Florida lawmakers force home sellers to disclose floods — sometimes

By Thomas Frank | 03/06/2024 06:22 AM EST

The measure was adopted unanimously after the removal of two key provisions.

Waterlogged cars are abandoned on flooded roads.

A move by Florida lawmakers to make home sellers reveal past flood damage accelerates a national trend toward disaster disclosure. Rebecca Blackwell/AP

It was an ambitious plan to warn homebuyers about flooding in one of the most flood-prone states.

But a landmark measure that would require Florida home sellers to disclose their property’s flood risk for the first time was weakened by state lawmakers before it was approved Monday.

The scaled-down bill before Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) illustrates the difficulty states face in trying to alert the public about climate impacts through policies that could decrease property values.

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Only nine states have strong requirements on home sellers to disclose flood information to potential buyers, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council.

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