What ABC15 found when it compared ROC complaints for Arizona’s busiest builders

Arizona’s production-home boom is not abstract. ABC15’s Let Joe Know team used housing-permit data and a direct ask to the Arizona Registrar of Contractors (ROC) to show who builds the most — and how many complaints those builders drew in a recent year.

This article sticks to what that named reporting says, plus how to use it without turning a headline into a verdict about your specific house.

Permit volume: who was building the most

ABC15 cited RL Brown Housing Reports for Phoenix-metro new-home permits:

• 22,222 permits approved in 2022
• More than 31,000 in 2021
• Nearly 29,000 in 2020
• More than 82,000 across those three years

The same report ranked Lennar, D.R. Horton, Meritage Homes, Pulte Homes, and Taylor Morrison among the busiest builders by 2022 permit volume.

Source: ABC15 — New home construction boom in Arizona.

ROC complaint counts ABC15 obtained

ABC15 asked the ROC for complaint counts against each company’s General Residential Contractor licenses for the prior year (the story’s “last year” framing). The outlet reported:

Builder (as reported)	Complaints reported by ABC15
Pulte Homes	40
Meritage Homes	36
Lennar Arizona	29
Taylor Morrison	22
D.R. Horton	17

ABC15 also reported that for all five builders, a majority of complaints alleged poor workmanship, and that many complaints closed after issues were addressed.

How to read this carefully:

• These are reported annual tallies for specific license categories — not lifetime totals, not “defect rates per home,” and not proof every complaint was sustained.
• High permit volume means more homes — and often more absolute complaint counts — even when many tickets resolve.
• Secondary websites sometimes recycle older or differently scoped tallies (for example longer-period Meritage figures attributed to other investigations). Prefer the original outlet and verify current license records when a number matters to you.

Source: ABC15 Let Joe Know — boom / ROC complaints.

Follow-up reporting: Lennar ROC process in practice

In a related Let Joe Know story, ABC15 covered homeowners Jon and Jocelyn Engel and their Lennar-built home. According to that reporting:

• The Engels filed an ROC complaint over framing, floors, and countertops.
• The ROC initially found certain items out of compliance and ordered repairs; after reinspection, some items still failed standards.
• The ROC reported 18 complaints against Lennar’s general residential building license in 2023, up from 12 the prior year.
• Most 2023 complaints were workmanship-related; 16 of 18 were fixed by Lennar or closed by the ROC.
• A remaining master-bath countertop gap dispute led Lennar to petition for dismissal; the ROC denied that request and the matter was headed to an administrative law judge hearing.

This is useful as a process case study: ROC findings, repair attempts, reinspection, and contested compliance can stretch beyond a year of homeownership — which is why dated photos and ticket history matter.

Source: ABC15 — Arizona couple’s issue with new home builder.

ABC15’s practical buyer warnings (still sound)

The same reporting package urged buyers to:

1. Look past new paint for hidden problems
2. Remember no one has lived in / fully stress-tested the home yet
3. Expect schedule pressure — time is money for production builders
4. Never waive the final inspection — consider a third-party inspection even when municipal inspections occurred
5. Remember Arizona Supreme Court guidance (2022) that buyers may pursue hidden-defect claims for up to eight years even after signing waiver language — consistent with the Zambrano implied-warranty holding and the A.R.S. § 12-552 repose framework

What this does not mean

• A builder with fewer complaints is not automatically “safe.”
• A builder with more complaints is not automatically “always defective.”
• Closed complaints are not the same as “never happened.”
• Media tallies are a starting point; your decision toolkit should include the ROC contractor search, your purchase/warranty contracts, and independent inspections.

What to do next

• Look up your builder’s current ROC license and recent complaint history.
• Calendar the 11-month limited-warranty checkpoint and the two-year ROC window from close of escrow or occupancy, whichever comes first (A.R.S. § 12-1365).
• Document issues with photos, dates, and written tickets — the pattern in public reporting is that organized records matter when warranty desks slow down.
• Use AZ HomeShield to keep that timeline in one place once the apps are available.

Sources

• ABC15 — Who’s behind the houses / ROC complaint comparison
• ABC15 — Lennar / Engels ROC dispute
• Arizona ROC — File a Formal Complaint
• A.R.S. § 12-1365
• Zambrano v. M & RC II LLC (Ariz. 2022)

Educational summary of public reporting — not a finding about any specific home, and not legal advice.