July marks the start of a new budget and fiscal year for state government, and it also means several new laws will come into effect in the Sunshine State, particularly in the real estate industry.
There are many new laws and regulations that impact the Florida real estate market and property management. The scope of the new rules includes the replacement of older coastal buildings, regulating vacation rental properties, investing in conservation land, restricting state property insurance organizations, approving building permits, temperature control in the workplace, and much more.
In March, the state Legislature approved a bill that would make it easier for developers to demolish coastal buildings that may be historic but need to be removed to make way for larger structures in the future. The bill, called the Resilient and Safe Buildings Act, prohibits local governments from blocking the demolition of buildings in coastal construction zones.
This new law was prompted by the tragic collapse of a surfside apartment building in Miami Beach in 2021, when the building literally collapsed, killing dozens of residents.
The highly controversial new measures focus on regulating Airbnb and Vrbo rentals, as lawmakers approved regulations that give states more influence in regulating short-term rentals.
The bill has been at the center of a debate over whether state regulators or local governments at the city and county level should have more control. The new bill would allow local registrations of vacation rentals to be suspended if there are six or more violations of the rules over a two-month period.
Meanwhile, the refuge is getting additional protections from the state. The new measure protects about 28,000 acres of sensitive wetlands in the Everglades, which the state has purchased and protected as a refuge. The wetlands are also considered important habitat for the elusive Florida panther.
The new law allows insurers to enter into surplus insurance contracts with Citizens Property Insurance Corp., which the state created in 2002 to help residents and businesses who can't get insurance from private insurers. The new measure allows good insurance companies to write new policies through Citizens for homes that aren't primary residences.
When it comes to employee workplace comfort, a new law now in effect prohibits local governments from enacting regulations to protect workers from excessive heat in the workplace. The measure caps state regulations at a certain level and local governments cannot exceed state guidelines.
The new law also requires stricter compliance when it comes to building permits. New state measures that go into effect today set deadlines for local permit applications when building special communities. They also pave the way for the use of so-called third-party inspectors for these buildings, instead of only using government-appointed inspectors.
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