Mo Mufti, REALTOR® LPT Realty, LLC FL Lic. SL3600299
FLORIDA ROOF RULES · BUYERS AND SELLERS
On an older home near The Villages, the roof line of the inspection report often decides whether a buyer can get insured, and at what price. Three sets of rules are in play: Florida’s roof-age law, Citizens Property Insurance’s roof limits, and the building code’s 25 percent rule.
The short version: Under section 627.7011(5), Florida Statutes, an insurer may not refuse to issue or renew a homeowner’s policy solely because the roof is less than 15 years old. For a roof 15 or older, the homeowner can pay for an inspection by an authorized inspector, and if it shows 5 or more years of useful life left, the insurer may not refuse solely because of age. Citizens Property Insurance wants documentation of at least five years of remaining life on soft roofs, such as shingle, older than 25 years and on tile, slate, clay, concrete or metal roofs older than 50, or else proof of a full replacement. Insurers can still decline for condition, so the roof section of the 4-point inspection matters as much as the date.
The roof-age rule came from Senate Bill 2-D, signed May 26, 2022, and the statute applies it to homeowners’ policies issued or renewed on or after July 1, 2022.
| Roof age | What section 627.7011(5) says |
|---|---|
| Less than 15 years | The insurer may not refuse to issue or refuse to renew a homeowner’s policy solely because of the age of the roof. |
| 15 years or older | Before requiring a new roof, the insurer must allow an inspection by an authorized inspector at the homeowner’s expense. If it shows 5 or more years of useful life left, the insurer may not refuse to issue or renew solely because of roof age. |
From the last date 100 percent of the roof surface was built or replaced under the code then in effect. If it was replaced in sections, the clock runs from the first partial replacement once later work completes the surface. Citizens’ 2023 roof bulletin put it plainly: age is based on the oldest part of the roof.
One the insurer approves: a licensed home inspector, building code inspector, contractor (general, building, residential or roofing), engineer or architect, or someone else the insurer considers qualified.
It stops refusals based solely on age. The section doesn’t limit rejecting or nonrenewing for other lawful reasons, and doesn’t apply to mobile home policies. A leaking roof is a condition problem, not an age problem.
The 2026 statute carries this text; its history note’s latest entry is a 2024 law, and the Department of Financial Services says HB 1611 (2024) added roofing contractors to the inspector list.
Citizens publishes its roof rules, so they make a useful benchmark. Private carriers set their own, and the Department of Financial Services notes their four-point criteria can vary.
| Topic | What Citizens says |
|---|---|
| 4-point inspection | Required on new-business applications for homes more than 20 years old; on a renewal only if Underwriting asks for one. Not used for tenant or condominium policies. |
| Older roofs | Shingle and other soft roofs older than 25 years, and tile, slate, clay, concrete or metal roofs older than 50 years, need documentation showing at least five years of remaining useful life. |
| Less than five years left | The owner must provide proof of a full roof replacement before any policy is written. |
| Which form | The Roof Inspection Form (RCF-1), or the 4-Point Inspection Form with photos of each side of the roof, signed and dated by a verifiable Florida-licensed professional. |
| How recent | A 4-point report dated within the 12 months before the new-business application. |
| Buying a home with a bad roof | An agent may submit the application unbound if the purchase is within 45 calendar days of the requested effective date and a signed contract with a licensed contractor shows a full roof replacement within 30 days of that date. |
Remaining useful life is an estimate by a trained professional, Citizens says, and its forms note the report decides insurability only; it is not a warranty of the roof’s longevity.
Citizens’ sample 4-Point Inspection Form (Insp4pt 03 25) sets the minimum detail any substitute report must match. For each roof it records:
It also asks for the home’s actual year built and photos of each roof slope. Private carriers can draw tighter lines than Citizens: the Department of Financial Services’ four-point guide says an insurer may require proof of five years of remaining life for roofs older than 15 years (shingles) or 20 years (tile or metal). It puts a standalone four-point at typically $100 to $300.
Since SB 2-D, insurers may offer a separate roof deductible of up to 2 percent of the Coverage A (dwelling) limit or 50 percent of the roof replacement cost, whichever is lower. You can decline it by signing a form, it must come with a premium credit or discount, and it can’t apply to a total loss from a covered event, hurricane damage, or damage needing repair of less than 50 percent of the roof. When it does apply, section 627.7011(3)(a) lets the insurer pay only actual cash value on the roof until it gets reasonable proof you paid the deductible.
On March 18, 2026, the Federal Housing Finance Agency said Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will accept actual cash value coverage on roofs, with replacement cost still required for the rest of the house. In the agency’s words, actual cash value “pays what your roof is actually worth today,” not what a new roof costs.
The 2026 wind mitigation form, OIR-B1-1802, asks for each roof covering’s permit application date or product approval and installation year, and its answer A for product approval includes a roofing permit applied for on or after March 1, 2002. It also asks about roof-deck attachment and secondary water resistance; section 553.844 has the code require secondary water barriers and stronger roof-deck attachment when a site-built single-family home’s roof is replaced.
The building code’s existing-building rule, section 706.1.1 as quoted in a January 5, 2023 Citizens claims guide, says not more than 25 percent of the total roof area or roof section may be repaired, replaced or recovered in any 12-month period unless the entire existing roofing system or roof section is replaced to meet the code. SB 4-D (2022) added an exception, now section 553.844(5): if a roofing system or roof section was built, repaired or replaced under the 2007 Florida Building Code or a later edition, and 25 percent or more of it is being repaired, replaced or recovered, only that portion has to meet the code in effect. Local governments may not amend it by ordinance.
The Citizens guide notes the 2007 code took effect March 1, 2009, and treats a single-family roof permitted on or after that date as outside the 25 percent rule. For a roof permitted earlier, ask the roofer and building department how a large repair will be treated before you sign. And a partial replacement doesn’t reset the roof’s insurance age until the whole surface is done; then it dates from the first section.
The Villages spans Lake, Sumter and Marion counties, and permits come from the appropriate city or county building department, so a roof’s permit history sits with whichever one issued it. Since the 4-point and wind mitigation forms both ask for roofing permit dates, get that record first.
COMMON QUESTIONS
Not solely because of its age, if an authorized inspection you pay for shows at least 5 years of useful life left. The insurer can still act for other lawful reasons, such as condition.
No. Florida law counts roof age from the last date 100 percent of the surface was built or replaced. If it was replaced in sections, the age runs from the first partial replacement once the whole surface is done.
Shingle and other soft roofs over 25 years and tile, slate, clay, concrete or metal roofs over 50 need documentation of at least five years of remaining useful life, or proof of a full replacement.
Possibly. An agent can submit it unbound if the purchase is within 45 calendar days of the requested effective date and a signed contract with a licensed contractor shows a full roof replacement within 30 days of that date.
Not if the roof was built, repaired or replaced under the 2007 Florida Building Code or later; then only the part being worked on has to meet the current code. Citizens’ claims guide dates that code from March 1, 2009. For an older roof, ask the building department.
Mo will pull the roof permit, flag where the roof sits on the 15-year and Citizens lines, and build insurance quotes into the inspection period.
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Mo Mufti, REALTOR® · LPT Realty, LLC · 352-298-8602
Checked October 11, 2026. Insurer rules, forms and statutes change, so confirm the current version with your insurance agent before relying on a threshold.
Important: General real estate information only—not legal, tax, insurance, title, engineering, or financial advice. Mo Mufti is a Florida REALTOR® (license SL3600299) with LPT Realty, LLC, not an attorney, insurance agent, roofer, or inspector. Your insurer decides coverage; use a licensed Florida insurance agent and, for legal questions, a Florida real estate attorney.
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