Florida Realtors-Backed Laws Take Effect Today

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Nearly 100 new laws will take effect on July 1, many that have a direct impact on Florida home and property owners and real estate professionals, and are a result of Florida Realtors® advocacy efforts.

The following is a breakdown of the new laws that impact the state’s real estate industry and were championed by Florida Realtors as a 2025 legislative priority:

$385 million for state and local affordable housing programs: Senate Bill 2500 allocates $385 million to the State and Local Government Housing Trust Funds. This includes $163.8 million for the State Housing Initiatives Partnership (SHIP) for downpayment and closing cost assistance programs, and $221.2 million for the State Apartment Incentive Loan program (SAIL) which helps build affordable rental housing.

Over $1.5 billion for the Everglades and water quality: The Florida Legislature continues to allocate significant funding for projects that improve Florida’s water quality. Senate Bill 2500 includes money for Everglades restoration ($546 million), water quality grants ($400 million) flood/sea level rise ($150 million) the C-51 Reservoir ($60 million), Biscayne Bay ($20 million), the Indian River Lagoon ($102 million), total maximum daily loads ($25 million), Resilient Florida Grant Program ($20 million), Land Acquisition and Restoration Trust Fund ($150 million) and alternative water supply ($50 million).

Additional transparency in condominium transactions: HB 913 is intended to ensure a smooth transition to safer buildings and increased financial health. One provision in the bill is a Realtor® priority designed to improve street address transparency – condominium associations would be required to include approved Board of Directors (BOD) meeting minutes for the preceding 12 months on their website. This will help prospective purchasers learn of special assessments that have not yet been formally adopted. The bill also extends a buyer’s right to cancel the contract to seven days after receipt of the governing documents. This increased transparency will help reduce post-closing litigation. Watch the recent Florida Realtors legal webinar that addresses the associated changes.

Limiting negative consequences of lookback periods: SB 180 requires cities and counties to have a webpage dedicated to a hurricane and storm recovery permitting guide for residential and commercial property owners. This guide must include elevation requirements following substantial damage and substantial improvement in accordance with the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). The bill also prohibits local governments participating in the NFIP from adopting or enforcing lookback periods.

Preserve and protect Florida’s state parks: HB 209 updates Florida’s management of state parks by prioritizing conservation-based recreational use, restricting environmentally harmful construction in state parks such as golf courses, tennis and pickleball courts, ballfields and large facilities like lodges, and permitting camping cabins only if they do not harm natural resources. It also establishes new timelines for public hearings.

Helping vacation rental owners remove squatters: SB 606 makes it easier for public lodging establishment operators (hotels and vacation rental owners) to remove problem guests by clarifying when a stay is temporary, setting clear removal rules and allowing police to arrest guests who refuse to leave.

Speeding up the removal of squatters from commercial properties: SB 322 helps commercial property owners remove illegal squatters more easily by letting owners file complaints with the sheriff, allowing immediate evictions, increasing penalties for property damage and preventing fake property listings.

Making it easier for landlords and tenants to communicate: HB 615 allows landlords and tenants to send notices electronically via email if both parties agree through an addendum to the rental agreement. This agreement may be revoked at any time by either party with written notice. Notices are considered delivered when sent unless they are returned as undeliverable. The bill requires the sender to maintain a copy of the electronically sent notice and evidence of its transmission.

In addition, the My Safe Florida Home Program received $280 million in new funding. The My Safe Florida Condo Pilot Program had last year’s funding of $30 million reappropriated. Both of these programs help Floridians protect their homes against storms and reduce their insurance premiums.

The state budget also injects an additional $50 million into the Hometown Heroes Housing Program, the state’s popular first-time homebuyer program for hard-working Floridians.

More information on the availability of the funding for the programs will be available soon.

Also, SB 1730 makes several changes to 2023’s Live Local Act and affordable housing policy. The bill expands the land use mandate for affordable housing to sites owned by certain religious institutions and certain planned unit developments and prohibits local governments from enforcing building moratoria on authorized proposed developments in most situations, among other zoning and land use changes. It also clarifies the definitions of commercial, industrial and mixed-use as allowable uses and amends regulations for proposed developments related to historic buildings and administrative approvals. The bill creates a new state policy allowing affordable housing developers to reserve preference for employees of health care facilities, hospitals and government entities within federal low-income tax credit rules.

More to come in October

On Oct. 1, other laws that were Florida Realtors' legislative priorities in 2025 will be taking effect:

Elimination of Florida's Business Rent Tax (BRT): HB 7031 includes a complete elimination of the BRT which represents an additional $1.5 billion in tax relief for businesses throughout Florida. This elimination includes both the state sales tax rate and the discretionary sales surtax that counties can levy on commercial leases.

Increasing transparency of flood risk: SB 948 requires landlords to provide the existing seller flood disclosure to tenants at or before they sign a lease for one year or longer. Condominium developers and cooperative developers, as well as mobile home park owners leasing space to a mobile home park tenant, will be required to provide the disclosure. This disclosure will help renters and buyers make more informed decisions about a property and reduce the number of legal disputes that occur.

© 2025 Florida Realtors®