Florida’s New Roof Law Takes Effect July 1: Your Insurer Can’t Drop You Over Roof Age Alone

For years, the fastest way to lose your home insurance in Florida had nothing to do with a claim. It was the age of your roof. Carriers drew a line — often 15 years for shingles — and refused or non-renewed homes that crossed it, even when the roof was sound. Starting July 1, 2026, that changes. House Bill 815 bars insurers from turning a home away based on roof age alone, and gives owners of older roofs the right to prove the roof has life left. Here is what the law does, what it doesn’t, and what to do about it.

What HB 815 changes

The core rule is short. An insurer cannot refuse to issue or renew a homeowners policy solely because the roof is less than 15 years old. Age under 15 years can no longer be the reason, by itself, for a refusal. That ends a practice that pushed plenty of owners with newer roofs into Citizens or a surplus-lines carrier for no good reason.

The protection extends past 15 years too, with a step you have to use: an inspection. For a roof 15 years or older, the insurer has to let you get the roof evaluated by an authorized inspector before it can require replacement or walk away over age. What the inspector finds then governs.

If your roof is 15 years or older

The law splits roofs by slope, because they age and get repaired differently:

• Steep-slope roofs (pitch greater than 2:12 — most pitched shingle and tile roofs): an insurer can’t deny coverage if an authorized inspector determines the roof has at least five years of useful life remaining.
• Low-slope roofs (pitch of 2:12 or less — flat and near-flat roofs): an insurer can’t refuse coverage if an inspector determines the roof can be restored with a coating system that extends its useful life by at least five years.

In plain terms: a 20-year-old roof in good condition is no longer an automatic “no.” If a qualified inspector says it has five good years left — or can be coated to get there — the carrier has to consider the home. The burden moves from your roof’s birthday to its actual condition.

How roof age is measured

HB 815 ties roof age to the last date of complete surface replacement, not the year the house was built. A full re-roof resets the clock. Patch repairs and partial work generally don’t. If you replaced your roof eight years ago, that is the date that counts — so keep the permit and the final inspection paperwork, because that is how you prove it.

What the law does not do

This is a roof-age law, not a guarantee, and it’s worth being clear about the limits:

• It doesn’t force a carrier to ignore condition. A roof with active leaks, missing shingles, or visible damage can still be declined — the law protects sound roofs, not failing ones.
• It doesn’t set your price. An insurer can still rate for roof age and type; it just can’t use age alone to refuse you outright.
• It doesn’t change claims. How a roof loss is paid — replacement cost versus a depreciation schedule on older roofs — is governed by your policy form, not by HB 815.
• It doesn’t cover the inspection cost for you. Budget for an inspector if your roof is 15 or older and you want to exercise the right.

Why this matters now

Roof-age rules were one of the main reasons Florida homeowners felt stuck with a single carrier — or with Citizens — through the hard market. As that market recovers, the timing lines up. Rates are falling and new carriers are competing again, and Citizens keeps handing policies back to the private market through takeout offers. If your roof was the reason other carriers wouldn’t look at your home, July 1 reopens those doors. A home that couldn’t be shopped last year may draw real quotes this fall.

Two moves pair naturally with the new law. First, if you receive a Citizens takeout offer, the roof rule may mean more private carriers are now willing to write you — compare before you decide. Second, while the roof is being inspected, get a wind mitigation inspection done too; documenting roof straps, deck attachment, and shape can lower your premium at the same time you’re proving the roof’s condition.

The bottom line

HB 815 shifts the question from how old your roof is to whether it still works. For owners of sound older roofs across Hollywood, Fort Lauderdale, and Miami-Dade, that is a real opening — especially in a market that is finally competing for business again. Know your roof’s replacement date, get the inspection if you’re past 15 years, and use the July 1 change to shop a home that may have been off the market for years.

← Back to all articles