Two Doors, and Florida Only Closed One
After a fire, the people who turn up to work on your house have historically had two ways to reach money. Both matter enormously if you later want to sell.
The first was an assignment of benefits, under which you signed your rights under the insurance policy over to the contractor, who then dealt with the insurer directly. The second is a construction lien recorded against the property itself under Chapter 713 of the Florida Statutes.
Senate Bill 2-A, signed on 16 December 2022, amended section 627.7152 to eliminate assignments of benefits in residential property claims. No new assignment is available on a policy issued or renewed on or after 1 January 2023.
Does That Protect Me?
The full position is on our page covering liens and the assignment.
Paying in Full Does Not Stop a Lien
The part owners find hardest to believe, and the statute itself says so in capital letters.
The warning that must appear on a Notice to Owner states that Florida's construction lien law allows some unpaid contractors, subcontractors and material suppliers to file liens against your property even if you have made payment in full, that your failure to make sure they are paid may result in a lien and in your paying twice, and that to avoid this you must obtain a written release from them every time you pay your contractor.
So Who Can Do This?
Why This Decides Whether You Can Sell
A recorded lien is an encumbrance on title. It does not stop you agreeing a sale and it does stop that sale closing until it is resolved, either by payment, by release, by bond or by a court.
Which is why the state of the paperwork after a fire is not an administrative detail here. It is frequently the difference between a closing in three weeks and one in three months.
What a Fire-Damaged Jacksonville Property Is Actually Worth
The Terms That Move the Number Here
Who has been on the property since the fire. The first question, ahead of anything about the building, because it decides who may already have a claim.
What you signed, and when. An assignment on a pre-2023 policy is a different world from a work authorisation on a current one.
Whether a Notice of Commencement was recorded. It changes the lien position and the permit card warns about it in bold.
Whether anything is already recorded. A lien is an encumbrance and it has to be cleared before a closing.
Which county. Duval, Clay, St. Johns and Nassau each hold their own records.
Anyone quoting without asking who has worked on the house has priced a building and ignored the claims attached to it.
The Marketing Line to Be Careful With
"We bill your insurance directly." On a policy issued or renewed from 1 January 2023 there is no assignment available to make that a transfer of anything.
Florida's Chief Financial Officer has warned that assignments are illegal for those policies and that some vendors attempt to sidestep the ban by requiring insurers to pay them directly. A direction to pay does not transfer your rights under the policy and does not relieve you of responsibility if the insurer denies or underpays.
What Should I Insist on Before Work Starts?
How the Timeline Runs
An open claim does not prevent a sale. What lengthens a Jacksonville file is a lien nobody expected, a document nobody read, and a buyer who has not looked at the county records.
If you are weighing several offers, how to tell local cash buyers apart covers the checks that separate them.
Questions Owners Ask
I Signed Something the Night of the Fire.
Extremely common and worth reading now rather than later. Send us a copy and we will tell you what kind of document it appears to be, though what it means for you is a lawyer's question.
Can a Lien Be Removed?
There are routes, including payment, release, transfer to a bond and court proceedings. Which applies depends on the lien and it is worth proper advice rather than a guess.
Can I Sell With an Open Claim?
Yes. Who keeps the proceeds is a contract term rather than a legal barrier, and it is separate from the lien question.
My Policy Is Older Than 2023.
Then an assignment may have been available to you, and whether one was validly made is a question about the document and the statute in force when it was signed.
Sources
- Chapter 713 Part I, Florida Statutes — the Construction Lien Law
- Sections 713.06, 713.13 and 713.135 — Notice to Owner, Notice of Commencement and permit warnings
- Section 627.7152, Florida Statutes, as amended by Senate Bill 2-A (2022)
- House Bill 7065 (2019) and sections 627.7152 and 627.7153
- Section 489.147, Florida Statutes — itemised estimate requirements