Every legislative session in Tallahassee produces headlines, but most of them never touch an actual closing table. This year is different. Between a new felony for lease and occupancy fraud, a batch of condo and HOA governance reforms, and a change to how property taxes get disclosed on listing sites, the 2026 session produced several changes that Broward, Palm Beach, and Miami-Dade County buyers, sellers, and community associations will feel directly — one of them already, and another as soon as this fall.
Here’s a plain-language rundown of what actually passed, what didn’t, and what it means if you’re closing on a property in the coming months — from the perspective of a real estate closing attorney in Broward County who reviews contracts and title against exactly these kinds of changes everyday.
1. New Felony for Lease and Occupancy Fraud: HB 1293 (Effective October 1, 2026)
Squatting and forged-document scams remain a real headache across South Florida, but it’s worth being precise about which tool covers which scenario, since the two are easy to conflate. For a true no-lease squatter — someone occupying a vacant investment property, inherited home, or
seasonal residence where no rental agreement exists at all — F.S. 82.036 has provided a fast, lawsuit-free sheriff-removal path since 2024, and HB 1293 doesn’t extend or change that reach.
What HB 1293 actually adds, starting October 1, is narrower and specific to leases: it creates a new felony under F.S. 817.537 for entering or occupying a residential dwelling using forged documents or a false identity — a forged lease, a fabricated ID, falsified income or qualifying documents used to obtain or maintain a tenancy — and it gives landlords with an actual rental agreement explicit grounds to terminate under F.S. 83.56 once that fraud is discovered. It’s a landlord-tenant fraud statute, not an expansion of the vacant-property squatter law.
Why it matters: For landlords, this closes a real gap — a tenant who lied their way into a lease, or who is occupying under a forged one, now carries felony exposure rather than just a civil eviction risk, exactly the kind of scenario a Fort Lauderdale landlord-tenant attorney or a West Palm Beach real estate attorney gets called about. For true squatters with no lease at all, the tools haven’t changed — F.S. 82.036’s sheriff-removal process, not this new statute, is still what applies. And on the title side, forged-deed fraud in the ownership-transfer sense continues to be a matter for careful title examination and the state’s existing forgery and fraudulent-recording statutes; HB 1293 doesn’t reach that scenario either. Worth confirming with counsel which tool actually fits before advising a client on next steps — the right process depends heavily on whether a lease, a forged deed, or neither is involved.
2.Property Tax Estimates Are Coming to Listing Platforms: HB 7031E (Effective February 1, 2027)
Starting in 2027, online listing platforms will be required to display an estimated post-sale property tax figure — either linked to the county property appraiser’s site or calculated using a standardized formula. Notably, the law shields real estate licensees and listing platforms from liability if that estimate turns out to be inaccurate.
Why it matters: Buyers regularly underestimate what their tax bill will actually be after a sale resets the assessed value (Florida’s Save Our Homes cap doesn’t transfer with the property). This should reduce surprises at the closing table, but it also means buyers may come in with a specific number in mind from a listing site that no one is responsible for verifying — which is exactly the kind of gap a title and contract review should catch before contract, not after, whether you’re buying in Miami-Dade, Palm Beach, or Broward County.
3.Condo & HOA Governance Reform: HB 797 (Already in Effect as of July 1, 2026)
This one is worth flagging to any client currently working with a condo attorney in Florida or sitting on an HOA board, because unlike the other changes here, it isn’t coming — it’s already the law. HB 797 is the first comprehensive overhaul of Chapter 617, the Florida Nonprofit Corporation Act, since 1990 — and condos, co-ops, and HOAs are all organized under it. Notable changes, all in force since July 1: the minimum board size drops from three directors to just one for most nonprofits (501(c)(3) organizations keep the three-director minimum), board vacancies can now be filled by a majority of the remaining directors even if that leaves the board below quorum, a default one-year director term now applies when bylaws don’t specify a length, and courts gained clearer authority to remove directors for fraudulent conduct, gross abuse of position, or intentional harm to the association. The law also extends personal liability protection to directors and officers of all nonprofit corporations, not just certain 501(c) categories.
Why it matters: For boards, the vacancy-filling change alone is significant — associations that have struggled to reach quorum for board appointments now have a workable path forward, and have had one for nearly two months. For buyers evaluating a condo or HOA purchase anywhere from Boca Raton to Coral Gables, it’s worth knowing that association leadership already operates under somewhat different liability, term, and removal rules than it did a year ago — relevant if you’re reviewing board minutes or governance history as part of due diligence.
4.What Didn’t Pass — and Why It Still Matters
Two bills worth watching died this session: HB 657 would have allowed troubled HOAs to dissolve and created a state-funded dispute
resolution process. It passed the House but stalled in the Senate. SB 48 would have authorized accessory dwelling units (ADUs) in single-family zoning statewide. It passed the Senate 38-0, but died in the House over a specific sticking point: the Senate wanted to let cities ban ADUs from short-term rental listings, and the House wouldn’t accept that provision.
Rather than resolve the disagreement, lawmakers dropped the ADU language entirely from a broader housing package (HB 1389) that ultimately passed without it.
Why it matters: Both will likely resurface next session — ADU reform in particular is being described as a top legislative priority heading into 2027. For now, HOA disputes still have to work through existing (often slow) legal channels rather than a new state process, and ADU authorization
remains a local, city-by-city patchwork rather than a statewide right — something to flag for any client asking about adding a rental unit to their property in Miami-Dade, Broward, or Palm Beach County, where local rules vary block to block.
5.A Reminder Already in Effect: Condo/HOA Website & Disclosure Rules
Separate from this session’s new bills, an earlier requirement expanded under HB 913 is now fully in force and worth knowing before any condo purchase: condominium associations with 25 or more units (down from a previous 150+ unit threshold) must maintain an official website by January 1, 2026, and HOAs with 100 or more parcels have been required to do so since the start of 2025. The password-protected owner section must include the recorded declaration and bylaws, articles of incorporation, association rules, current and proposed budgets, year-end financial reports and monthly statements, and lists of executory contracts and vendor bids — plus approved meeting minutes and video recording links from the prior 12 months, posted within 30 days of the meeting.
Why it matters: All of that documentation belongs on the due diligence checklist a Miami-Dade title insurance attorney runs before a condo purchase closes — and if a listing can’t produce it or an association’s “portal” is missing pieces it’s now required to have, that’s worth flagging before contract, not after.
The Bottom Line
None of these changes are dramatic on their own, but together they shift several details that matter at closing: what criminal exposure now attaches to lease and occupancy fraud specifically, what tax number a buyer walks in expecting, what governance protections a condo board already operates under, and what disclosure documents should already be on the table before a condo sale closes.
None of it replaces a title review and contract review built around your specific transaction.
If you have a closing on the calendar or a condo/HOA purchase in due diligence anywhere in Broward, Palm Beach, or Miami-Dade County, our real estate closing attorneys are happy to walk through how any of this applies to your specific deal — consultations are free and confidential. The
Law Offices of Geil S. Bilu, P.A. has served as a real estate attorney in Sunrise, FL for over 20 years, representing buyers, sellers, and associations throughout Broward, Palm Beach, and Miami-Dade Counties, and these are exactly the kinds of legislative shifts we build into every title review and contract review.
This post is for general informational purposes and is not legal advice. Legislative summaries are based on publicly available bill text and legal commentary current as of publication; consult an attorney about how these changes apply to your specific situation.