Florida Flood Disclosure §689.302: 2025 Amendment Rules

TL;DR

Florida Statute §689.302, created by HB 1049 in 2024 and expanded by the 2025 legislative session, requires the seller of any residential real property to complete and provide a standalone Flood Disclosure to the buyer at or before the time the sales contract is executed. As of October 1, 2025, the required disclosure has three items: (1) whether the seller has knowledge of any flooding that has damaged the property during the seller's ownership; (2) whether the seller has filed a claim with an insurance provider relating to flood damage; and (3) whether the seller has received assistance for flood damage from any source (not limited to federal assistance). The 2025 amendment also added a parallel landlord flood disclosure at §83.512 for leases of one year or longer, and expanded disclosure obligations to condominium developers and mobile home parks. Failure to provide the required disclosure may support contract remedies, common-law nondisclosure and misrepresentation claims under Johnson v. Davis and its progeny, and licensee discipline where the facts support those theories.

The 2024 statute and the 2025 amendment

Florida enacted §689.302 through HB 1049 in the 2024 legislative session (Chapter 2024-215, Laws of Florida), effective October 1, 2024. The original statute created a mandatory standalone flood disclosure for residential real estate sales, requiring the seller to state whether they had filed a flood-damage insurance claim and whether they had received federal assistance for flood damage. The legislative rationale was consumer protection: many out-of-state buyers, in particular, lacked easy access to information about a property's flood history, and previous case law had left uncertain whether flood history qualified as a "material defect" requiring disclosure under Johnson v. Davis (391 So. 2d 460).

The 2025 Florida Legislature expanded the disclosure regime through legislation effective October 1, 2025. The amended §689.302 broadened the seller disclosure to include actual knowledge of flooding (not merely insurance claim history) and expanded the assistance disclosure to include help from any source (not merely federal). Parallel legislation added §83.512 requiring landlords to make similar disclosures at or before lease execution for terms of one year or longer, added flood disclosure obligations for condominium developers under Chapter 718, and required mobile home park operators to make analogous disclosures. The combined effect is one of the most comprehensive residential flood-disclosure regimes in the United States.

The three required disclosure items (as of October 1, 2025)

The amended §689.302 requires the seller's disclosure statement to be a standalone document delivered at or before contract execution. The statute prescribes the exact form and language. The three required disclosure items are:

The 2025 amendment closed two loopholes in the original statute. First, a seller who experienced flood damage but did not file an insurance claim (perhaps paying repairs out of pocket) was not required to disclose under the 2024 version — the new knowledge-of-flooding item captures this scenario. Second, a seller who received state, county, Red Cross, or other non-federal assistance was not required to disclose under the 2024 "federal assistance" language — the new "any source" language captures this scenario. Together the amendments make the disclosure more difficult to sidestep and give buyers more complete information at contract time.

How "flooding" is defined

Section 689.302(3) defines "flooding" for purposes of the disclosure. The definition is broad and includes: (a) the overflow of inland or tidal waters; (b) the unusual and rapid accumulation or runoff of surface waters from any established water source such as a river, stream, or drainage ditch; and (c) sustained periods of standing water resulting from rainfall. This definition captures traditional storm surge, riverine flooding, urban stormwater flooding, and rainfall-driven ponding — a much broader scope than the National Flood Insurance Program's narrower definition.

A seller cannot avoid disclosure by arguing that a past inundation was not a "flood" in a technical NFIP sense. If water accumulated on the property from any of the defined causes and damaged the property during seller's ownership, disclosure is required. This broad definition puts significant pressure on sellers to disclose defensively — the cost of over-disclosure is minimal, but the cost of under-disclosure can include rescission, damages, and reputational harm.

The standalone-form requirement and delivery timing

Section 689.302 prescribes the exact form and language of the disclosure, and Florida practice — reflected in Florida Realtors' updated Flood Disclosure form and practitioner guidance — is uniform that the disclosure must be delivered as a distinct standalone form rather than as a paragraph embedded in the standard purchase agreement or the general seller property condition disclosure. The seller must complete and sign the flood disclosure and deliver it to the buyer at or before the time the sales contract is executed. Late delivery — for example, delivering the disclosure at closing after contract execution — does not satisfy the statute and exposes the seller and their licensee to remedies discussed below.

Florida REALTORS® has updated its standard Flood Disclosure form to reflect the 2025 amendment, and licensees using Form Simplicity or similar platforms will find the updated form as of October 1, 2025. Sellers using non-REALTORS forms must ensure their form incorporates the three current statutory disclosure items with the exact statutory language. The insurance-notice header language ("Homeowners' insurance policies do not include coverage for damage resulting from floods…") is part of the required form and cannot be omitted or paraphrased.

Remedies for non-disclosure

The statute does not itself specify a private cause of action, but Florida courts have consistently held that violations of statutory disclosure requirements support common-law remedies. A buyer who did not receive a required §689.302 disclosure and later discovers undisclosed flood history has several potential remedies: rescission of the contract (returning the property and receiving refund of the purchase price), monetary damages measured by the diminution in property value or the cost of repairs, and misrepresentation claims under Johnson v. Davis and related case law. Punitive damages may be available where the seller's nondisclosure was intentional or reckless.

Licensee exposure runs alongside seller exposure. A listing agent who knows or should know of flood history and fails to secure a proper §689.302 disclosure can face civil liability under general agency principles and disciplinary action by FREC for violations of §475.25(1)(b) (misrepresentation) or (1)(c) (breach of confidence). Because the flood disclosure is a seller's responsibility, a licensee's role is to inform the seller of the obligation, provide the form, and confirm delivery to the buyer — not to make the disclosure themselves.

Coordination with condo, rental, and mobile home flood disclosures

The 2025 amendment created three parallel flood-disclosure regimes that operate alongside §689.302. Section 83.512 requires landlords entering lease agreements of one year or longer to provide a written flood disclosure to tenants before or at the time of lease signing. Chapter 718 amendments require condominium developers to disclose flood damage history to unit buyers when selling initial units. Similar obligations apply to mobile home park operators under Chapter 723 amendments.

The practical effect is that virtually every residential real estate transaction and long-term lease in Florida now triggers a flood-disclosure obligation of some form. Licensees representing sellers, landlords, developers, or mobile home operators must identify which regime applies to their specific transaction and ensure the correct standalone disclosure is delivered. For the general Florida seller disclosure framework and the Johnson v. Davis common-law duties that operate alongside §689.302, see our Florida seller property disclosure requirements guide. For related seller-side accountability that intersects with flood disclosure violations, our Florida Real Estate Recovery Fund guide.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does §689.302 apply to vacant residential land?

Yes. The statute applies to sales of residential real property broadly and has been interpreted to include single-family homes, condominiums, and vacant residential lots. Vacant land can have flood history — inundation of the parcel, standing water issues, or FEMA assistance received in connection with the parcel — that materially affects the buyer's plans for the property. The disclosure obligation applies even when no structures currently exist on the parcel.

What if the current seller bought the property recently and has no knowledge of prior flooding?

The statute asks about knowledge during the seller's ownership. A seller who has owned the property for six months and experienced no flooding during that ownership can accurately state "no" on the knowledge-of-flooding item. However, if the seller has knowledge of flooding events before their ownership (from disclosure by the prior seller, from public records, or from repair contractor reports), that broader knowledge may still create disclosure obligations under Johnson v. Davis common-law disclosure duties even outside the statutory §689.302 scope.

Is the disclosure the seller's obligation or the licensee's obligation?

The statute imposes the disclosure obligation on the seller. The seller is the party who has the knowledge and must certify it. The licensee's role is to advise the seller of the requirement, provide the current standalone form, ensure timely delivery to the buyer, and document delivery in the transaction file. A licensee who fills out the disclosure for the seller can face liability if the disclosure turns out to be inaccurate — the safer practice is to have the seller complete and sign the form personally.

Does receiving flood insurance count as "receiving assistance"?

Receiving proceeds from a private flood insurance policy for a claim you filed is not "assistance" — it is contractual payment on a policy you purchased. However, the disclosure question separately asks about insurance claims (item 2), so a seller who received insurance proceeds must disclose the insurance claim. "Assistance" in the 2025 amendment covers grants, disaster relief, government aid, charitable disaster response, and similar external help — payments that were not consideration paid for coverage. When in doubt, disclose defensively.

What happens if the buyer discovers undisclosed flood history after closing?

The buyer's remedies depend on the timing and circumstances of discovery. Rescission (unwinding the sale) may be available within a reasonable time after discovery, though it becomes practically difficult as time passes and the buyer takes possession. Monetary damages for diminution in value or repair costs are typically available. Misrepresentation claims can support attorney's fees and punitive damages in appropriate cases. Licensee liability may also apply if the licensee knew or should have known of the flood history.

Does the disclosure apply to commercial or investor purchases of residential property?

The statute applies to residential real property regardless of the buyer's identity. A commercial investor, corporate buyer, or REIT purchasing residential property is entitled to the same §689.302 disclosure as an owner-occupant buyer. This is a substantive protection: many commercial buyers are sophisticated enough to conduct their own flood-history research, but the statute still requires the disclosure and the buyer retains statutory remedies for nondisclosure.

Bottom Line

Florida Statute §689.302, created by HB 1049 (2024) and expanded by 2025 legislation effective October 1, 2025, requires sellers of residential real property to provide buyers with a standalone Flood Disclosure at or before contract execution. The 2025 amended statute requires three disclosures: (1) knowledge of any flooding that damaged the property during ownership; (2) any insurance claim relating to flood damage; and (3) any assistance received for flood damage from any source. The definition of "flooding" is broad — overflow of inland or tidal waters, rapid runoff accumulation, and sustained standing water from rainfall. The disclosure must be a standalone document — not embedded in the general seller disclosure. Failure to provide the required disclosure may support contract remedies, common-law nondisclosure and misrepresentation claims under Johnson v. Davis and its progeny, and licensee discipline where the facts support those theories. Parallel 2025 amendments created flood-disclosure obligations for landlords (§83.512, leases ≥1 year), condominium developers, and mobile home park operators. For the general seller disclosure framework and Johnson v. Davis common-law duties that §689.302 supplements, see our Florida seller property disclosure requirements guide. For the 2025 amendment's expansion into condominium developer flood disclosure under Chapter 718, our Florida HOA, condo, and cooperative law guide. For the accountability framework that governs licensee exposure for disclosure violations, our Florida Real Estate Recovery Fund guide.

Source: Florida Statutes §689.302 — Disclosure of Flood Risks to Prospective Purchaser · Florida Statutes §83.512 — Landlord Flood Disclosure · Florida REALTORS — Expanded Flood Disclosures (2025)