The Seminole Tribe is suing Miami-based Lennar Homes after it says hundreds of the homes built on its reservations are defective.
In Hollywood, Lennar built more than 200 townhomes and single-family homes.
According to the Seminole housing department, when the problems started, they thought they were dealing with isolated incidents, but as days went by, more and more homes, they say, had similar issues—from mold to cracks.
In the lawsuit, they are asking the building company to step in and fix the problems.
Some of the families living in the newly built community east of State Road 7 are storing their belongings outside, and others are being forced to move out because of unsafe living conditions, according to a lawsuit filed by the Seminole Tribe of Florida against Miami-based Lennar Homes.
Tribe cites water intrusion, mold and structural problems
Lennar built more than 450 houses for the Seminole Tribe on six of its reservations throughout Florida, including in Hollywood.
The homes, the tribe claims, have serious issues.
“All the roofs have to come off and be replaced. Every single house of 465 has water intrusion and mold issues. The longer it goes, more water gets in there. They have electrical problems, electric failure, air conditioning issues,” said William Scherer, Seminole Tribe attorney.
According to the tribe’s housing department, the project started in 2019 and by 2020 members and their families moved in.
Soon after, the tribe says, the problems began.
“We filed the lawsuit almost a year ago and had been in talks with Lennar to come in and fix the houses and we had promises after promises and after nine to 10 months, the tribe said, ‘Enough is enough,'” Scherer said.
The Seminole housing department took CBS News Miami through several townhomes and single-family homes and showed some of the damage: cracks on the stucco, mold building up behind the walls and in the ceiling, and tiles buckling.
Lennar responds, tribe demands accountability
Lennar issued a statement saying:
“Lennar stands firmly behind the quality of its homes. When quality falls short of our high standards, our goal is to address those issues without delay and, in this instance, we promptly proposed a comprehensive plan to do so. Our team is ready to implement these repairs immediately, because our priority is resolving concerns for homeowners – not prolonging the process.” – Lennar Homes.
The Seminole Tribe paid Lennar $300 million to build the homes.
“We’ve asked Lennar to pay everything they caused: to build these houses, to move the people out, to pay for their temporary housing, to pay other expenses they have and, more importantly, to monitor their health because there are significant health concerns for living in mold-infested houses,” Scherer said.
This is not the first lawsuit filed this year against Lennar. The company is also facing construction quality lawsuits in Homestead and Volusia County.
It is still unclear whether they will go to court or take it to arbitration.
