Florida Has a Few New Rules
The Florida Legislature just passed bills to reduce pressure on our property insurance crisis and address the safety of condo buildings following the horrible collapse in Surfside. “Lawmakers went to Tallahassee to address Florida’s insurance crisis,” said Christina Pappas, president of Florida Realtors®, “then went an extra step to protect the safety and investments of condo residents.”
FROM SENATE BILL 2D, PASSED 5/26/22
If your roof is less than 15 years old, insurance companies can’t refuse to issue you a policy based solely on its age.
Insurance companies can offer a lower-priced policy that comes with a roof deductible that’s 2% of insured value or 50% of replacement cost. Deductibles don’t apply when there’s a total loss, a loss caused by a hurricane, a loss caused by a fallen tree, or a loss of less than 50%.
$150 million was set aside to help pay for the hardening of single family homes with an insured value under $500k. Florida will chip in $2 up to $10,000 for every $1 you spend. In Florida, “hardening a home” generally means replacing your windows, doors, including your garage door, with impact-resistant products.
FROM SENATE BILL 4D, PASSED 5/26/22
Any building 3 stories or higher will get a milestone inspection after it’s been occupied for 30 years (25 years for buildings within three miles of the coast)
If the milestone inspection is good, the building’s new inspection schedule will be every 10 years. If the milestone inspection reveals substantial structural issues, then that’s a whole different ballgame.
Condo associations will soon be required to have structural integrity reserve studies done every 10 years.
