Until now there was no law in our Florida HOAs that would allow a home owner to install their own electrical generator with above ground or below ground gas tanks.  Here we are, living in Florida with sometimes unbearable heat and humidity, we have a large elderly population, hurricanes generally hit in the hottest parts of the year, and yet there is no right to install an electric generator in your home.

I was asked by Jan Bergemann from Cyber Citizens for Justice to draft a bill that The Florida Legislature can hopefully enact.  Since our law firm drafted the bill that allows owners of electric vehicles to install a charging station in their parking spot, I modeled the electric generator statute after that.  In addition to generators, here’s what else that passed:

SB: 600 – 720.3035 Architectural control covenants; parcel owner improvements; rights and privileges.—

(6)(a) To protect the health, safety, and welfare of the people of the state and to ensure uniformity and consistency in the hurricane protection installed by parcel owners, this subsection applies to all homeowners’ associations in the state, regardless of when the community was created. The board or any architectural, construction improvement, or other such similar committee of an association must adopt hurricane protection specifications for each structure or other improvement on a parcel governed by the association. The specifications may include the color and style of hurricane protection products and any other factor deemed relevant by the board. All specifications adopted by the board must comply with the applicable building code.

(b) Notwithstanding any other provision in the governing documents of the association, the board or any architectural, construction improvement, or other such similar committee may not deny an application for the installation, enhancement, or replacement of hurricane protection by a parcel owner which conforms to the specifications adopted by the board or committee. The board or committee may require a parcel owner to adhere to an existing unified building scheme regarding the external appearance of the structure or other improvement on the parcel.

(c) For purposes of this subsection, the term “hurricane protection” includes, but is not limited to, roof systems recognized by the Florida Building Code which meet ASCE 7-22 standards, permanent fixed storm shutters, roll-down track storm shutters, impact-resistant windows and doors, polycarbonate panels, reinforced garage doors, erosion controls, exterior fixed generators, fuel storage tanks, and other hurricane protection products used to preserve and protect the structures or improvements on a parcel governed by the association.

Section 2. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.

 

Link to the bill: https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2024/600