ORLANDO, Fla.—For the first time, Florida home sellers will have to disclose certain aspects of a property’s flood history under legislation Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law this week.
The move is seen as an important step in addressing growth and development in at-risk areas, an issue that has gained importance since Hurricane Ian dumped historic amounts of rain here in 2022, causing widespread flooding. Ian was the costliest hurricane in state history and the third costliest on record in the United States, after Katrina in 2005 and Harvey in 2017.
Before this law was passed, Florida, uniquely vulnerable to sea level rise, changes in precipitation, and intensifying storms, had been one of 18 states where no flood disclosures were required as part of a housing transaction. By 2045, some $26 billion in residential real estate will face chronic flooding, and Miami, the Florida Keys and Tampa-St. The St. Petersburg area is especially at risk, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists, an advocacy group.
We are hiring!
Take a look at new openings in our newsroom.
See jobs
“Having the information will help buyers make better, more informed decisions about protecting what will likely be their greatest asset: their homes,” said Rachel Cleetus, policy director at the Union of Concerned Scientists. “It’s an important time for homebuyers.”
The measure requires home sellers to provide a flood disclosure form “at or before the time of execution of the sales contract.” The document should include whether the seller has ever filed an insurance claim or received federal assistance due to flood damage to the property. The document must also include the following statement regarding flood insurance: “Homeowners insurance policies do not include coverage for damage resulting from flooding. “The buyer is advised to discuss the need to purchase separate flood insurance coverage with the buyer’s insurance agent.”
“What we hope is that it also leads elected officials and planners to make better decisions when it comes to expanding development in flood-prone areas,” said Paul Owens, president of 1000 Friends of Florida, an advocacy group focused on smart growth. . “Florida is too lenient in that sense. “We have too much development in flood-prone areas, which puts people and property at risk and ends up costing taxpayers huge amounts of money to rebuild.”
The measure could be stronger, he said. Does not require sellers to disclose whether a property is in a flood zone. Another loophole allows for the possibility that while a property may have flooded in the past, the seller did not file an insurance claim or accept federal assistance.
Cleetus noted that the move is retrospective and does not take into account the fact that risks are intensifying as the global climate warms. Sellers also won’t have to disclose threats in the surrounding area, such as whether a crucial access road is prone to flooding, he said.
“We have too much development in flood-prone areas, putting people and property at risk…”
Rep. Christine Hunschofsky (D-Coconut Creek), the bill’s sponsor, said she hoped the Legislature could address those issues during next year’s session.
“I was very excited that the governor signed it,” he said.
The measure passed unanimously earlier this spring by the Republican-controlled Legislature and also won support from the Florida Association of Realtors. It comes into effect on October 1.
“We supported this bill throughout the legislative session and are grateful that Gov. Ron DeSantis signed it into law,” Trey Goldman, legislative counsel for the Florida Association of Realtors, said in a statement provided to Inside KeynoteUSA. “The bill not only helps buyers make more informed decisions about the properties they are interested in, but it will also help decrease the number of disputes that occur after closing.”
Florida home sellers are already required to make other disclosures, such as whether there may be lead paint on the property, whether the property may be vulnerable to beach erosion as defined in state regulations, or whether it has ever been filed an insurance claim for beach sinkhole damage. property. Otherwise, sellers are not required to identify potential defects and the burden falls on the buyer to conduct thorough inspections and make inquiries.
Florida courts have been divided on sellers’ liability when it comes to flooding. In one case, the sellers of a home in the eastern Miami Everglades area failed to disclose that the property flooded annually during the rainy season and that snakes and alligators gathered there to escape the waters. A court dismissed the case, reasoning that the flooding was public knowledge.
This story is funded by readers like you.
Our nonprofit newsroom offers award-winning climate coverage at no cost or advertising. We depend on donations from readers like you to keep going. Please donate now to support our work.
Donate now
In another case, the sellers of a home in Destin, a coastal city in the Panhandle, failed to disclose that the property was located in an area where it was not eligible for flood insurance. A court found that the situation might not be easy for a buyer to understand and that the sellers should have volunteered the information.
DeSantis, a former Republican presidential candidate who described himself as “not a person who cares about global warming,” signed the measure just weeks after finalizing separate legislation that deleted several instances of the words “climate change.” of the state code. That move restructured Florida’s fossil fuel-based energy policy around making energy infrastructure more resilient, and moving the state toward cleaner energy will no longer be a priority.
Hunschofsky said he wasn’t surprised the governor signed the flood disclosure measure.
“I think it’s a very common sense policy,” he said. “It is educational and informative. It provides consumers with the information they need.”
amy green
Reporter, Florida
Amy Green covers the environment and climate change from Orlando, Florida. She is a mid-career journalist and author whose extensive reporting on the Everglades appears in the book MOVING WATER, published by Johns Hopkins University Press, and on the podcast DRAINED, available wherever she gets her podcasts. Amy’s work has been recognized with numerous awards, including the prestigious Edward R. Murrow Award and the Association of Public Media Journalists Award.
Keynote USA
For the Latest Local News, Follow Keynote USA Local on Twitter.