A key senator suggested that lawmakers should consider a property tax break, which could be spread over a number of years, for people who try to make older homes more storm resilient.
The proposal floated by Florida Senate Banking and Insurance Chairman Blaise Ingoglia comes as lawmakers in recent years have passed a series of measures aimed at trying to stabilize the state’s property insurance market.
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Ingoglia is encouraging his colleagues to consider additional ways to save homeowners money while also protecting governments from costs related to disaster restoration.
“If we can get those older homes to be more resilient, it will save local governments a lot of money, state government, the federal government, and the most important thing from the homeowners’ perspective, they will have a home that is now resilient," he said.
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Ingoglia’s plan, targeted at homes built in the 1980s or earlier, would freeze local property taxes for 15 to 20 years in exchange for upgrading the residences to comply with current building standards.
Ingoglia said he thought of the proposal after surveying damage along the Gulf Coast following Hurricanes Helene and Milton, where most of the damage affected older homes.
