Every July a wave of new Florida laws takes effect, and every July the summaries get some of it wrong. Here is the plain-English version of what is actually real for 2026, what already changed in June, and the two claims going around that are not true. Filter it by your situation.
The clearest real July 1, 2026 change is the Citizens rate decrease. State regulators approved a statewide average cut of about 8.8 percent on multiperil policies and 5.5 percent on wind-only, taking effect July 1, 2026 for new policies and applying to existing policies as they renew, with larger cuts in some South Florida counties. It is the first broad Citizens decrease in years.
Averages hide a lot, so treat your own renewal as the real number. If you want to test the wider market now that competition is back, see whether you can cut your premium with the Florida insurance savings calculator.
The property tax change you keep hearing about is actually two things. The cut you vote on is a November 2026 ballot amendment (HJR 1F) to raise the homestead exemption. Already law is SB 4F, signed June 24, 2026 (not July 1), which changes how your city and county set their rate right now: it strips the per-capita personal income adjustment from the maximum millage, requires a two-thirds vote to adopt any rate above the rolled-back rate, and forces a budget-cutting exercise before adoption.
You will see the effect on your August TRIM notice. Check whether your own bill went up or down with the rollback rate and TRIM decoder, and see the budget side in the county impact breakdown.
One HOA change that did pass: HB 803 (2026), the building permits bill, amended the architectural review statute, Florida Statute 720.3035, effective July 1, 2026. An HOA or its architectural control committee may not require a government building permit to be issued before it reviews a proposed improvement, so it cannot turn down your application just because you applied before getting the permit.
The committee can still give a conditional approval that depends on you getting any permit local law requires. If you are planning a fence, pool, roof or addition, you can now run the HOA review and the permit process at the same time instead of one after the other.
HB 797 (2026) rewrote much of Chapter 617, now called the Florida Nonprofit Corporations Act, effective July 1, 2026, including the director conflict-of-interest section (617.0832). HOA and condo boards follow those conflict rules through Florida Statutes 720.3033 and 718.3027, so the way a board approves a contract that involves a director or a director's relative now runs through the new framework.
Not every Chapter 617 provision applies to community associations, because Chapters 718 and 720 control where they conflict. If you sit on a board, have the association's attorney confirm how the new rules apply to your documents before the next vendor vote.
Most of what people search for as Florida HOA law in 2026 actually comes from HB 1203, which took effect July 1, 2024 and still applies. HOAs with 100 or more parcels have had to post official records, governing documents, notices and agendas on a password-protected website or app since January 1, 2025.
New directors must complete training within 90 days, with yearly continuing education (4 hours for HOAs under 2,500 parcels, 8 hours for larger ones). An HOA cannot fine you for trash cans left at the curb within 24 hours of pickup, for holiday decorations until a week after written notice, or ban a vegetable garden that is not visible from the street or common areas. Your own HOA documents can add rules, so read them together with Chapter 720.
A widely shared claim says that starting July 1, a petition from 20 percent of owners can begin dissolving an HOA. That comes from HB 657, the proposed Homeowners' Association Dissolution and Accountability Act. It died in the Senate Rules committee on March 13, 2026 and never became law.
There is no new July 1, 2026 HOA dissolution process. The existing rules in Chapter 720 still govern. We are flagging it because a lot of summaries got this wrong, and acting on a law that does not exist can waste real money and time.
You may have read that a new July 1, 2026 law expands roof-age protection to all residential property policies and adds roof consultants as authorized inspectors. That was SB 808 and its identical House companion HB 815, and both died in committee on March 13, 2026. They did not become law.
The good news is you are not unprotected: the existing roof-age rule from the 2022 and 2023 insurance reforms (Florida Statute 627.7011) already bars an insurer from refusing or non-renewing a homeowner policy solely on roof age when an authorized inspection shows at least five years of useful life remaining. That existing protection still applies. The 2026 attempt to broaden it simply did not pass. Confirm specifics with your agent.
The major condominium and cooperative reforms under HB 913, covering reserves, milestone inspections, recordkeeping, online DBPR accounts, and voting, took effect July 1, 2025, not 2026. If your association is still catching up on those requirements, that is a 2025 law, not a new July 1, 2026 change.
The post-Surfside structural reserve rules and the milestone-inspection regime continue to drive special assessments. If you own an older unit, see the short sale, hold, or foreclosure tool and the condo assessment risk checker if you are weighing your options.
For 2026, the clearest July 1 change is the Citizens rate cut, averaging about 8.8 percent on multiperil and 5.5 percent on wind-only. The big property tax story is real but separate: SB 4F changed how local governments set rates, and it took effect when it was signed on June 24, 2026, not July 1. The homestead exemption increase is a November ballot question, not a law yet.
Two things to ignore. The viral claim that 20 percent of owners can start dissolving an HOA on July 1 comes from HB 657, which did not pass. And the claim that a new law expands roof-age protection to all residential policies comes from SB 808 and HB 815, which also died in committee. The existing roof-age rule from the 2022 and 2023 reforms still protects homeowners, but the 2026 expansion is not law. Treat any advice built on either dead bill as wrong.
Citizens rate cut effective July 1, 2026 (about 8.8% multiperil, 5.5% wind-only): Citizens 2026 Rate Kit and FL Voice News. Property tax rollback law SB 4F, signed June 24, 2026: enrolled CS/SB 4-F and the Governor's release. HB 657 (HOA dissolution) died in committee March 13, 2026: Florida Senate record. Roof-age expansion SB 808 (and identical HB 815) died in committee March 13, 2026: Florida Senate SB 808 record. The existing roof-age rule is Florida Statute 627.7011. HB 803 (2026, Chapter 2026-63, effective July 1, 2026), architectural review and building permits: Florida Senate HB 803 record. HB 797 (2026, Chapter 2026-168, effective July 1, 2026), nonprofit corporations and director conflicts: Florida Senate HB 797 record. HB 1203 (2024) HOA changes: UF/IFAS summary. HB 913 condo reforms (effective July 1, 2025): Florida House bill page.
This is a plain-English summary, not legal advice. Effective dates and details can change, and the binding terms are in each statute and your own policy or governing documents. Confirm specifics with your agent, your association, or counsel.
Decode your August TRIM notice with the rollback rate decoder, see what the cut does to your county in the county impact breakdown, run the November ballot exemption in the amendment calculator, shop your premium with the insurance savings calculator, or open the full calculators hub.