Section 215.5586, F.S., created the My Safe Florida Home Program to provide free home inspections and grants to certain homeowners to undertake hurricane mitigation work on their homes.

DEPARTMENT OF FINANCIAL SERVICES
Division of Consumer Services

RULE NO: RULE TITLE
69J-7.003: Inspections
PURPOSE AND EFFECT: Section 215.5586, F.S., created the My Safe Florida Home Program to provide free home inspections and grants to certain homeowners to undertake hurricane mitigation work on their homes.
SUMMARY: The proposed rule implements Section 215.5586, F.S., by setting forth the procedure for applying for a free wind inspection, the criteria for eligible homeowners, and the information required to be in the inspection report provided to the homeowner.
SUMMARY OF STATEMENT OF ESTIMATED REGULATORY COSTS: No Statement of Estimated Regulatory Cost was prepared.
Any person who wishes to provide information regarding a statement of estimated regulatory costs, or provide a proposal for a lower cost regulatory alternative must do so in writing within 21 days of this notice.
SPECIFIC AUTHORITY: 215.5586(6) FS.
LAW IMPLEMENTED: 215.5586 FS.
IF REQUESTED WITHIN 21 DAYS OF THE DATE OF THIS NOTICE, A HEARING WILL BE HELD AT THE DATE,TIME AND PLACE SHOWN BELOW(IF NOT REQUESTED, THIS HEARING WILL NOT BE HELD):
DATE AND TIME: May 18, 2009, 2:00 p.m.
PLACE: Room 142, Larson Building, 200 E. Gaines Street, Tallahassee, Florida
Pursuant to the provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act, any person requiring special accommodations to participate in this workshop/meeting is asked to advise the agency at least 5 days before the workshop/meeting by contacting: Ellen Simon; [phone] or [e-mail]. If you are hearing or speech impaired, please contact the agency using the Florida Relay Service, 1(800)955-8771 (TDD) or 1(800)955-8770 (Voice).
THE PERSON TO BE CONTACTED REGARDING THE PROPOSED RULE IS: Ellen Simon, Chief Counsel, Division of Legal Services, Department of Financial Services, 200 E. Gaines Street, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0333; [phone] or [e-mail]

THE FULL TEXT OF THE PROPOSED RULE IS:

69J-7.003 Free Wind Inspections.

(1) The process to apply for a free wind inspection is for a homeowner to apply on-line at http://www.mysafefloridahome.com/NewApplicant.asp or by telephone at 1(866)513-6734.

(2) The application for a free wind inspection will be approved if the homeowner lives in a single-family, site-built, detached home. Properties that are ineligible for a free wind inspection include mobile homes, manufactured homes, apartments, condominiums, multi-family dwellings and businesses.

(3) An application number will be assigned to each applicant. The application number will be utilized for identification purposes for all services in the My Safe Florida Home Program.

(4) If approved, the homeowner will be contacted by an approved inspection firm or inspector by telephone within three weeks to schedule the free inspection.

(5) As part of the inspection, the inspector will review any documents the homeowner has on their opening protections (such as shutters, impact resistant windows or garage door). The inspector will also review any documents in regards to roofs under five years old. If the inspector is unable to determine the wind protection rating or building code approval number of the existing shutters or roof shingles, and the homeowner is unable to provide documentation to substantiate this information, then the inspector will not be able to confirm that the homeowner has hurricane-rated opening protection or roof covering.

(6) The inspector will take photos of the applicant’s home during the inspection if the inspector believes that the photos will facilitate the preparation of the inspection report.

(7) At the end of the inspection, the homeowner will be asked to sign a form verifying an inspection was conducted. After the inspection, the inspector shall send the homeowner a free inspection report within 45 days. The report shall include the following information:

(a) An outline of improvements that could be made to the home to increase resistance to hurricane wind damage;

(b) An estimate of how much each improvement would cost to complete;

(c) An estimate of insurance discounts that may be available, if insurance information was provided when applying for the inspection; and

(d) A hurricane resistance rating that shows the home’s current ability, and future ability with improvements, to withstand hurricanes.

The standards and procedures for determination of eligibility for a free home inspection pursuant to Section 215.5586, F.S., are set forth in Florida Department of Financial Services Florida Comprehensive Hurricane Damage Mitigation Program My Safe Florida Home Program Homeowner’s Guide to Free Home Inspections, Booklet 829-B, (Eff. 1/31/07), which is hereby incorporated by reference into this rule. The booklet may be obtained by contacting the Department’s Division of Consumer Services at 1(800)342-2762 or it may be downloaded from the Department’s website at http://www.mysafefloridahome.com/.

Rulemaking Specific Authority 215.5586(6) FS. Law Implemented 215.5586 FS. History–New 1-31-07, Amended ________.

NAME OF PERSON ORIGINATING PROPOSED RULE: Ellen Simon, Chief Counsel, Division of Legal Services, Department of Financial Services
NAME OF AGENCY HEAD WHO APPROVED THE PROPOSED RULE: Alex Sink, Chief Financial Officer, Department of Financial Services
DATE PROPOSED RULE APPROVED BY AGENCY HEAD: April 8, 2009
DATE NOTICE OF PROPOSED RULE DEVELOPMENT PUBLISHED IN FAW: March 13, 2009