Jesse Scheckner
Legislation to ensure renters are aware that their belongings may be at risk of water damage is on its way to the House after clearing the upper chamber with uniform support.
The Senate voted 37-0 for SB 948, which would require landlords to provide flood risk disclosures to prospective tenants at the time, or before, they sign a rental agreement of one year or longer.
If a landlord does not do so and a tenant suffers a substantial loss of personal property due to flooding — where “substantial loss” means that the total cost to repair or replace the property is 50% or more of the property’s market value — the tenant could terminate the agreement by writing within 30 days, and the landlord would have to refund all prepaid rent and/or deposits.
The bill also creates a flood disclosure requirement condo developers would have to provide to buyers.
“This would give tenants the information they need to assess their risk before they make decisions about where to live and also whether or not to obtain flood insurance,” said Fleming Island Republican Sen. Jennifer Bradley, the bill’s sponsor.
Before the bill passed Wednesday, Bradley amended it to require tenants to give landlords notice of their plan to break their lease and surrender possession of the domicile within 30 days.
SB 948 and its House companion (HB 1015) would expand legislation Bradley and Parkland Democratic Rep. Christine Hunschofsky successfully sponsored last year to mandate flood risk disclosures in property sales.
Hunschofsky, who is slated to lead House Democrats in 2026, is carrying this year’s legislation too.
The required information today includes whether any insurance claims involving flooding have been filed and if federal assistance was ever given due to flooding.
Before the change, property owners and real estate agents didn’t have to share such information with buyers.
Flooding is one of Florida’s most frequent hazards, according to the Division of Emergency Management, which describes it as a “coast to coast threat that can occur at any time of the year.”
The Florida Association of Realtors, among others, supports the legislation. HB 1015 awaits a hearing before the last of three committees to which it was referred. Like its upper-chamber counterpart, the bill has thus far advanced without a “no” vote.
