New Qualified Contractor Law Takes Effect in July

Signed into law by Governor DeSantis on May 6, 2026, HB 927—and now Ch. 2026-64, Laws of Fla.—makes changes to Florida's local land development and permitting framework. Effective July 1, 2026, the legislation, sponsored by Rep. Judson Sapp (R-HD 20) and Sen. Ralph Massullo (R- SD 11), streamlines the development review process, establishes stricter timelines on local governments, and expands the circumstances under which building permits may be issued before final plat approval. Attorneys advising developers, landowners and contractors should take note of how these changes affect pending and future projects as the law takes effect.

The legislation creates a "qualified contractor registry" system, which requires counties with populations of 75,000 or more and municipalities with populations of 10,000 or more to establish such registries by January 1, 2027. These registries must be comprised of at least four qualified contractors or two qualified contractor firms, including licensed engineers, surveyors, architects, landscape architects, certified planners or employees of other local governments to conduct preapplication reviews of plans, development permits and orders, and plats. If a local government fails to establish or maintain a registry, applicants are entitled to engage any qualified contractor of their choosing, and the local government is prohibited from conditioning, delaying or denying that selection. Attorneys should, however, advise clients that the cost of retaining a qualified contractor falls on the applicant.

If an applicant utilizes a qualified contractor, the local government must verify completeness and send written notification indicating all required information is submitted or provide written specificity of deficiencies within 5 business days. If the application is deficient, the applicant has 30 days to correct. However, in instances where the local government fails to deliver the required written notification within 5 business days, the application is deemed complete without conditions. A completed preapplication review triggers a binding 45-day window for local government action, after which the application is deemed approved if the local government fails to respond to a written notice within 10 additional days. The law also allows for a fee reduction of 50% if the government misses its deadline by up to 30 days or 100% if it misses by 31 days or more.

HB 927 provides for a more expedited building permit process for residential subdivisions and planned communities. The existing framework, which allows developers to obtain building permits before a final plat is recorded, is expanded to apply to one or more phases of a multi-phased community or subdivision. When a county or municipality fails to adopt an expedited permitting program, the legislation provides that applicants have an unconditional right to use a qualified contractor to obtain up to 75 percent of building permits prior to final plat recordation, and local governments are prohibited from imposing conditions not expressly authorized by state law or the Florida Building Code. Additionally, the bill prohibits local governments from conditioning permit issuance on the completion of infrastructure, submission of completion certifications, or environmental conditions not grounded in the local government's land development regulations, comprehensive plan, or applicable state or federal law.

Attorneys should also note several other changes. Historic properties are expressly excluded from the qualified contractor provisions. The bill also extends vested rights in a preliminary plat to five years, which strengthens the position of developers seeking to hold preliminary approvals over longer project timelines. Given the January 1, 2027, qualified contractor registry deadline and the July 1, 2026, effective date, clients with active development applications or projects in the pipeline, should be aware of the new provisions and how to enforce their rights if local governments fail to comply.