Rather, the fundamental principle of privity of contract is the critical element which must exist whether the defendant is a general contractor, a sub-contractor, a design professional, or any other construction-related entity.Sinema Court Condominium Assoc. v. Champion Aluminum Corp., 2018 IL 122022.1400 Museum Park Condominium Assoc. v. Kenny Construction Co., 2021 IL App (1st) 192167.

The implied warranty of habitability allows a homeowner to recover damages for latent defects that interfere with the intended use of a home. In Sienna Court Condo. Ass’n v. Champion Aluminum Corp., 2018 IL 122022, 2018 Ill. LEXIS 1244 (2018), the Supreme Court of Illinois held that buyers of new homes cannot assert claims for breach of the implied warranty of habitability against subcontractors involved in the construction of the homes because the subcontractors have no contractual relationship with the homeowners and the damages are purely economic. As the court explained, the implied warranty of habitability is a creature of contract (not tort) and, therefore, only exists when there is contractual privity between the defendants and the homeowners.