Independent profile — not affiliated with D.R. Horton

D.R. Horton Complaints

D.R. Horton has been the largest homebuilder in the United States by volume since 2002. Its homebuilding business began in 1978 in Fort Worth, Texas, under founder Donald R. Horton, and its stock trades on the NYSE as DHI. In fiscal 2025 it closed 84,863 homes and reported $31.5 billion in homebuilding revenue. Its corporate BBB profile carries an A+ rating without BBB accreditation and shows 683 complaints in the last 3 years, most of them about service or repair issues. Its home purchase contracts contain arbitration clauses, and the company has asked courts to move homeowner lawsuits into arbitration; in 2025 a Louisiana trial court refused to do so in one family's mold lawsuit, and an appeals court let that ruling stand. In August 2024 a federal court in Alabama entered a Clean Water Act consent decree under which the company pays a $400,000 civil penalty and funds a $400,000 stormwater project. Its mortgage subsidiary, DHI Mortgage, paid HUD $180,000 in 2016 to settle allegations involving 168 FHA-insured loans, without admitting liability. A 2016 bankruptcy-court judgment of $16.3 million over a Miami Gardens homeowners' association ended in an $11 million settlement in 2017. A proposed class action filed in December 2025 in federal court in Nevada alleges that D.R. Horton and DHI Mortgage understated buyers' monthly mortgage payments; the companies dispute the claims and have asked the court to send them to arbitration.

REVIEWS & COMPLAINTS47on USAComplaints · none in last 3 yrs · latest 2013
WEBSITEdrhorton.com
HEADQUARTERSArlington, TX
PROFILE CHECKED2026-10-28
Submit a Complaint Read reviews & complaints ↓ Official website ↗
EDITORIAL

Company Information

Legal name
D.R. Horton, Inc.
Founded
1978
Business type
Large-scale residential homebuilding (publicly traded, NYSE: DHI)
Website
drhorton.comSource: D.R. Horton 2025 Annual Report and Form 10-K, checked 2026-10-28
Headquarters
Arlington, TXSource: D.R. Horton 2025 Annual Report and Form 10-K, checked 2026-10-27

D.R. Horton, Inc. is a Delaware corporation headquartered at 1341 Horton Circle in Arlington, Texas. It files annual reports with the SEC, is included in the S&P 500, and builds in 126 markets across 36 states. Its corporate Better Business Bureau profile carries an A+ rating, the company is not BBB accredited, and the profile lists 683 complaints in the last 3 years, 157 of them in the last 12 months. Some local D.R. Horton divisions have separate BBB profiles, so the corporate count does not include every complaint filed with BBB about the company.

For a buyer, the contract matters as much as the company's size. D.R. Horton's purchase agreements include an arbitration clause that the buyer initials, and the company has asked courts to send homeowner lawsuits to arbitration under it. In the Louisiana mold case brought by a Youngsville couple, D.R. Horton argued that the clause was prominently placed and initialed by the buyers; in July 2025 a state trial judge found the couple's contracts not binding, and in December 2025 the state First Circuit Court of Appeal denied D.R. Horton's request to overturn that ruling. Separately, the company's employee arbitration agreement gave its name to the NLRB's 2012 D.R. Horton decision on class-action waivers in employment contracts, which the Fifth Circuit reversed in 2013 and the U.S. Supreme Court rejected in 2018.

EXTERNAL SOURCE

Independent Sources

Shown for context — not merged with USAComplaints' own numbers.

BBBComplaints in the last 3 years (157 in the last 12 months)
683 complaints · BBB business grade A+
CONSUMER ALLEGATION

Reviews & Complaints on USAComplaints

USAComplaints currently maintains 47 historical complaints about D.R. Horton, published between 2000 and 2013. No approved complaints have been published on this site during the last three years. For a current reputation snapshot, see the independent sources on this page.

Show 15 more on this page
EDITORIAL

Complaint Themes

Unresolved post-closing warranty and construction-quality issuesMandatory arbitration clause disputesHOA turnover and management disputesMortgage and closing-cost transparency complaints

Themes summarize what people write about most often. One complaint can touch several themes, and some complaints (a positive report, or one later retracted by its author) fit none, so themes are not a count of complaints.

Had an experience with D.R. Horton? Tell other people what happened.

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VERIFIED

Contacts

Customer service & general contact

Corporate & press

VERIFIED

Locations

  • Headquarters1341 Horton Cir Arlington TX 76011-4310
EDITORIAL

Before You Buy — and If You Have a Warranty Dispute

  • Know your warranty clock. D.R. Horton typically gives a one-year limited warranty on general construction components, two years on major mechanical systems, and ten years on major structural defects in framing and foundations. Your own warranty document controls, so keep it and note the end date of each period.
  • Before signing, read the arbitration section and the warranty section of the purchase agreement and ask for a copy of both. If anything a salesperson tells you differs from the written contract, ask for it in writing; the written contract is what courts and arbitrators read.
  • Hire your own licensed home inspector before closing, ideally also before drywall goes up, and again a few weeks before the one-year warranty ends.
  • Submit every warranty request in writing through D.R. Horton's online warranty request form. You enter your ZIP code and select your address, and the request goes to the Customer Care team of the local division that built your home. List all current problems on one form, attach photos, and keep a copy of the request and every reply. A phone call alone leaves no record.
  • Many states require a written defect notice to the builder before you can sue or start arbitration. In Texas, the Residential Construction Liability Act requires the notice at least 60 days before filing. A construction-defect lawyer in your state can tell you the local deadline.
  • If the builder still controls your homeowners' association, ask when control passes to residents and request the association's budget and reserve figures.
  • If a dispute stays unresolved, file with the Better Business Bureau, the consumer protection office of your state attorney general and your state's contractor or residential builder licensing agency where one exists. Problems with a DHI Mortgage loan, escrow or closing costs go to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
EDITORIAL

What Complainants Allege

Most complaints on D.R. Horton's corporate BBB profile are classed as service or repair issues: warranty requests after closing, construction defects and slow or refused repairs. 47 published complaint reports are linked to this profile. They date from 2000 to 2013, and most describe warranty or repair requests that stayed open for months or were turned down, for problems such as slab and foundation cracks, roof and window leaks, water in basements, cracked tile and siding, and undersized air conditioning. Others concern walk-through items left unfinished at move-in, deposits kept after a sale fell through, contracts cancelled shortly before closing, promised community amenities that were never built, and homeowners' association fees while the builder still controlled the board.

Lawsuits raise the same themes on a larger scale. Louisiana homeowners allege mold and humidity damage from air conditioning systems they say were poorly designed for the climate, a South Carolina subdivision settled construction-defect claims, and a federal class action filed in Nevada alleges that buyers' first mortgage payments were understated. These are allegations unless a court or settlement says otherwise. D.R. Horton builds through local divisions in 126 markets, so how a warranty request is handled depends on the division that built the home.

EDITORIAL

Regulatory and Legal Actions

Environmental. In April 2024 the United States, Alabama and South Carolina sued D.R. Horton in federal court in Alabama over alleged Clean Water Act stormwater violations at 16 construction sites in Alabama, North Carolina and South Carolina, and filed a proposed consent decree with the case. The court entered the decree as a final judgment on August 6, 2024. Under it, D.R. Horton pays a $400,000 civil penalty, spends at least $400,000 on a project to reduce polluted runoff, and runs a stormwater compliance program at its sites in the eight southeastern states of EPA Region 4.

Mortgage lending. In July 2016 DHI Mortgage paid HUD $180,000 to settle allegations that it made false statements when obtaining FHA insurance for 168 loans underwritten with restrictive purchase-contract addenda, which HUD requirements prohibit; DHI Mortgage denied the allegations, and the settlement contains no admission of liability. In December 2025 homebuyers filed a proposed class action in the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada, Robinson v. D.R. Horton, alleging that D.R. Horton and DHI Mortgage left most property taxes out of buyers' first escrow payments so that payments later rose by hundreds of dollars a month. The companies dispute the claims, and in August 2026 D.R. Horton asked the court to send them to arbitration; that motion has not been decided. A similar Florida case, Santiago v. D.R. Horton, was voluntarily dismissed on December 4, 2025.

Homeowners' association. In October 2016 a federal bankruptcy judge in Miami ruled that D.R. Horton had violated Florida's Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act in running the Majorca Isles master association in Miami Gardens, Florida, while it controlled the board, and entered a $16.3 million judgment that included $12.5 million in punitive damages. D.R. Horton disputed the allegations, appealed, and settled for $11 million in July 2017.

Construction defects. In September 2023 D.R. Horton, its subcontractors and suppliers reached a settlement of more than $16.1 million, which received preliminary court approval, with owners of about 220 homes in the Rose Hill subdivision in Easley, South Carolina, built between 2012 and 2017. In Louisiana, a Youngsville couple sued D.R. Horton and an air conditioning subcontractor in 2022 alleging that their home cannot withstand the state's humidity and is damaged by mold; their lawyers are seeking class status for other Louisiana buyers. In July 2025 the 19th Judicial District Court in Baton Rouge refused to send the case to arbitration, and in December 2025 the First Circuit Court of Appeal denied D.R. Horton's request to overturn that ruling. The case remains in the trial court, and the claims have not been proven.

PUBLIC RECORD

Court & Public Records

United States, State of Alabama, and South Carolina DHEC v. D.R. Horton, Inc. and D.R. Horton, Inc. - Birmingham

Settled

U.S. District Court, Northern District of AlabamaDocket 2:24-cv-00428-AMMSource ↗

SettledIn April 2024 the United States, the State of Alabama and the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control sued D.R. Horton, Inc. and D.R. Horton, Inc. - Birmingham over alleged Clean Water Act violations involving stormwater runoff from 16 home construction sites in Alabama, North Carolina and South Carolina, and lodged a proposed consent decree with the complaint. Under the decree, D.R. Horton pays a $400,000 civil penalty, part of it to Alabama and South Carolina, spends at least $400,000 on a project that reduces polluted stormwater runoff, and runs a stormwater compliance program at its construction sites across EPA Region 4, the eight southeastern states. After a public comment period, the government moved without opposition to enter the decree, and on August 6, 2024, Judge Anna M. Manasco entered it as a final judgment and closed the case.

In re Majorca Isles Master Association, homeowners' association bankruptcy

Settled

U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of FloridaSource ↗

SettledMajorca Isles is a condominium community in Miami Gardens, Florida, where D.R. Horton broke ground in 2006 on a planned 355 units and built about half of them. D.R. Horton controlled the homeowners' association during development and turned it over to residents in January 2011; the association later filed for bankruptcy. After a trial in October 2016, Bankruptcy Judge A. Jay Cristol ruled that D.R. Horton had violated Florida's Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act and breached its duties to the master association. The court found that Horton employees on the association's board used money owed to the master association to pay expenses of individual condominium associations, and that when its obligation to cover the association's operating deficit grew, the company stopped paying it and cut services and amenities, shifting the loss to homeowners. The judge entered a $16.3 million judgment that included $12.5 million in punitive damages. D.R. Horton disputed the allegations and appealed, and in July 2017 it settled for $11 million, an agreement the judge approved.

HUD settlement with DHI Mortgage Company, Ltd. over FHA-insured loans

Settled

Administrative settlement with HUD, not a court caseDocket HUD OIG memorandum 2016-LA-1802Source ↗

SettledAfter two HUD Office of Inspector General audits, HUD alleged that DHI Mortgage Company, Ltd., D.R. Horton's wholly owned mortgage subsidiary, made false statements when it obtained FHA insurance for 168 loans. The audits found that DHI Mortgage underwrote FHA-insured loans with restrictive addenda to the home purchase contracts, which HUD requirements prohibit. HUD filed a complaint under the Program Fraud Civil Remedies Act in February 2016 and amended it in June 2016. On July 6, 2016, DHI Mortgage agreed to pay HUD $180,000 to resolve the matter without further administrative proceedings. The settlement is not an admission of liability, and DHI Mortgage denied the allegations.

Robinson, et al. v. D.R. Horton, Inc. and DHI Mortgage Company, Ltd.

Filed

U.S. District Court, District of NevadaDocket 2:25-cv-02394Source ↗

Filed — no final outcome recordedPending proposed class action; the claims are allegations and have not been decided. The homebuyer plaintiffs, represented by the National Consumer Law Center, the Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada and private law firms, allege that D.R. Horton and DHI Mortgage promised affordable monthly payments while leaving most of the required property taxes out of the initial escrow payment, so payments rose by hundreds of dollars once a later loan servicer recalculated the escrow. The complaint asserts claims under the federal RICO Act, Nevada consumer protection law, negligence and unjust enrichment. The companies have said they strongly disagree with the claims and will defend against them. On August 28, 2026, D.R. Horton moved to compel arbitration; the plaintiffs opposed the motion, briefing closed in October 2026, and the court has not yet ruled. An earlier case in federal court in Orlando, Santiago v. D.R. Horton (M.D. Fla. No. 6:25-cv-01904), was voluntarily dismissed on December 4, 2025, and its lawyers said the Nevada case pursues similar claims for homeowners nationwide.

D.R. Horton, Inc. v. NLRB

Judgment

National Labor Relations Board, then U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth CircuitDocket 12-60031 (5th Cir.)Source ↗

Judgment enteredD.R. Horton required employees to sign an arbitration agreement that barred class or collective claims. In January 2012 the National Labor Relations Board ruled that such waivers violate the National Labor Relations Act. In December 2013 the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed that part of the Board's decision and held the waiver enforceable (737 F.3d 344). The Board kept applying its D.R. Horton rule to other employers until the U.S. Supreme Court rejected it on May 21, 2018, in Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis, a 5-4 decision that also decided NLRB v. Murphy Oil USA and Ernst & Young LLP v. Morris. D.R. Horton was not a party to the Supreme Court case. The dispute concerns employment contracts, not home purchase contracts.
EDITORIAL

What D.R. Horton Does

D.R. Horton, Inc. has been the largest homebuilder in the United States by volume since 2002. Its homebuilding business began in 1978 in Fort Worth, Texas, its stock has traded publicly since 1992, and it is listed on the NYSE as DHI. In the fiscal year ended September 30, 2025, it closed 84,863 homes at an average price of $370,400, with $31.5 billion in homebuilding revenue and $34.3 billion in total revenue. Most of its homes are sold to first-time and first move-up buyers at prices from about $250,000 to more than $1 million. The group also builds single-family and multi-family rental communities and holds a majority stake in the lot developer Forestar.

Homes are sold mainly under the D.R. Horton name; the company also uses the Express Homes brand for first-time buyers focused on price, Emerald Homes for luxury buyers and Freedom Homes, introduced in 2016, for active adults. In May 2014 the company bought the homebuilding operations of Crown Communities, then the largest builder in the Atlanta area, for about $210 million. Its subsidiary DHI Mortgage Company, Ltd. financed 81% of the homes D.R. Horton closed in fiscal 2025, and its subsidiary title companies handle closings and title insurance for many buyers. Paul J. Romanowski has been President and Chief Executive Officer since October 2023. Founder and chairman Donald R. Horton died in May 2024 at age 74, and David V. Auld became Executive Chairman.

VERIFIED

Company Relationships

  • Affiliated withDHI Mortgage Company, Ltd.
  • Affiliated withExpress Homes
  • Affiliated withFreedom Homes
  • Affiliated withEmerald Homes
EDITORIAL

Frequently Asked Questions

Is D.R. Horton a legitimate homebuilder?

D.R. Horton is a real, publicly traded homebuilder (NYSE: DHI) and has been the largest in the United States by volume since 2002. It files annual reports with the SEC and builds in 36 states. Its corporate BBB profile has an A+ rating without accreditation, and most complaints there concern service and repair after closing. Before buying, read the warranty and arbitration sections of the purchase agreement and get an independent inspection.

Does D.R. Horton require arbitration instead of allowing lawsuits?

D.R. Horton's home purchase agreements include an arbitration clause that buyers initial, and the company asks courts to send homeowner lawsuits to arbitration under it. Courts decide case by case whether the clause binds a particular buyer. In one Louisiana mold lawsuit, a trial judge ruled in July 2025 that a Youngsville couple's contracts were not binding, finding that the two contracts the couple signed were different even though sales agents had told them they were the same, and that the contract did not clearly explain the arbitration process; in December 2025 the First Circuit Court of Appeal denied D.R. Horton's request to overturn that ruling. Read the arbitration section of your own contract before you sign and keep a copy; a lawyer in your state can tell you whether it applies to your dispute.

What is D.R. Horton's connection to the Epic Systems Supreme Court case?

D.R. Horton required its employees to sign arbitration agreements that barred class or collective claims. In 2012 the National Labor Relations Board ruled in its D.R. Horton decision that such waivers violate federal labor law, and in 2013 the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed that ruling for D.R. Horton. The Board kept applying the rule to other employers until May 21, 2018, when the U.S. Supreme Court held 5-4 in Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis that these employment arbitration agreements must be enforced as written. D.R. Horton was not a party to the Supreme Court case, and the dispute concerned employees, not homebuyers.

Has D.R. Horton faced regulatory fines or settlements?

The main matters are a 2024 federal Clean Water Act consent decree, entered by the court that August, with a $400,000 civil penalty and at least $400,000 for an environmental project, covering 16 construction sites in Alabama, North Carolina and South Carolina; a $180,000 payment to HUD in 2016 by its mortgage subsidiary, DHI Mortgage, over 168 FHA-insured loans, without admitting liability; and a $16.3 million bankruptcy-court judgment in 2016 over a Miami Gardens, Florida homeowners' association, which ended in an $11 million settlement in 2017. A proposed class action filed in Nevada in December 2025 over understated mortgage payments is pending.

What other home brands does D.R. Horton own?

Most homes are sold under the D.R. Horton name. The company also uses the Express Homes brand for first-time buyers focused on price, Emerald Homes for luxury buyers and Freedom Homes, introduced in 2016, for active adults. In 2014 it bought the homebuilding operations of Crown Communities, which built in Georgia, South Carolina and eastern Alabama. Its mortgage lender is its subsidiary DHI Mortgage Company, Ltd., and its subsidiary title companies handle many closings.

Sources (15)

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