2025 Forms Update Flood Disclosures, New Rental Forms and Listing Agreements
Oct. 1, 2025
With Juana Watkins and Heather Rhodes
TRT: 29m 22s
Video Transcription


President-Elect Chuck Bonfiglio, Jr. addresses camera: Hey. Good morning everybody. Thank you for joining us today. And also thank you for all the good work that you do for Florida Realtors®. So we're going to go over some forms that that we changed because of the legislative process. So as always, when we're designing these forms and keeping you guys up to date with the legislative changes so that we can, you know, protect your clients, keep the transactions running smooth, and obviously have you have confidence in your business.

So, I think Juana is on next and we'll take it away with, with the forms. Again. These are legislative change. So these are things that had to be done from the legislative process. So, things like this happen from time to time. So that's why it's super important for us to be at guard, that we go and be involved in the legislative process so that we can have a voice at the table for these changes that affect us on a, on a daily basis on our clients.

So thank you again for for joining us.

Juanna Watkins Addresses camera:  Good morning, Florida Realtors®, and thank you so much, president elect Chuck, for kicking this webinar off for us. As he mentioned, we had a very busy, very active, very long legislative session. And out of it came a number of very critical changes. And so we are here now today for our October 2025 forums update. And, I am Joanna Watkins, for those of you who don't know me, and I have the honor and privilege of serving as your Vice President of Law and policy and general counsel.

And today, with me, I have the pleasure of welcoming Heather Rhodes, who is the amazing, incomparable Associate General counsel who serves as the staff liaison for our forms committee. And she has been extremely busy, as has the members of that forms committee. So, we're going to go over a number of critical changes that take effect today, as a matter of fact.

And so, I want to take care of a couple of housekeeping matters before we get into the substance of our presentation. So is this webinar being recorded? Yes, it is. We don't always record them, but this one, we definitely wanted to record because we want to make sure that you are able to take this content, bring it to your offices, bring it to your local associations, bring it to the membership in general.

We want you to be able to replay it so that you're comfortable with all of the changes, for the forms, to comply with the legislative changes and one Na policy change that. We're going to talk to you a little bit about today. So look for this recording, and a few days after this webinar, we also are not going to have the chat active.

This is something that we have done in our, our antitrust environment. But we will have questions that we, that you can ask. The Q&A box will be open. You see on the screen a number of, boxes that say attorney or, associate general counsel. Those are members of our senior legal team who are prepared and ready to answer the questions about the content today.

So please feel free to post your question. And we will answer them real time for you. The last thing I will say is that the forms that we're talking about today are live in form, simplicity available for your use today. So buckle up and get ready as we move forward with the presentation today.

Now I want to start this.

Although the chat is not ready, I'm going to give a brief antitrust reminder because it's always great for us to keep antitrust at the forefront of everything that we do in terms of how we conduct business, both as associations and as members. Florida Realtors is devoted to improving the competitive business conditions of the real estate industry, and this meeting includes real estate professionals and other key industry stakeholders who compete with one another and compete for business and so, Florida Realtors is committed to conducting all meetings and events in a professional environment, one that adheres to all antitrust laws.

So the following discussions and topics are always prohibited. Agreements to fix prices, limit products or service offerings. Allocate geographical territories or customers. Refuse to deal any such discussions are inconsistent with this policy and will not be tolerated. I don't think we're going to have to worry about that, but just in case we are always going to give you that antitrust charge.

So what exactly are we here to talk about today? Well, we are going to cover the flood disclosure. Heather is going to give you a little bit more information about that, the specifics on that, in just a few minutes, we'll then talk about a new flood disclosure, not just the one that the legislature amended related to residential sales, but one that will now be using in the landlord tenant context.

I will give you, and, some insight on the opt in for electronic delivery of notices in the landlord tenant context. And then Heather will will give us some information about changes to the exclusive right of sale listing agreement as it relates to a new Nar policy. So without further ado, it is my absolute honor and privilege to turn over this webinar to my amazing Associate General Counsel, Miss Heather Rhodes.

Heather, you get the clicker. Well, thank you Juana.

Heather Rhodes addresses camera:  It is an absolute privilege to be here and to serve under Juana and with the rest of the senior legal team and attorneys and staff with law and policy, and they have all been working diligently. So I'd love to jump in and talk about flood disclosures. It's been a big source of conversation and topic on the legal hotline.

So I know you are all excited to hear about what's going on. So the legislature did roll out effective today. The new changes to and it came through Senate Bill 948. So they changed the statute to update this flood disclosure. One of the big wins, I would say, in this new change is it now has a question and we'll show you the form in just a moment, but it now shows you or at least gives a seller the ability to say, I do, or I do not have any knowledge about whether there has been any flooding or damage to the property based on this.

This was a huge question and source of confusion for members in the previous year. So we're very excited that this has been addressed, especially for those types of, properties or transactions relating to probate or sellers who really don't have any inside information. And I'm going to go into more detail on the next slide as we talk about assistance.

So I want to show you what the red line looks like. So all these, this is the form the changes are in red are what the legislature has changed. So here we have the new check box at the top. Seller has or has no knowledge of any flooding that has, damaged the property during seller's ownership of the property.

This is hopefully a big one. I hope this is something that clarifies transactions for sellers. Again, the one small change, while it's only one word, is a pretty big change. So I want to make sure you're aware that in this number, the new number three seller has or has not received federal assistance, you'll notice that their word is stricken out.

There's no longer the word federal. It just now reads has not received assistance. So what does this mean? And this is one word, but this is how the legislature can change things drastically in one word. And why are words matter? So removing the word federal means any type of assistance the seller may have received regarding flood damage to the property, so this may now include state assistance.

It could be local assistance. It could be. Did you get charity assistance right? Or did your neighbor help you? All right. We're just it's broad and just know that it has been brought in for this purpose. So one word has changed quite a bit here in this provision. So just making sure you're aware this is now more broad than it was in the previous year.

So but this is the again all legislatively driven. No changes by the forms committee and creativity here. But this is what what was dealt to us. So I just want to make you aware as of today this form is live on one simplicity. These are the changes you will see. But I'd like to talk more about the new form.

This has been a big source of conversation as far as what landlords are now required to do. So the statute now has been updated to require that landlords, when they have a lease signed for one year or less, or one year or greater, that they now must provide a flood disclosure to the tenant. And if they do not, it does give a tenant of the ability to, to potentially terminate the lease.

So there are consequences for landlords that we see a little differently in, the residential sale side. So this is a new form. It's going to look very similar to what we just reviewed. But it is effective today. It is available today. So you will not see any red line marks on this form because it's brand new. So there were no changes because it's all brand new language.

But I do want to draw the notice of your attention to the notice to parties and licensees at the top. We say that this form must be filled out by the landlord because the landlord is the only person who will have the information known to them. As the legislature has decided to give this information to a tenant. So keep in mind this is for the landlord to fill out.

We should not be doing this on their behalf. We provide this to them for them to finish. We draw your attention then to saying when this needs to be given, quoting the statute that is new, this 83.512 requiring it that it be completed and given to a prospective tenant at or before the time the lease or the rental agreement for the one year or longer is executed.

So keeping in mind this needs to be done beforehand. Not after, before or at the same time. So these are a little different than what we see on the other form. But when we get to the meat of the language, it is identical to the sales, residential form that we've been using for the past year. Again, you'll just see it says received assistance.

There is no distinction between federal assistance, and it already accounts for the landlord having or not having any knowledge. What you will notice is at the bottom of the form. There are only places where the landlord to sign, just as on the residential sales. Flood disclosure, there's only a place where the seller to sign. That is intentional. It is intentional, and it will remain this way because the statute does not make it a requirement.

So again, no legal requirement for a tenant or a buyer to sign off on this form without it being a legal requirement with the forms committee was very intentional and not including buyer or tenant signature. Okay, so we know that it's not there. It's okay that it's not there. The law does not require it to be there. So for landlords and sellers under these flood disclosure laws, keep a copy.

We recommend you keep a copy of what you have provided and document. When you have provided these to a tenant or a buyer to document your file so that you know that has been provided and that should hopefully abstain from some of the additional liability. But again, no signature is required from a buyer or tenant. Therefore we do not make a space for it.

So just want to make sure you're aware of that portion. And with that I'm going to turn it back over to the incomparable Joanna to talk about our new opt in for electronic delivery of notices.

Juana Watkins addresses Camera:  Thank you Heather. So I'm going to editorialize a little bit here and just, say, first of all, thank you all so much for your patience on this. Opt in for electronic delivery of notices form. You know, we this this new law, went into effect on July 1st, 2025. Unlike flood disclosure, where, it took effect on October 1st.

This form, this, the ability for the the landlord and the tenant to opt in to this electronic delivery method, has been on the books for several months now. And so I want to thank you for your patience, as we have, worked very diligently to roll this out. Now, why not release the form on July 1st?

This is a landlord tenant notice that is required to be a separate addendum from the lease. And without getting into a tremendous amount of information, what I will say to you is that as as Realtors®, you are able to freely, draft or fill in, addendum forms for, residential sales. Transactions. Right. So you have writers to the far of our contract, you have addenda to the contract for residential selling parties when it comes to leases.

As you know, the lane is much more narrow. You have the Florida Supreme Court approved lease form that you are able to fill in the blanks for, without, being, without becoming, or being accused potentially of the unlicensed practice of law. So any time the legislature creates a form that is considered an agenda, an addendum to the lease form, it's a little bit more difficult for us to freely create that form for you.

Right. It requires a little bit of finesse. And working with the Florida Bar and our partners there and reviewing bar rules and bar opinion letters on their license, practice of law and all of those things. Right. So, it took us a little bit more time to develop this form. So fortunately, we we have been able this summer to, travel around the state, during the broker roundtables, during district conferences, during our various legal updates to talk to all of you about this form, as well as the flood disclosure forms.

A good thing about much of this being statutorily driven is we've known now right for a long time with the language of these notices are with the language of the flood. Disclosure is, even before we sit down with you today. So that has been helpful. We're not surprised by any of this language, but we are happy to finally be able to deploy this form for good news.

So that's just a very long way of me saying thank you so much for your patience as we rolled out this form. So it is a new form. This statute became effective July 1st, 2025. And the this the the legislature accomplished this change by updating section 83.505 of the Florida Statutes. The landlord tenant act. This is a voluntary opt in form for the landlord and the tenant to agree to electronic delivery of notices so they they can agree that email will be a way for them to communicate with one another.

And it's important to note that this electronic means of communication of notices can be revoked at any time by a party. So, let's let's get into the meat of the language a little bit. So here is, is the form it's important to note, as I cover this, that anything that you see and read is language added by the forms committee.

Anything you see, black is actual language from the statute. So at the top you see that there is language in red. Notice to the parties. And again this is very similar language to flood disclosure and other landlord tenant forms that you will see in the form simplicity library. This form must be filled out by the landlord and tenant.

Why? Why do you want to couple of things. First, it is important to remember that again, in looking at this through the lens of the Florida Supreme Court approach to you completing addenda to a lease, we wanted to make sure that we are making it very clear that this is a form, a notice that is being elected by the landlord and tenant.

And as such, you are providing a vehicle for them to make that electronic election or make that, election for electronic delivery. You are not creating the form you are providing them a vehicle to do so. And so when you go and form simplicity, you will see that this form, very much like the other disclosure for some of the other disclosure forms in there, will require that it be completed by the parties as opposed to you completing it for them.

Okay. So that's a protection for you. We did that, very intentionally. So the the next session section requires that, the landlord and tenant specify who they are and the property address, and then we get into the statutory language. Right. And without belaboring the point, you'll find it's not confusing language. The legislature require that the parties fill in the terms here, specifying that they want to receive notices, electronically or that they do not agree to receive notices by email.

So you can have them fill in that language. And so, this is also notifying the parties, at the top here. You see, I may update my email address, at any time by providing written notice, to the tenant, specifying a new email address. And then you have the tenant's election, which is very similar to what the landlord, had to fill out.

The tenant can check the box saying that they agree to receive notices or they do not agree to receive notices. And then at the very bottom, you see the tenant has the same, information they can revoke their right or to their election to receive, email notices or they, they have language, they or not, or I should say, and they also have language.

They're saying that they may update their email address by providing written notice. So there's a landlord election section and there's a tenant election section. Election section. And they both say pretty much the same thing. So that is this o ed one form, the opt in or electronic delivery of notices form. So now you have that. But there's also this part in red here.

That the forms committee added to, to further explain the requirements of the Landlord Tenant Act as it relates here, that any notice sent by the parties shall be the, deemed delivered at the time that it was sent, unless the email is returned to the sender as undeliverable. So, again, this kind of is keeping with what Heather mentioned earlier.

You definitely want to always document your method of delivery. To the other side. Okay. That's just always good business practices. All right. So with that, Heather is going to talk to you about some updates to the exclusive right of sale leasing agreement.

Heather Rhodes addresses camera:  Thank you. Yeah. So so we've been talking about legislative changes up until this point. But now we're going to shift gears a little bit. And we're going to talk about a new MLS policy change that became effective actually as of yesterday for the MLS to implement. So what we have, what the forms committee has been working through is how do we help members who may be part of multiple MLS and have different rules for different approaches for how these, MLS is, may choose to implement this new Nar policy rule?

Not an easy challenge. One thing everybody calls something different, right? They may not use the term delayed marketing as we've been hearing. Right. Or these multiple options listing options for sellers so they may choose to do different ways to implement. Some may have a policy already in place. So the implementation may look different. So while the language you're about to see is not going to look terribly too complicated, it was an intentionally left broad left broad for a reason.

Because we understand there are multiple MLS is throughout the state. And this form is to cooperate and to coordinate for all of those types of situations. So we're not trying to cater to one or the other, but all the MLS is that could potentially be be used throughout the state. Big or small. So this is just a set, a portion of what we have in paragraph five of the listing agreement or the exclusive right of sale listing agreements.

And when I say all revisions right now, these are the four residential exclusive right of sale listing agreements. So the one for transition to transaction broker, transaction broker, single agent, no brokerage relationship. Stay tuned. The rest of the listing agreements will be updated with similar and same language in the coming days or weeks. So. So just know that this is only on these four currently, but there will be more with the same language to to be consistent across the forms platform.

So what we're looking at is again, this is an MLS policy change not related to the settlement, but an an independent decision by NAR to update their MLS policies with this new term. It does not replace the clear cooperation, but it reads in conjunction with. So we've added just one sentence again, looks very simple that the seller and broker agreed to adhere to each local MLS policy and further agreed to execute any applicable forms as necessary.

Again, understanding that the MLS specifically if they have implemented this policy and the seller and broker choose to do some form of delayed marketing, that they will follow the terms of the MLS, which may have their own disclosure form or waiver forms, whatever that looks like. So we just wanted to have something that says, yes, seller and broker will agree to adhere to the terms of the MLS, whatever those terms may look like.

And then here we have just a small insert into this section six where we talk about what public marketing includes, because now we've got this carve out with this new MLS policy that could apply. Right. So we say but it is not limited to fliers, yard signs, digital marketing on public facing websites, brokerage websites, displays. And then we have this parenthetical idea or again, that's part of that delayed marketing as it cannot be on.

If you choose that option and your MLS allows it, then we're saying we're not going to relay this marketing information 2 or 3 syndication. So therefore we needed to have a caveat. Unless the marketing options pursuant to the local MLS rules apply. So that's all that really means, is that we're going to adhere to the MLS policies pursuant to whatever the local MLS rules are.

So again, a big concept, a big MLS policy change that happened through Nar. And they have some really great, resources about this policy on their website. I know MLS says are rolling out resources to tap into your local association or your local MLS has resources about which MLS policies are going to apply to you on the specifics of the multiple listing options for sellers, but just know that this was broad enough and want it to be broad enough to cover all of those different options that every MLS may and choose to implement differently.

And with that, we have one small change that the committee considered. And so this is not legislative. This is not an on our policy. This is a clarification change. From the forms content Committee. We the compensation section has certainly been a topic since the settlement. And boy have we gotten questions. So we had this section here. And when the form was rolled out last August, it said check all that apply.

Right. And that you potentially could check options A and B. And the committee has heard lots of concern that that is not happening in practice. So the practical application, as we were thinking about this conceptually before the settlement rolled out in August, before all the forms came out, was that there could potentially be this option. And then in practice, as the committee has seen and been using the listing agreement forms these exclusive right of sale listing agreements, that that has not been what has been happening in their day to day.

Practice. So they they've opted to choose a check one option. And so if you choose nothing right. If still if you leave it blank C would be deemed selected. So we've covered in case it gets missed. But just know it's now check one again. Could you check multiples before you could. But again that was just not the practical application.

So the committee felt this was worth again as we've moved through life post Na settlement through their terms, that this was a worthy change as it is currently. What you are all doing in your business day to day. So small, tiny change. Again, likely just reflecting what you're already doing. But that is the last of the changes to cover today, so I will let you want to tell us and thank us.

Juana Watkins addresses camera:  All right. Well, we have reached the end of our program for today. And again, I just I really want to thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to join us today. We are recording this webinar because we want you to really be able to visit this content as you find yourself working with the forums, talking with your customers, meeting with your fellow agents of your brokerage, you know, whatever the case may be, we want you to be able to reflect on this information.

I want to thank the forms committee and and everyone, Heather and everyone who, you know, who's involved in the policymaking process. Because it is a lot of hard work to bring these changes to you. You should be proud of your governance structure on that. Make this possible. So thank you to everyone who who, worked really hard to bring this to fruition.

And, if you have any questions about these changes, obviously, we love to hear from you on the hotline. Please call us at (407) 438-1409. Our lawyers are here for you to answer any questions you have about these changes, or any others, or anything that you would like to ask us about from a law policy perspective. So again, look for this recording.

Look for the slides to be posted. And we want to thank you. Thank you to the leadership team for allowing us to be able to continue to offer you this type of content. One of the things that came out of the broker roundtables, as we got to go about the state listening to all of you this summer, was the need for contract content training on content for the contract.

So we look forward to bringing you that in the coming months. And so with that, have a wonderful day, and thank you so much for the opportunity to serve as your general counsel.