The Florida legislature finished up their 2024 annual session at the end of March. This was an interesting year for real estate investors with at least one big victory for our industry.
We were actively monitoring 36 real estate related bills being discussed in the halls in Tallahassee. 7 of these bills passed and are on their way to the governor to sign or veto. The full text of all these bills is available at https://flsenate.gov under the “enrolled” version in the links below. Please make sure to always consult your own attorney if you have specific questions on how a law might affect your business. Here is a summary of what happened during this session.
HB 59: https://flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2024/59 This is a tweak to the homeowner’s association Section 720. It requires homeowner’s associations to provide all members with a physical or digital copy of all the association rules, restrictions, and any new amendments. It allows this to be provided via a website link on the association home page. This will ideally make it easier for anyone who owns a property in an association to know what the rules are for living and owning in that community. This does not apply to cooperatives or condominiums. It goes into effect on July 1, 2024.
HB 613: https://flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2024/613 This is a change to the mobile home park Section 723. It affects mobile home park owners and the rights of tenants living in the park. It changes the requirements for notifying tenants about rent increases, utility changes, and service changes. It makes adjustments to how mediation is handled during disputes over lease terms and violations. And it addresses “live-in health care aides” like nurses and assistants. It goes into effect on July 1, 2024.
HB 621: https://flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2024/621 This is a major change to the ejectment laws in Section 82. This is a win for property owners as Florida will now become very anti-squatter. This allows property owners to remove squatters from a property via the sheriff’s office as opposed to having to go through the civil court system. This was passed partly because of several infamous TikTok videos of squatters explaining how to break in and take over properties using the squatting loophole. There are still certain exemptions for family members and tenants but otherwise this makes squatting a felony. It will be interesting to see how this plays out once it goes into effect on July 1, 2024. The governor has already signed this into law.
HB 1049: https://flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2024/1049 This is a new disclosure law regarding flood damage and flood insurance. In the aftermath of several major hurricanes that caused serious flooding in many areas, a disclosure like this became necessary. At some point in the near future to comply with this law, a new disclosure form will become available for sellers to provide to buyers regarding previous flooding issues with a property. It goes into effect on October 1, 2024.
HB 1203: https://flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2024/1203 This is a 44-page law amending the homeowner’s association Section 720. It makes a lot of administrative changes regarding the management and accounting done by homeowner’s associations and is designed to help combat fraud by board members and management. It goes into effect on July 1, 2024.
HB 1305: https://flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2024/1305 This is a minor change to landlord/tenant law regarding security deposits Section 83. It adds an additional definition of “Florida financial institution” in addition to a few other items regarding security deposits and other money held in escrow. It goes into effect upon becoming law.
SB 280: https://flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2024/280 This 37-page law makes major changes to the regulation of short-term rentals (i.e. Airbnb, VRBO). It creates uniform statewide standards that must be adhered. However, several trade organizations representing owners and property managers have objected to what they consider questionable language allowing a “reasonable fee” by local municipalities and are heavily lobbying to have the governor veto this legislation. It would go into effect on July 1, 2024 if it does not get vetoed.
If you know of any legislative issues affecting real estate, please contact me.
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