The Disaster Made You a Victim — Government Can Victimize You Again- Stop it Now!
The Issue
Anyone can be a victim of a Disaster. Then a 2nd time the victim of government fines and orders that can legally take your home!
ALL homeowners are vulnerable. Code enforcement can write fines that can cause the loss of your home! Shock/trauma, insurance problems, labor shortage and lack of materials can cause delays in home repairs for disaster victims for years. Please sign this petition to make sure the new Florida State rule of a full 5 years is allowed for all homeowners to recover without fines from local Code Enforcement (as long as the property is secure- boarded or closed as required to be safe).
Sign now and post to everyone you can!
FL homeowners are protected by the 3% save our home tax cap. [Florida State Statute] F.S.S. 196.031 (7). The 'Calamity' addition to the homestead tax law says: " Failure by the property owner to commence the repair or rebuilding of the homestead property within 5 years after January 1 following the property’s damage or destruction constitutes abandonment of the property as a homestead." - (The statue on the record for many years and was changed in 2025 from 3 years to 5 years)
This sounds like you have time to deal with major decisions BUT Code Enforcement can start daily fines under the law so it truly does not protect homeowners! Even though the law clearly states you have 5 years to commence repairs or rebuilding if your home was damaged by a calamity.
IT IS A CLEAR CONTRADICTION. Florida § 162.09 generally provides for up to $250 per day for a first violation and $500 per day for a repeat violation, It also permits up to $5,000 per violation for certain irreparable or irreversible violations, and some larger local governments can enact higher limits. Homeowners have five years to start rebuilding after a calamity and retain their prior homestead tax value. Yet local code enforcement can impose daily fines—for failing to begin work by a locally chosen deadline. Those accumulating fines can cost homeowners their homes and strip away generations of family wealth. Homeowners will not be adequately protected until they receive the same five-year rebuilding period without the threat of daily code-enforcement fines. State law should prevent local governments from imposing those fines during that protected recovery period.
Check how much income your local Code Enforcement department produces from fines. That information is public. Look up your local public information or records office or see if the budget is online to review on your own by agency.
Fixing this language will not significantly reduce municipal income, but it can protect disaster victims who are underinsured, facing homelessness, carrying severe financial burdens, or coping with illness and overwhelming stress after losing everything. Vulnerable groups face even greater hardship. Anyone can become ill, financially overwhelmed, or unable to cope after a disaster. The legislature did the right thing with adding this years ago they only need to fix the language now on the floor of the house and senate this does not need a new bill! Added language: LOCAL CODE ENFORCEMENT CAN NOT IGNORE THE STATE STATUTE AND REQUIRE A SHORTER TIMELINE TO REBUILD.
That is all. Sign this and write your legislatures to fix this now the next opportunity changes come up they can add it in.
Please sign, and share this petition to request our State Lawmakers to fix the wording on the house floor and have their counterparts in the Federal Government pay close attention to the actions of the state and how it deals with this. The wording must stop Florida cities and counties from ignoring the existing State law FSS 196.031.7
Below is the Statute.
Copy of Little known Florida State Statue 196.031 Subsection (7) http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0100-0199/0196/Sections/0196.031.html
(7) When homestead property is damaged or destroyed by misfortune or calamity and the property is uninhabitable on January 1 after the damage or destruction occurs, the homestead exemption may be granted if the property is otherwise qualified and if the property owner notifies the property appraiser that he or she intends to repair or rebuild the property and live in the property as his or her primary residence after the property is repaired or rebuilt and does not claim a homestead exemption on any other property or otherwise violate this section. Failure by the property owner to commence the repair or rebuilding of the homestead property within 5 years after January 1 following the property’s damage or destruction constitutes abandonment of the property as a homestead. After the 5 year period, the expiration, lapse, non renewal, or revocation of a building permit issued to the property owner for such repairs or rebuilding also constitutes abandonment of the property as homestead.
Current Florida State Statute needs to clarify the stipulations in the State Statute are pre-emptive; The FSS 196.031 (7) preempts the local city and county Code Enforcement from fining victims of calamity and misfortune. "Local Code Enforcement cannot ignore the statute and fine a homeowner under the 5 years or make it retroactive. (The home needs to be secure and not a public nuisance.)"
Most FL homeowners don't know this law exists. Please forward to everyone you know. This is a serious issue please don't think lightning, wind storm or other natural disaster couldn't happen to you at any time causing a calamity where you find yourself facing the threat of strangers telling you your home will be foreclosed on if you don't repair it in 120 days or whatever they decide.
No Disaster survivor should be victimized again by their own government or future generations be stripped of family homes as epidemic in FL.
Can you think of one reason a politician would NOT want to protect all victims of a disaster when the law was created with that intention?!?!
Code Enforcement used by cities and counties strategically selecting and fining homes is an silent epidemic as news stories are starting to cover. If they get thousands of dollars or wind up with the land neither should happen to properties protected under this law. As some neighborhoods are ignored to fall into blight. I encourage you to read some of the news stories.
If you own a home or not this in some way touches you, a relative may own a home effected by this, yourself may buy a home one day and need protection, or where you live or rent may be effected at some point. Your boss, neighbor, friend, family member or someone you haven't met yet needs protection from this loophole in the law. Please sign to help close it now.
121
The Issue
Anyone can be a victim of a Disaster. Then a 2nd time the victim of government fines and orders that can legally take your home!
ALL homeowners are vulnerable. Code enforcement can write fines that can cause the loss of your home! Shock/trauma, insurance problems, labor shortage and lack of materials can cause delays in home repairs for disaster victims for years. Please sign this petition to make sure the new Florida State rule of a full 5 years is allowed for all homeowners to recover without fines from local Code Enforcement (as long as the property is secure- boarded or closed as required to be safe).
Sign now and post to everyone you can!
FL homeowners are protected by the 3% save our home tax cap. [Florida State Statute] F.S.S. 196.031 (7). The 'Calamity' addition to the homestead tax law says: " Failure by the property owner to commence the repair or rebuilding of the homestead property within 5 years after January 1 following the property’s damage or destruction constitutes abandonment of the property as a homestead." - (The statue on the record for many years and was changed in 2025 from 3 years to 5 years)
This sounds like you have time to deal with major decisions BUT Code Enforcement can start daily fines under the law so it truly does not protect homeowners! Even though the law clearly states you have 5 years to commence repairs or rebuilding if your home was damaged by a calamity.
IT IS A CLEAR CONTRADICTION. Florida § 162.09 generally provides for up to $250 per day for a first violation and $500 per day for a repeat violation, It also permits up to $5,000 per violation for certain irreparable or irreversible violations, and some larger local governments can enact higher limits. Homeowners have five years to start rebuilding after a calamity and retain their prior homestead tax value. Yet local code enforcement can impose daily fines—for failing to begin work by a locally chosen deadline. Those accumulating fines can cost homeowners their homes and strip away generations of family wealth. Homeowners will not be adequately protected until they receive the same five-year rebuilding period without the threat of daily code-enforcement fines. State law should prevent local governments from imposing those fines during that protected recovery period.
Check how much income your local Code Enforcement department produces from fines. That information is public. Look up your local public information or records office or see if the budget is online to review on your own by agency.
Fixing this language will not significantly reduce municipal income, but it can protect disaster victims who are underinsured, facing homelessness, carrying severe financial burdens, or coping with illness and overwhelming stress after losing everything. Vulnerable groups face even greater hardship. Anyone can become ill, financially overwhelmed, or unable to cope after a disaster. The legislature did the right thing with adding this years ago they only need to fix the language now on the floor of the house and senate this does not need a new bill! Added language: LOCAL CODE ENFORCEMENT CAN NOT IGNORE THE STATE STATUTE AND REQUIRE A SHORTER TIMELINE TO REBUILD.
That is all. Sign this and write your legislatures to fix this now the next opportunity changes come up they can add it in.
Please sign, and share this petition to request our State Lawmakers to fix the wording on the house floor and have their counterparts in the Federal Government pay close attention to the actions of the state and how it deals with this. The wording must stop Florida cities and counties from ignoring the existing State law FSS 196.031.7
Below is the Statute.
Copy of Little known Florida State Statue 196.031 Subsection (7) http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0100-0199/0196/Sections/0196.031.html
(7) When homestead property is damaged or destroyed by misfortune or calamity and the property is uninhabitable on January 1 after the damage or destruction occurs, the homestead exemption may be granted if the property is otherwise qualified and if the property owner notifies the property appraiser that he or she intends to repair or rebuild the property and live in the property as his or her primary residence after the property is repaired or rebuilt and does not claim a homestead exemption on any other property or otherwise violate this section. Failure by the property owner to commence the repair or rebuilding of the homestead property within 5 years after January 1 following the property’s damage or destruction constitutes abandonment of the property as a homestead. After the 5 year period, the expiration, lapse, non renewal, or revocation of a building permit issued to the property owner for such repairs or rebuilding also constitutes abandonment of the property as homestead.
Current Florida State Statute needs to clarify the stipulations in the State Statute are pre-emptive; The FSS 196.031 (7) preempts the local city and county Code Enforcement from fining victims of calamity and misfortune. "Local Code Enforcement cannot ignore the statute and fine a homeowner under the 5 years or make it retroactive. (The home needs to be secure and not a public nuisance.)"
Most FL homeowners don't know this law exists. Please forward to everyone you know. This is a serious issue please don't think lightning, wind storm or other natural disaster couldn't happen to you at any time causing a calamity where you find yourself facing the threat of strangers telling you your home will be foreclosed on if you don't repair it in 120 days or whatever they decide.
No Disaster survivor should be victimized again by their own government or future generations be stripped of family homes as epidemic in FL.
Can you think of one reason a politician would NOT want to protect all victims of a disaster when the law was created with that intention?!?!
Code Enforcement used by cities and counties strategically selecting and fining homes is an silent epidemic as news stories are starting to cover. If they get thousands of dollars or wind up with the land neither should happen to properties protected under this law. As some neighborhoods are ignored to fall into blight. I encourage you to read some of the news stories.
If you own a home or not this in some way touches you, a relative may own a home effected by this, yourself may buy a home one day and need protection, or where you live or rent may be effected at some point. Your boss, neighbor, friend, family member or someone you haven't met yet needs protection from this loophole in the law. Please sign to help close it now.
Supporter Voices
Petition Updates
Share this petition
Petition created on January 22, 2023