How Florida Homeowners Benefit From Mitigation & Home Hardening

To reduce property insurance claims and lawsuits, Florida officials are implementing a program to encourage residents to retrofit their homes against hurricane damage.

As part of a new program, homeowners in Florida will receive a sales tax refund on building materials to protect their homes from natural disasters. For example, if your house was built with hurricane-impact windows or has impacted-rated hurricane shutters, the state reimburses your sales tax to invest in making those upgrades to your home.

According to House Bill 863, “Building mitigation retrofit improvement” is one or more of the following (this is only 9 of the possible 57, all of which can be found in bill SB 1250 and bill HB 863): 

  • The installation of a roofing underlayment to the sheathing.
  • The replacement of a roof covering. 
  • The application of foam adhesive to reinforce a roof structure.
  • The strengthening of connections between a roof deck and roof framing. 
  • The strengthening of roof-to-wall connections. 
  • The strengthening of soffits. 
  • The strengthening of attic ventilation openings.
  • The installation of impact-resistant windows.
  • The installation of impact-resistant entry doors.

After submitting hurricane inspection data to their insurers, homeowners can enjoy sales tax reimbursements and potentially lower property insurance rates due to making such home improvements.

Those who harden their properties for storms and other catastrophes may reduce their property insurance premiums if they earn a higher safety rating on their structures.At Reliant, we can help you achieve sales tax refunds offered through HB863. With our hurricane shutter division, we can cover your existing openings and provide protection without requiring you to replace all of your doors and windows. We can either enhance the roof-to-wall connection, replace the roof covering, install underlayment, etc. Get started by contacting us today to learn more about how we can help you with hardening your Florida home.

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