New flood disclosure law will protect Florida homebuyers 

By Florida state Sen. Jennifer Bradley and state Rep. Christine Hunschofsky 

Buying a home is often the biggest financial decision of a lifetime. It shouldn’t be the riskiest. 

Up until recently, no laws required home sellers in Florida to disclose flood risk to potential buyers. Buyers had few ways of knowing if a property had been flooded or previously had flood damage. That left buyers on the hook, often unknowingly, for a risky purchase.  

Flooding is the most common and most costly natural disaster in the United States. Just one inch of water can cause up to $25,000 in damage and the average flood insurance claim payment over the past five years was about $69,000. Despite this, flood damage is not covered by most homeowners, renters and business property insurance policies.  

House Bill 1049 helps to alleviate some of the risk borne by home buyers: The bill makes flood disclosure a requirement for all residential real estate purchases in Florida.  

We were both proud to be sponsors of this bipartisan bill, which creates new rules for disclosing flood risk to potential homebuyers that gives buyers peace of mind. The law does this in several ways.  

First, it requires sellers to disclose if they ever filed a claim for flood damage with any insurance provider, including the National Flood Insurance Program. It also requires sellers to disclose if they have received federal assistance for flood damage to the property, notably from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).  

Lastly, the law informs buyers that homeowners insurance does not cover flood damage and encourages buyers to discuss the need to purchase separate flood insurance. These changes will all go into effect on Oct. 1.  

We look forward to seeing this law benefit potential homebuyers across the state; however, we also realize that this is only a first step toward developing a complete disclosure form. 

Still, the recent legislation adds to the series of positive steps that Florida has made as a nationwide leader in funding flood resilience. In addition to unanimously passing House Bill 1049, the Florida Legislature passed several additional bills that boost flood resilience across the state. We thank the American Flood Coalition for providing invaluable input in these bills.  

Senate Bill 1638 uses revenue from the Seminole Gaming Compact to fund several environmental programs, including the Resilient Florida grant program, which provides communities with funds to plan and construct flood-resilient projects. This gives the Resilient Florida grant program a crucial second source of funding that should lead to at least $200 million per year of total funding. 

The Legislature this year also expanded the eligibility criteria so that more underserved communities can benefit from Resilient Florida funds, regardless of population size. Now an additional 25 municipalities and one county are eligible for reduced cost share in the Resilient Florida grant program.  

This bill is a great start to providing consumer information and awareness for the largest purchase in a person’s life. With such a big investment, people have a right to know the flood history and the flood risk of their property.   

Florida state Sen. Jennifer Bradley, R-Fleming Island, represents Baker, Bradford, Clay, Columbia, Gilchrist and Union counties and part of Alachua County. State Rep. Christine Hunschofsky, D-Parkland, represents part of Broward County. 

If you are interested in submitting an opinion piece to The Invading Sea, email Editor Nathan Crabbe at ncrabbe@fau.edu. Sign up for The Invading Sea newsletter by visiting here. To learn more about flooding, watch the video below.