Statute of Repose

The clock on a statute of repose starts running the moment a defined event occurs, and it does not pause for discovery. Once the repose period runs, the claim is gone, regardless of when or whether the injury showed up. It is an absolute cutoff, not a deadline tied to when you noticed the problem.

For Arizona construction, the statute of repose is A.R.S. 12-552. It bars most lawsuits over a defect in the design, construction, or supervision of an improvement to real property if they are brought more than 8 years after substantial completion of the project. There is a narrow extension: if the defect first causes injury in the eighth year, the claim may be filed within one more year, giving a hard outer limit of 9 years. The clock runs from substantial completion of the improvement, not from when a homeowner notices a crack.

For example, a Scottsdale custom home reaches substantial completion in March 2026. Under A.R.S. 12-552, a defect-based dwelling action generally must be filed by March 2034, with the rare 9-year reach to 2035 for a defect that surfaces in year eight. A foundation problem discovered in 2036 is almost certainly barred, even though the owner just found it.

A statute of repose is different from a statute of limitations. A statute of limitations starts when the harm is, or should have been, discovered, and gives a shorter window (often two years for property damage in Arizona). The repose statute starts at construction completion and sets the absolute ceiling that no discovery date can extend. A claim must clear both deadlines to survive.