Florida 2025 Regular Session

Florida House Bill H0401 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
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3	3	HB 401 2025
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5	5
6	6
7	7	CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
8	8	hb401-00
9	9	Page 1 of 7
10	10	F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
11	11
12	12
13	13
14	14	A bill to be entitled 1
15	15	An act relating to residential land use development 2
16	16	regulations; providing a short title; creating ss. 3
17	17	125.01056 and 166.04155, F.S.; providing legislative 4
18	18	purpose; providing legislative findings; providing 5
19	19	definitions; authorizing counties and municipalities, 6
20	20	respectively, to zone or designate a parcel for 7
21	21	single-family residential use or single -family hybrid 8
22	22	housing use; authorizing counties and municipalit ies, 9
23	23	respectively, to allow the use of land for single -10
24	24	family residential use, while prohibiting the use of 11
25	25	land for single-family hybrid housing use; providing 12
26	26	legislative intent; providing for the adoption of 13
27	27	local land development regulations; providing 14
28	28	applicability; providing exemptions; providing an 15
29	29	effective date. 16
30	30	17
31	31	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 18
32	32	19
33	33	Section 1. This act may be cited as the "Strengthening 20
34	34	Home Ownership in Florida Act." 21
35	35	Section 2. Section 125.01056, Florida Statutes, is created 22
36	36	to read: 23
37	37	125.01056 Hybrid housing. — 24
38	38	(1) PURPOSE.—The land use categories of single -family 25
39	39
40	40	HB 401 2025
41	41
42	42
43	43
44	44	CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
45	45	hb401-00
46	46	Page 2 of 7
47	47	F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
48	48
49	49
50	50
51	51	residential and hybrid housing use aim to clearly distinguish 26
52	52	between owner-occupied single-family homes and hybrid housing 27
53	53	models that blend single-family homes on individual lots with 28
54	54	multifamily ownership characteristics. 29
55	55	(2) FINDINGS.—The Legislature finds that: 30
56	56	(a) Homeownership enhances community stability, economic 31
57	57	prosperity, and civic engagement. 32
58	58	(b) There are substantial public benefits of increased 33
59	59	homeownership, such as improved public welfare and economic 34
60	60	resilience. 35
61	61	(c) Evolving housing needs require adaptable policy 36
62	62	frameworks that promote inclusivity and economic diversity 37
63	63	within communities. 38
64	64	(d) Distinguishing between land use categories for owner -39
65	65	occupied single-family residential use and hybrid housing use 40
66	66	addresses the diverse needs and preferences of the residents of 41
67	67	this state. 42
68	68	(e) There is currently no mechanism to ensure that 43
69	69	rezoning land into uses for single-family residential use will 44
70	70	provide for home ownership opportunities, necessitating 45
71	71	legislative action to address this concern. 46
72	72	(3) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section: 47
73	73	(a) "Single-family hybrid housing use" means residential 48
74	74	property that is primarily designed for use as rental property 49
75	75	or property subject to a lease agreement, which is owned by a 50
76	76
77	77	HB 401 2025
78	78
79	79
80	80
81	81	CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
82	82	hb401-00
83	83	Page 3 of 7
84	84	F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
85	85
86	86
87	87
88	88	related entity, irrespective of the total number of properties 51
89	89	owned in the county. 52
90	90	(b) "Single-family residential use" means owner -occupied 53
91	91	residential property in which the homeowner, and any related 54
92	92	entity, does not own more than three single -family residences in 55
93	93	the county. 56
94	94	57
95	95	For purposes of this subsection, the term "related entity" means 58
96	96	a person or entity that has an affiliation or connection to the 59
97	97	property, whether direct or indirect, through an ownership 60
98	98	interest, familial or associative connection, control or 61
99	99	influence, economic interest, legal or beneficial interest, or 62
100	100	contractual or agreement -based relationship. 63
101	101	(4) AUTHORIZED LAND USE CATEGORIES. — 64
102	102	(a) A county may zone or designate a parcel for single -65
103	103	family residential use or single -family hybrid housing use in 66
104	104	its local government comprehensive plan and future land use map. 67
105	105	(b) A county may allow the use of land for si ngle-family 68
106	106	residential use, while prohibiting the use of land for single -69
107	107	family hybrid housing use, for purposes of any local zoning 70
108	108	regulations or future land use maps. It is the intent of this 71
109	109	section to enable a county the ability to tailor its land us e 72
110	110	policies and regulations to address local housing needs and 73
111	111	community development goals. 74
112	112	(5) ADOPTION OF LOCAL LAND DEVELOPMENT REGULATIONS. —A 75
113	113
114	114	HB 401 2025
115	115
116	116
117	117
118	118	CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
119	119	hb401-00
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121	121	F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
122	122
123	123
124	124
125	125	county may adopt any ordinance, rule, or regulation consistent 76
126	126	with this section to meet its specific local h ousing needs. 77
127	127	(6) APPLICABILITY.—This section does not apply to property 78
128	128	owned or developed by a state or local governmental entity. 79
129	129	(7) EXEMPTIONS.— 80
130	130	(a) This section is exempt from the requirements of s. 81
131	131	70.001. 82
132	132	(b) A builder or developer engaged in the construction and 83
133	133	sale of a new home on land zoned for single -family residential 84
134	134	use is exempt from any land development regulations governing 85
135	135	single-family residential use if the builder or developer owns 86
136	136	the unoccupied home under permitting and con struction. 87
137	137	Section 3. Section 166.04155, Florida Statutes, is created 88
138	138	to read: 89
139	139	166.04155 Hybrid housing. — 90
140	140	(1) PURPOSE.—The land use categories of single -family 91
141	141	residential and hybrid housing use aim to clearly distinguish 92
142	142	between owner-occupied single-family homes and hybrid housing 93
143	143	models that blend single -family homes on individual lots with 94
144	144	multifamily ownership characteristics. 95
145	145	(2) FINDINGS.—The Legislature finds that: 96
146	146	(a) Homeownership enhances community stability, economic 97
147	147	prosperity, and civic engagement. 98
148	148	(b) There are substantial public benefits of increased 99
149	149	homeownership, such as improved public welfare and economic 100
150	150
151	151	HB 401 2025
152	152
153	153
154	154
155	155	CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
156	156	hb401-00
157	157	Page 5 of 7
158	158	F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
159	159
160	160
161	161
162	162	resilience. 101
163	163	(c) Evolving housing needs require adaptable policy 102
164	164	frameworks that promote inclusivity and economic divers ity 103
165	165	within communities. 104
166	166	(d) Distinguishing between land use categories for owner -105
167	167	occupied single-family residential use and hybrid housing use 106
168	168	addresses the diverse needs and preferences of the residents of 107
169	169	this state. 108
170	170	(e) There is currently no mechani sm to ensure that 109
171	171	rezoning land into uses for single -family residential use will 110
172	172	provide for home ownership opportunities, necessitating 111
173	173	legislative action to address this concern. 112
174	174	(3) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section: 113
175	175	(a) "Single-family hybrid housing use" means residential 114
176	176	property that is primarily designed for use as rental property 115
177	177	or property subject to a lease agreement, which is owned by a 116
178	178	related entity, irrespective of the total number of properties 117
179	179	owned in the county. 118
180	180	(b) "Single-family residential use" means owner -occupied 119
181	181	residential property in which the homeowner, and any related 120
182	182	entity, does not own more than three single -family residences in 121
183	183	the county. 122
184	184	123
185	185	For purposes of this subsection, "related entity," means a 124
186	186	person or entity that has an affiliation or connection to the 125
187	187
188	188	HB 401 2025
189	189
190	190
191	191
192	192	CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
193	193	hb401-00
194	194	Page 6 of 7
195	195	F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
196	196
197	197
198	198
199	199	property, whether direct or indirect, through an ownership 126
200	200	interest, familial or associative connection, control or 127
201	201	influence, economic interest, legal or beneficial interest, or 128
202	202	contractual or agreement -based relationship. 129
203	203	(4) AUTHORIZED LAND USE CATEGORIES. — 130
204	204	(a) A municipality may zone or designate a parcel for 131
205	205	single-family residential use or single -family hybrid housing 132
206	206	use in its local government comprehensive plan and future land 133
207	207	use map. 134
208	208	(b) A municipality may allow the use of land for single -135
209	209	family residential use, while prohibiting the use of land for 136
210	210	single-family hybrid housing use, for purposes of any local 137
211	211	zoning regulations or future land use maps. It is the intent of 138
212	212	this section to enab le a municipality the ability to tailor its 139
213	213	land use policies and regulations to address local housing needs 140
214	214	and community development goals. 141
215	215	(5) ADOPTION OF LOCAL LAND DEVELOPMENT REGULATIONS. —A 142
216	216	municipality may adopt any ordinance, rule, or regulation 143
217	217	consistent with this section to meet its specific local housing 144
218	218	needs. 145
219	219	(6) APPLICABILITY.—This section does not apply to property 146
220	220	owned or developed by a state or local governmental entity. 147
221	221	(7) EXEMPTIONS.— 148
222	222	(a) This section is exempt from the requirements of s. 149
223	223	70.001. 150
224	224
225	225	HB 401 2025
226	226
227	227
228	228
229	229	CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
230	230	hb401-00
231	231	Page 7 of 7
232	232	F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
233	233
234	234
235	235
236	236	(b) A builder or developer engaged in the construction and 151
237	237	sale of a new home on land zoned for single -family residential 152
238	238	use is exempt from any land development regulations governing 153
239	239	single-family residential use if the builde r or developer owns 154
240	240	the unoccupied home under permitting and construction. 155
241	241	Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2025. 156