Residential construction accounts for more than half of all private construction spending in the United States. Single-family residences, condominium developments, apartment communities, senior living, and student housing are all part of the over $500 billion residential construction market. Additionally, home renovation and specialty trade contractors also make up a considerable portion of the residential construction market.
Smith, Gambrell & Russell’s deep industry experience with residential construction makes it uniquely suited to assist home builders and multi-story residential contractors and developers. SGR assists contractors and developers with navigating the myriad of regulations that apply to residential construction and remodeling. This assistance covers the transactional, compliance and dispute-related aspects of residential projects at the core of residential construction.
Experience Matters
Residential construction is very different from commercial and industrial construction. Building codes as well as material and consumer protection regulations differ greatly for residential work. Residential construction presents unique opportunities to increase profits by pioneering ways to save time and costs, while also presenting financial dangers such as water intrusion caused by defective design or construction work. Renovation contractors face additional challenges of operating in one of the most regulated sectors of the construction industry, while at the same time competing in the largely unregulated arena of online contracting and referral services. The attorneys in SGR’s Residential Construction practice have experience working with some of the country’s largest contractors and developers on projects ranging from luxury condominiums to university dormitories and have also assisted nation-wide remodelers and home improvement contractors.
With an eye towards efficiency, SGR counsels clients with all aspects of residential construction prior to project commencement, including licensing and registration requirements, preparing consumer-facing agreements that comply with varying state and local requirements, and providing guidance on advertising compliance. However, when disputes cannot be avoided, SGR has a broad bench of experienced attorneys required to initiate or defend a dispute during construction to keep projects on track or after completion to keep projects profitable. SGR has acted as litigation counsel in payment and schedule disputes as well as bringing and defending contract and lien claims in mediation, arbitration and various courts. SGR’s areas of experience include:
Areas of Experience
Contractor licensing and registration
Consumer Protection/FTC Compliance
Permitting and IRC code compliance issues
License Board complaints
Defect litigation
Schedule and payment litigation
Lien claims
Condominium and mixed-use developments
Student housing construction and remodeling
Senior living and other accessibility construction and retrofits
Military housing
Public housing
Recent Matters
Represented a private university owner in drafting and negotiating the more than $40 million contract for construction of a new 14 story dormitory facility with approximately 600 beds in Georgia.
Represented a regional material supplier in State Court litigation in Florida involving more than $1 million in delay damages to a large multi-family housing project partially due to allegations of late delivery by the client. Representation involved defense of the client against delay claims from the General Contractor which were ultimately settled to the client’s satisfaction.
Represented a specialty subcontractor in State Court litigation in Florida involving in excess of $5 million in water intrusion damages to a large multi-family housing project due to alleged construction defects in the Project’s windows, stucco, balconies and concrete. Representation involved the defense of the client against third-party claims by the general contractor.
Represented a large general contractor in both State and Federal Court litigation in Florida involving in excess of $3 million in damages to a large multi-family housing project due to alleged construction defects in the roof and stucco work. Representation involved the defense of the client against claims by the owner and architect as well as prosecution of the client’s claims against its subcontractors and the architect. The Owner’s claims against the client were ultimately dismissed as untimely.