Democratic lawmakers filed legislation this week to prevent Florida homeowners from being locked out of the My Safe Florida Home Program due to paperwork errors or missed deadlines tied to technical compliance issues.
Senate Bill 1148, filed by Senator LaVon Bracy Davis, and House Bill 1045, filed by Representative Mitch Rosenwald, would amend state law governing the My Safe Florida Home Program, which provides hurricane mitigation inspections and grants to eligible homeowners seeking to strengthen their homes and lower insurance costs.
The program, administered by the Florida Department of Financial Services, allows homeowners to apply for an inspection and, if approved, seek grant funding for improvements such as roof reinforcement, window protection, and other mitigation upgrades. Current law, however, permits applications to be deemed withdrawn or abandoned if applicants fail to respond to agency requests for additional information or miss construction or inspection deadlines.
Under existing rules, those determinations can prevent homeowners from submitting a new application, even when the lapse results from clerical errors, misunderstandings of program requirements, or other non-substantive issues.
The proposed legislation would require the department to notify applicants when an application is deemed withdrawn or abandoned. It would also give applicants a five-business-day window to respond to the notice, demonstrate good cause for the error or delay, and correct any deficiencies. If those conditions are met, the application could not be treated as withdrawn.
In cases where a grant application is deemed abandoned due to missed deadlines, the bill would explicitly allow homeowners to submit a subsequent application after showing good cause.
“This program can be a lifeline for seniors and low-income homeowners. In response to Floridians reporting that they have been blocked from submitting a new application because of a misunderstanding or reasonable mistake concerning program compliance, I filed this glitch bill,” Rep. Rosenwald said.
Meanwhile, Sen. Bracy Davis said the bill ensures that administrative technicalities do not prevent families from accessing tools designed to improve home safety and insurance affordability.
The legislation does not expand program eligibility or guarantee funding and would take effect July 1, 2026, if approved by the Legislature.
