How Do I Verify What's Included in an Arizona New Build?

You verify what is included in an Arizona new build by reading four documents side by side: the purchase agreement and its options addenda, the Arizona Department of Real Estate subdivision public report, the HOA disclosure package, and the builder's written warranty. Arizona law says the public report must be provided to a prospective purchaser before the purchase contract is signed, and the purchaser signs a receipt for it. It also says a new home buyer cannot waive, and a builder cannot disclaim, the implied warranty of workmanship and habitability, which the Arizona Supreme Court settled in Zambrano v. M & RC II, LLC on September 28, 2022.

I sell in Surprise, Buckeye, Goodyear, Litchfield Park, Glendale, Peoria and Avondale, and new construction is a normal part of the West Valley conversation. Homes sold at 99.2% of asking price, and days on market, the median time from listing to going under contract, was 65 days. Those are resale-market figures for the city as a whole, and they are the backdrop against which a builder contract gets negotiated.

What "included" actually means in a builder contract

Included means the features that come with the home at the advertised base price, before you select anything in the design studio and before the lot is priced.

Builder base prices typically reflect a standard package, and the model home you tour may be filled with premium features not included in that advertised base price. To-be-built home listings state the point directly: the home is to be built, the buyer may choose features and homesites not included in the base price, and the base price range does not include lot premiums and additional upgrades.

So there are three separate money questions in a new build, and the contract answers them in three different places. What the base house includes. What each upgrade adds. What the specific homesite adds.

Reading the purchase agreement for base price, upgrades and lot premium

Ask the builder to show you, in writing, the base price of the plan, the itemized options list with prices, and the lot premium for your specific homesite as a separate line. Redfin's to-be-built floor-plan listings state that the base price range does not include lot premiums and/or additional upgrades, which is why a quoted "from" price and your actual contract price are rarely the same number.

Two upgrade categories come up constantly. Countertops, where a basic package may include laminate and quartz or granite is an upgrade. Flooring, where standard basic carpeting is the package and hardwood or luxury vinyl is the upgrade.

Some items are cheaper to specify during construction than to add later. A gas line for a future outdoor grill is the standard example: installed while the home is being built rather than by tearing up a finished yard.

Separately, Arizona law requires that all agreements and contracts for purchase of subdivided land from a subdivider, owner or agent clearly and conspicuously disclose the nature of the document and the purchaser's right to receive a copy of the public report. A contract that fails to make those disclosures is not enforceable against the purchaser. That right is set out in A.R.S. Section 32-2185.06.

Completion timelines, inspections and the Certificate of Occupancy

Arizona enforces building codes and inspections through local governments, and each county and city has its own building department responsible for enforcing codes and conducting inspections. Specific permit requirements vary by city or county. The City of Surprise provides construction inspection services to confirm that construction of structural improvements, on-site lighting and landscaping is completed in accordance with the approved plans and specifications.

The inspection sequence in Surprise runs through foundation, framing, rough-in mechanical, electrical and plumbing, insulation, and final. Inspections are scheduled with Community Development Permits and Inspections at (623) 222-3000 at least 24 to 48 hours in advance. A final inspection and Certificate of Occupancy are required before legal occupancy or use. At the final inspection, the checks include that all fixtures are operational, smoke and carbon monoxide detectors are in place, GFCI is tested, kitchen appliances are connected, egress windows function, address numbers are posted, and the work complies with the approved plans. The certificate of occupancy is issued on passing.

Failed inspections are a real schedule risk. The City of Phoenix describes the mechanic plainly: if an inspection fails, the contractor is notified with a red tag listing the issues that must be resolved, a re-inspection must be requested, and only on passing may work continue to the next stage. In Phoenix, the final inspection is conducted when work on the project is completed, including all off-site right-of-way and on-site lot improvements, and a Certificate of Occupancy is issued if the project requires one. The City of Scottsdale states that on passing a final inspection, a Certificate of Occupancy is issued. This allows a homeowner to move in.

Occupying before the Certificate of Occupancy is issued is a code violation, and permanent power may not be on yet. The final inspection and the Certificate of Occupancy are what legally clear occupancy and release permanent utility power, and closing a sale or starting a mortgage often requires the Certificate of Occupancy in hand. That makes the Certificate of Occupancy, and not a verbal completion date, the milestone worth writing into your planning.

On penalty clauses specifically: delay remedies are whatever your individual builder contract says they are, and no statewide standard governs them. Read the delay and default language before you sign, and compare your lender's rate-lock expiration with the builder's estimated completion date.

Warranty coverage for structure, systems and finishes

Arizona new-home warranty rights come from three separate places at once. Express warranties created by the contract. Implied warranties imposed by law regardless of what the contract says. And workmanship standards enforced administratively by the Arizona Registrar of Contractors.

The implied warranty is the one builders cannot shrink. In Zambrano v. M & RC II, LLC, decided September 28, 2022, the Arizona Supreme Court held that it is against public policy to waive or disclaim the implied warranty of workmanship and habitability in a purchase agreement with a homebuyer, and that the rule extends to circumstances where the builder simultaneously provides express warranties offering similar protections. A new home buyer cannot waive, and a builder cannot disclaim, that warranty, even when the builder gives an express warranty in consideration for the waiver. An express warranty may still specify duration, covered components and available remedies, and it can extend protections further than the implied warranty, but it cannot function as a ceiling on rights the implied warranty preserves.

The implied warranty reaches latent defects, meaning concealed problems you could not have seen at a walkthrough, and the Arizona Supreme Court has held that the warranty passes to later owners. Implied warranties in Arizona run eight years after construction, and A.R.S. 12-552 sets the eight-year deadline to sue over construction defects.

The Registrar of Contractors track runs on a different and shorter clock. The Registrar has an online service portal for filing complaints. A.R.S. 32-1162 puts the same window in statute: a complaint about a new home must be filed in writing within two years after the earlier of close of escrow or actual occupancy, and after that window the agency loses authority to act. The Registrar may enforce workmanship standards against a contractor for two years after the earliest of close of escrow, actual occupancy for new building construction, or completion of the project.

What that administrative window covers, and does not:

• The Registrar of Contractors enforces workmanship obligations against licensed contractors under A.R.S. § 32-1154(B), which requires work to be performed in a professional and workmanlike manner in accordance with applicable building codes and professional industry standards.
• The Registrar publishes Minimum Workmanship Standards that establish specific tolerances for common construction issues.
• The two-year standards cover performance of construction items of major concern to the buyer for the first two years of ownership, unless otherwise specified. Items defaulting to that first two years include most structural elements, roofing, plumbing, electrical systems and mechanical installations.
• Defects in appliances and plumbing and electrical fixtures properly installed by the contractor are limited to the manufacturer's warranty, and certain components carry warranty periods shorter than two years that often align with the manufacturer's warranty.
• The buyer is responsible for owner-maintenance items, and contractor responsibility does not extend to items subject to owner neglect, modification or abnormal use.

A workmanship warranty a builder advertises as ten years does not extend the state's two-year Registrar enforcement window. It gives you a contract claim to pursue privately afterward. Arizona also maintains a Residential Contractors' Recovery Fund with its own filing requirements, and both remedies require that the contractor was licensed at the time of the work. Missing the Registrar window does not necessarily bar a civil claim, but it does mean losing access to the Recovery Fund. Arizona law authorizes the Registrar to suspend or revoke a contractor's license if a complaint is not resolved by settlement or in the contractor's favor after a hearing, and the Registrar can require the contractor to repair defective work and possibly compensate the buyer. A.R.S. 12-1364 governs who pays attorney fees in an Arizona defect case.

Arizona also has mandatory pre-litigation procedures that, if skipped, permanently extinguish the right to sue. That is a reason to put any defect complaint in writing early and date it.

One more item that catches buyers who paid on time. If a builder does not pay a subcontractor or supplier, that party can record a mechanics lien against the home even if the owner's payments cleared, under Arizona's lien law at A.R.S. 33-981 and following. A.R.S. 33-1002 is an owner-occupant exemption that shields many homeowners who did pay their contractor. All contractors working in Surprise must hold an active Arizona Registrar of Contractors license, which is worth confirming before you sign rather than after.

Do not skip a private inspection because the house is new. Inspectors regularly find defects and oversights in brand-new Arizona homes.

Landscaping, fencing, window coverings and the other standard exclusions

Standard new-construction homes may not include window treatments, overhead lighting in every room, or all the closet shelving you need. In Arizona specifically, many new builds come with dirt lots for front and back landscaping. Most new homes are delivered without blinds or curtains. Basic wiring is provided, but ceiling fans and light fixtures often are not included, or the builder's options are limited. Dishwashers are usually included, while refrigerators, washers and dryers are not. Where a property backs up to a wash or open space, the buyer may be responsible for completing side or rear barriers. Garage door openers and smart-home technology may be shown in the model and not included in the base home.

Site work is its own category. Beyond the lot price, budget items include grading and site prep, utility connections, and driveway or access construction, and desert lots with significant elevation changes or rock require engineered foundations. Those line items are rarely included in a builder's base cost per square foot.

Take the list above and make the builder mark each item included, optional or excluded, in writing, before you sign. That single exercise is the difference between a move-in budget and a surprise.

HOA, utilities and municipal services at closing

The Arizona Department of Real Estate subdivision public report is the document that answers most of the services questions, and it must be provided to a prospective purchaser by law before the purchase contract is signed. A public report is required when a developer intends to offer for sale or lease six or more lots, parcels or fractional interests in a subdivision. It gives buyers information about utilities, streets, roads and drainage, common areas, and subdivision use and restrictions, and it covers local services and facilities including schools, shopping facilities, public transportation, medical facilities, fire protection, ambulance service, police protection and garbage services.

The Department of Real Estate's own buyer checklist tells you how to use it. Review the deed restrictions, also called CC&Rs. Pay particular attention to the source of utility services and any future obligations. Ask to see the Arizona Department of Water Resources report and determine that there is an assured or adequate water supply. Check Arizona Department of Transportation maps for the nearest future freeway routes and whether area roads are slated for widening. The report also carries soil information including expansive soil, area flood information, and sanitary facilities certificates, and where land sits in an Active Management Area as determined by the Arizona Department of Water Resources, the subdivider must provide proof of one hundred years of water assurance.

Two verification points matter. The public report is prepared by the subdivider, could be inaccurate, and should be verified, because the Department of Real Estate does not independently verify the information in it. And if there is a material change to the development, the offering, or any disclosure in the report after issuance, an amendment process applies. The Department of Real Estate publishes a Subdivision Public Report Amendment Application Form, revision dated 06/2025. Public reports dating from January 1, 1997 are available on the Department of Real Estate website. If the previous subdivision public report is less than five years old, a developer may apply for a Subsequent Owner's Exemption, which if granted allows use of the existing report.

A developer planning to offer lots for sale in a subdivision where public or private infrastructure improvements are ongoing must provide an assurance of completion in order to obtain a public report and take binding contracts before those improvements are complete. Rules of the Commissioner of the Department of Real Estate require that assurances be provided for completion of all public and private common-area subdivision facilities. Ask which facilities in your subdivision are covered by an assurance and which are already built.

On the association side, Arizona planned communities are governed by A.R.S. §§ 33-1801 to 33-1817, in Chapter 16 of Title 33, and those statutes apply to all planned communities formed after January 1, 1986 and to many formed before that date that elected to be governed by current law. Under A.R.S. § 33-1806, the resale disclosure package includes the CC&Rs, bylaws and rules, a dated statement of assessments and amounts currently due, insurance and reserve information, pending-litigation disclosure, the current operating budget, and the most recent annual financial report. For planned communities with fewer than fifty units, the member delivers that package to a purchaser within ten days after receipt of written notice of a pending sale; for communities with fifty or more units, the association does. The fees prescribed by A.R.S. § 33-1806 must be collected no earlier than at close of escrow and may only be charged once to a member for that transaction. If the property is governed by multiple associations, the disclosure must identify that the property is subject to each association's disclosure report and corresponding resale disclosure fee. A.R.S. § 33-1806 also requires a statement signed by the purchaser at close of escrow acknowledging that with the purchase they are contractually bound to the recorded declaration's covenants, conditions and restrictions and to pay all common expense assessments, and that failure to pay may lead to collection activity up to and including foreclosure without homestead equity protection.

Arizona HB 2397, signed June 22, 2026 and effective September 12, 2026, rewrites the resale disclosure rules for condominiums and planned communities under A.R.S. §33-1260 and §33-1806. The packet gets bigger, the delivery clock starts when the offer is accepted, fees are capped, and there is a damages remedy when an association knowingly or recklessly withholds or falsifies what it discloses. Under HB 2397 the disclosure package must include the most recent reserve study, income and expense statements for both the operating account and the reserve account, and the minutes of the three most recent open board meetings. Arizona has no statute telling an association how often to commission a reserve study, what it must contain, or how much money must sit in the reserve account, though reserve disclosure in resale documents is mandated.

If your community is still building out and governed by design guidelines, A.R.S. § 33-1817 is worth reading. For new construction or rebuilds under design guidelines, an association may require an equally shared security deposit held in trust, a final design-approval meeting, at least two on-site formal reviews during construction, and a written compliance report within five business days. Association approval does not warrant compliance with governmental or engineering standards. At least one board member must serve as chairperson of a design or architectural committee, and approval of a construction project's architectural designs, plans and amendments shall not unreasonably be withheld. The Department of Real Estate can investigate homeowner complaints about associations, hold hearings, and order corrective action.

One practical note on listing data. Information in the MLS may be inaccurate, incomplete, or an approximation, so verify anything important in it rather than relying on it in a builder negotiation.

How the Surprise market frames a new-build decision

Surprise had an estimated population of 175,304 on July 1, 2025, which was 22.5% above its April 1, 2020 estimates base.

For single-family homes in Surprise, June 2026 showed a $425,000 median sold price, 3.88 months of supply, 99.2% of asking price achieved, and 65 days on market. The typical home value was $436,910 in July 2026, up 0.9% compared with last month and down 1.4% year over year, meaning compared with the same period a year earlier.

The Bottom Line

Verification in an Arizona new build comes down to documents with dates on them. Get the base price, the itemized options and the lot premium as separate written lines, because to-be-built listings state outright that the base price range excludes lot premiums and additional upgrades. Get the Arizona Department of Real Estate public report before you sign the contract, because the law requires it to be delivered before signing and because it is the document that covers utilities, streets, drainage, common areas and local services. Get the builder's express warranty in writing, and know that the implied warranty of workmanship and habitability cannot be waived or disclaimed after Zambrano v. M & RC II, LLC on September 28, 2022, that implied warranties run eight years after construction under A.R.S. 12-552, and that a Registrar of Contractors complaint on a new home must be filed within two years of the earlier of close of escrow or actual occupancy. Then get the inclusions list marked item by item, because in Arizona the dirt lot, the missing blinds and the unfinished rear wall are the line items that reset a move-in budget.

If you are weighing a new build in Surprise, Buckeye, Goodyear, Litchfield Park, Glendale, Peoria or Avondale, send me the builder's contract and options sheet and I will walk through the inclusions, the public report and the warranty language with you before you sign.

Written by Saul Perez, part of the Kristan Cole Network team.

Sources

Pages read on September 28, 2026.

• Arizona Registrar of Contractors: File a Formal Complaint
• Department of Real Estate: Development Services
• 33-1806 (azleg.gov)
• Surprise, AZ: Building Inspections & Plan Review
• City of Phoenix: Building Construction Inspections
• City of Scottsdale: Certificate of Occupancy