulte denied some warranty repair claims made by homeowners for "lack of homeowner maintenance" when the damage was actually from faulty construction. In some cases Pulte also denied some homeowner's claims without an inspection and also unjustly withheld some home buyer's deposits, the Attorney General's Office said. Pulte also did not disclose that some of their homes were being built in violation of certain building codes, the Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi alleges.
The settlement includes Pulte making repairs to homes older than 10 years, in addition to the $64 million in repairs the company made to defective homes. Pulte will also pay $4.7 million in restitution to homeowners who had to pay to fix construction defects out of pocket and it has agreed to spend more than $10 million to upgrade building materials, improve construction techniques and give training to employees and trade contractors, according to the Attorney General's Office.