While multiple bills were proposed this past legislative session that would have modified a variety of statutes affecting Florida’s Construction Industry, only eight we ultimately signed into law. Summaries of those eight statutes, which affected Florida’s Building Code Act and Florida’s Contractor Licensing Statutes, are below.
HB 683 (2025) was signed recently by Governor DeSantis and became effective July 1, 2025. While the bill modified multiple statutes affecting the construction industry, there are extensive modifications to Florida’s alternative plans review, or private provider, statute found in 553.791, Florida Statutes.
HB 683 (2025) was signed recently by Governor DeSantis and became effective July 1, 2025. While the bill modified multiple statutes affecting the construction industry, the modifications to 553.79, Florida Statutes, prohibit local governments from obtaining copies of contracts as part of the permitting process.
553.73, Florida Statutes, authorizes the adoption and governance of Florida’s Building Code, and includes a section setting forth various types of construction that are exempt from the Florida Building Code. Effective July 1, 2025, as part of HB 683 (2025), now certain types of construction relating to spaceports are exempt from the Florida Building Code
On July 1, 2025, HB 551 (2025) became law in Florida and made changes to 553.7932 and two sections of Chapter 633, Florida Statutes, both of which deal with fire sprinkler and fire alarm systems. The changes to 553.7932 generally are aimed at shortening and simplifying permitting application times for fire alarm system projects with 20 or fewer devices. The Changes to Chapter 633, Florida Statutes, provides additional requirements for uniform summary inspection reports.
Florida’s Thermal Efficiency Code is found in 553.900 - 553.912, Florida Statutes, and is intended to promote energy efficiency in thermal design and operation of all buildings statewide. As part of SB 180 (2025), the definition of a “renovated building” was modified to create a higher threshold of the cost of the renovation before compliance with Florida’s Thermal Efficiency Code applies to buildings damaged by natural disasters.
In response to recent natural disasters impacting Florida, on June 30, 2025, Governor DeSantis signed SB 180 into law. While the bill alters multiple statutes, relevant to this blog, it creates 489.1132, Florida Statutes, entitled “Regulation of hoisting equipment used in construction, demolition, or excavation work during a hurricane.”
While HB 683 (2025) modifies several statutes that apply to the construction industry, from a licensing perspective, it updates the definition of a Certified Alarm System Contractor to expand the scope of work that can be performed by those contractors.
Since 2019, roofing contractors have seen new requirements and changes to their scopes of work imposed under Florida’s contractor licensing statutes. Many of these changes require contractual disclosures and impose various timelines, including cancellation deadlines. Most recently HB 715 (formerly SB 1076) was signed into law by Governor DeSantis. The new bill creates multiple changes to Chapter 489, Florida Statutes, that effect roofers.
