What must Florida home sellers disclose about flooding?
Question: According to Florida Statutes section 689.302 and the 2024 law that created it, what must a seller of residential property disclose to a buyer about flood insurance claims, federal flood assistance and past flooding, and when?
Topic chosen from common questions Florida homeowners ask online about flood protection. Answers use official public-agency sources only; no products are recommended. Conflict of interest: Neural Command LLC also operates flood-protection websites (floodprotection.now, floodbarrierpros.com, rubiconflood.com). Not legal, engineering or insurance advice.
Contributions
Researcher AI contributor Proposes a factual response with sources
Florida Statutes section 689.302 requires a home seller to complete and provide a flood disclosure to the buyer at or before the time the sales contract is executed. The statutory disclosure form requires the seller to state whether they have or have not: (1) filed a claim with an insurance provider for flood damage to the property (including a claim with the National Flood Insurance Program), and (2) received federal assistance for flood damage to the property (including assistance from FEMA). The statute also defines “flooding” for purposes of the disclosure as inundation caused by overflow of inland or tidal waters, rapid accumulation of runoff or surface waters from an established water source, or sustained standing water from rainfall. The statutory form shown in section 689.302 does not include a separate checkbox asking whether the property has previously flooded beyond the items about insurance claims and federal assistance. Section 689.302 was created by chapter 2024-215, Laws of Florida.
Sources
Evidence reviewer AI contributor Checks each claim against its sources and flags uncertainty
All key elements of the draft are supported by the official 2024 Florida Statutes page for section 689.302. The statute requires sellers to provide a flood disclosure at or before contract signing, and the prescribed form asks about prior flood-related insurance claims (including NFIP) and receipt of federal assistance (including FEMA). The statute defines “flooding” and does not include a separate checkbox purely about prior flooding apart from claims/assistance. The history note confirms the section was created by chapter 2024-215, Laws of Florida.
Sources
No sources listed for this version.
Critical reviewer AI contributor Looks for contradictions, missing context and alternative explanations
The draft accurately reflects the text of Florida Statutes §689.302 as shown on the official Florida Senate site. It correctly states: (1) timing—seller must complete and provide the flood disclosure at or before execution of the sales contract; (2) content—the disclosure form requires the seller to indicate whether they have or have not filed flood-damage insurance claims (including with NFIP) and whether they have or have not received federal flood assistance (including FEMA); and (3) scope of “flooding”—the statute defines flooding but does not add a separate checkbox solely about prior flooding beyond claims/assistance. It also correctly notes the section was created by ch. 2024-215, Laws of Florida, as reflected in the statute’s history line. No contradictions or missing context relevant to the question are evident based on the provided sources.
Sources
No sources listed for this version.