Florida Flood Disclosure for Tampa Bay Sellers in 2026

What does Florida’s flood disclosure law require Tampa Bay sellers to disclose in 2026?

Florida Statute 689.302 requires every seller of residential real property to deliver a separate Flood Disclosure form (Florida Realtors FD-2) to the buyer at or before the sales contract is executed. Effective October 1, 2025, the disclosure must report any knowledge of flooding that damaged the property during the seller’s ownership, any flood-related insurance claims, and any assistance received for flood damage from any source. Failure to deliver the form on time, or completing it inaccurately, can support contract rescission, a misrepresentation claim under Johnson v. Davis (1985), and professional discipline against the listing licensee.

Florida’s flood disclosure law isn’t new — but as of October 1, 2025, it’s broader, sharper, and more consequential for Tampa Bay sellers than at any point in the state’s history. If you’re listing a home in Hillsborough, Pinellas, or Pasco County in 2026, the FD-2 form is now a separate document, delivered before contract, with three specific questions about flooding that didn’t exist on Florida sales contracts two years ago.

Here’s what’s changed, why it matters more in Tampa Bay than in almost any other Florida market, and how to handle the disclosure without putting your closing — or your net at the table — at risk.

What F.S. 689.302 requires — and what changed October 1, 2025

Florida Statute 689.302 took effect October 1, 2024, after the Legislature passed HB 1049. The original 2024 version required residential sellers to deliver a flood disclosure to the buyer at or before contract execution and asked two questions: had the seller filed any flood-related insurance claims, and had the seller received federal flood assistance.

The 2025 amendment, effective October 1, 2025, expanded the form materially. The current FD-2 form (Florida Realtors revision 9/2025) now requires the seller to disclose:

• Knowledge of any flooding that damaged the property during the seller’s period of ownership — even if no insurance claim was filed and no aid was received
• Any flood-related insurance claims, including but not limited to claims with the National Flood Insurance Program
• Any assistance received for flood damage, from any source — federal, state, local, charitable, or private

The third bullet is the one that matters. Before October 1, 2025, uninsured flood damage that the homeowner paid out of pocket — or repaired with help from a contractor crew that didn’t generate a paper trail — sat outside the disclosure form. After October 1, 2025, that damage has to be reported if the seller knows about it.

The statute also defines “flooding” broadly. It includes storm surge, overflow of inland or tidal waters, rapid runoff, surface-water accumulation from rivers or drainage ditches, and sustained standing water from rainfall. A South Tampa garage that took on three inches of street flooding during Helene’s surge counts. A Shore Acres first floor that absorbed bay water during a king tide counts. A Snell Isle yard that pooled but never reached the slab does not — the statute requires flooding that damaged the property, not flooding that simply occurred nearby.

Tampa Bay’s exposure after Helene and Milton

No Florida metro has more 2024 flood claims sitting inside seller-knowledge questions than Tampa Bay.

Hurricane Helene’s storm surge in late September 2024 pushed more than five feet of water across coastal Pinellas, southern Hillsborough, and parts of South Tampa, even though the storm’s eye stayed offshore. Shore Acres in St. Petersburg, already flood-prone, absorbed its fourth flooding event in four years. Davis Islands, Beach Park canal frontage, Bayshore Beautiful, Channel District ground floors, Harbour Island lower units, Clearwater Beach, Treasure Island, and St. Pete Beach all took on surge or surface flooding. Two weeks later, Hurricane Milton’s wind and water added a second hit to many of the same homes.

Tampa Bay Times and WUSF reporting in late 2024 estimated tens of thousands of damaged homes across the Tampa–St. Petersburg–Clearwater region. Many of those homes are now on the market or will be by year-end 2026 — and every one has to answer the FD-2 question about flooding during the seller’s ownership.

Here’s the wrinkle. Many sellers absorbed surge damage they never filed a claim on, either because they didn’t carry flood insurance, the loss was below their deductible, or they simply rebuilt and moved on. Under the pre-October-2025 form, that damage sat outside the disclosure question. Under the current FD-2, it doesn’t. If you owned a home through 2024 in an AE or VE flood-zone neighborhood and you’re selling in 2026, the disclosure obligation is broader than what your neighbors who sold in 2024 faced.

How to handle the disclosure as a Tampa Bay seller

The mechanics aren’t complicated. The judgment calls behind them are.

Use the current FD-2 form. Florida Realtors released the revised form in September 2025 with a 9/2025 revision date. Some listing packages still circulate the older version. Confirm with your listing agent that the current revision is what’s going out before your home goes live.

Deliver the form before contract execution, not at closing. The statute is explicit — the disclosure goes to the buyer at or before the sales contract is signed. Late delivery exposes you to rescission risk. The cleanest practice is to attach the FD-2 to the listing package so every prospective buyer receives it with the marketing materials, not as an attachment after an offer is on the table.

Disclose what you know, during your ownership. The form asks about your knowledge during the period you owned the home. If you bought in 2023 and the home flooded in 2018 under a prior owner, that earlier event isn’t your statutory disclosure obligation. You can answer “no knowledge” of flooding during your ownership and remain accurate. Older flood history may still surface under Johnson v. Davis if it’s a known material defect — a separate conversation worth having with your listing agent and, where warranted, a real-estate attorney.

Document the answer in writing. Keep your insurance claim records, FEMA correspondence, contractor invoices, repair receipts, and contemporaneous photos. If a buyer or buyer’s attorney pushes back post-contract, the strength of your defense is the paper trail behind the box you checked.

Don’t try to thread the needle on a borderline event. If three inches of water reached your living room during Helene and you ran a wet-vac and three fans for a weekend, that’s flood damage during ownership — disclose it. If a buyer asks about Helene during a showing and the answer doesn’t match the form, you’ve created a misrepresentation claim where none existed. The cost of overdisclosing is usually a price negotiation. The cost of underdisclosing is rescission, a refunded purchase price, and litigation.

This is the moment most sellers benefit from a candid conversation about how the disclosure interacts with pricing, marketing, and buyer pool. A home with a documented flood history priced for that fact moves through the market differently than the same home priced as if it never happened. That’s a transaction-strategy question, and it’s exactly the kind of decision I walk sellers through before preparing a Tampa Bay home for sale.

What’s at stake if you get this wrong

Florida courts have not been gentle with sellers who under-disclose material defects. The foundational case is Johnson v. Davis, 480 So. 2d 625 (Fla. 1985), which rejected pure caveat emptor and imposed an affirmative duty on residential sellers to disclose facts materially affecting value that aren’t readily observable and aren’t known to the buyer. F.S. 689.302 codifies a slice of that duty for flood damage and gives the buyer specific remedies when the form is missing or inaccurate.

The exposure for getting this wrong, broadly:

• Contract rescission. A buyer can void the contract, return the property, and recover the purchase price.
• Misrepresentation claim. Damages, potentially including punitive damages on a fraud theory.
• Professional discipline. The listing licensee’s conduct can be reviewed by the Florida Real Estate Commission.
• As-is doesn’t help. Florida appellate courts have consistently held that as-is clauses in residential transactions don’t bar fraudulent-nondisclosure claims. The standard FR/BAR “As Is” contract — by far the most common Florida purchase agreement — doesn’t waive the seller’s Johnson duty or the FD-2 obligation.

The statute also doesn’t let buyers waive the disclosure in advance. Even a well-drafted purchase agreement can’t eliminate the seller’s obligation to deliver the FD-2 timely and accurately.

Closing thought

Most Tampa Bay sellers heading into a 2026 listing already know whether their home took on water during Helene or Milton. The question isn’t whether to disclose — it’s how to position the listing so the disclosure works with the pricing strategy instead of against it. That’s a marketing-and-pricing conversation, not a legal one, and it’s specific to the home, the elevation, the post-storm condition of the submarket, and the buyer pool you’re trying to reach.

If you’re thinking through a sale of a Tampa Bay home that took flood damage during your ownership — or a home in a flood zone that didn’t, where the disclosure is going to come up anyway — a direct conversation usually clears more up than another search. Reach me at shanevanderson.com or 813-205-5430.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the Florida flood disclosure law apply to luxury and waterfront homes?

Yes. F.S. 689.302 applies to all residential real property in Florida regardless of price point or whether the buyer is paying cash or financing. It does not apply to commercial transactions or pure land sales without a residential structure. Pre-construction condominium sales by the developer are governed by separate statutes (FS 718.503 and the Condominium Rider), which deliver overlapping but distinct disclosures.

What if I owned the home through Hurricane Helene but didn’t file a flood insurance claim?

You still have to disclose if flooding damaged the property during your ownership. The 2025 amendment to 689.302 specifically removed the prior version’s narrow focus on insurance claims. Knowledge of damage triggers the disclosure even with no claim, no FEMA application, and no out-of-pocket repair record.

Can I deliver the FD-2 at closing instead of before contract?

No. The statute requires delivery at or before the contract is executed. Late delivery is a compliance failure that buyers and their attorneys increasingly use as leverage during the inspection period or post-contract. The cleanest practice is to attach the FD-2 to the marketing package so every prospective buyer receives it before submitting an offer.

Does an “as is” clause in the FR/BAR contract protect me from a missed flood disclosure?

No. Florida appellate courts have consistently held that as-is clauses in residential contracts don’t bar claims for fraudulent nondisclosure or misrepresentation. The FR/BAR “As Is” contract is the most common Florida purchase agreement — and it doesn’t override the seller’s duty under Johnson v. Davis or the statutory FD-2 obligation.

Do condo sellers in Tampa or St. Petersburg have to deliver the FD-2?

Yes. F.S. 689.302 applies to all residential real property, which includes condominium units. The FD-2 is delivered alongside — not in place of — the Condominium Rider and the condo association documents required under FS 718.503.

About Shane Vanderson

Shane Vanderson is a License Partner and Broker Associate with Engel & Völkers South Tampa, with 14 years of experience representing buyers and sellers across Tampa Bay’s luxury market. He specializes in South Tampa, Harbour Island, Hyde Park, St Petersburg, Downtown Tampa waterfront, and luxury condominiums, and holds membership in Engel & Völkers’ Professional Athlete Advisory. Connect with Shane at shanevanderson.com or 813-205-5430.