Florida Roof Requirements: Hurricane Code, HVHZ and Roof Age

Florida's roofing rules affect your insurance as well as your construction. This guide covers the hurricane provisions of the Florida Building Code, what happens when an older roof is replaced, how roof age affects insurance, wind mitigation inspections, and permits.

The edition in force is the Florida Building Code, 8th Edition (2023), effective December 31, 2023, according to the Florida Building Commission. Each permit application is marked with its date and the code in effect on that date.

The High-Velocity Hurricane Zone (HVHZ)

The Florida Building Code defines the High-Velocity Hurricane Zone as Broward and Miami-Dade counties. Roofs there must meet separate, stricter requirements in Sections 1512 through 1525 of the Florida Building Code, Building. Other jurisdictions can adopt those requirements too.

In the HVHZ, every roofing component, system and assembly must have a valid and current product approval (Section 1512.2.1). Where the manufacturer's literature conflicts with the product approval, the product approval wins. Roofing work there must be done by a contractor licensed to perform roofing. Miami-Dade County's Product Control Section issues Notices of Acceptance (NOAs) stating that a product has been designed to comply with the Florida Building Code, including the High Velocity Hurricane Zone, and Florida's statewide product approval law (s. 553.842) names that office as an approved product evaluation entity. If you live in Broward or Miami-Dade, ask your contractor for the approval number of each roofing product.

Reroofing: repair, recover or replace

Section 706 of the Florida Building Code, Existing Building governs work on existing roofs:

• The 25 percent rule. No more than 25 percent of a roof or roof section may be repaired, replaced or recovered in any 12-month period unless the roof covering on the whole roof or section is brought up to current code. If the roof or section was built, repaired or replaced to the 2007 Florida Building Code or later, only the portion being worked on must meet current code (s. 553.844(5)).
• Tear-off. A new covering cannot go over the old one if the existing roof is water-soaked or deteriorated, already has two or more layers, or is wood shake, slate, clay, cement or asbestos-cement tile, among other conditions. HVHZ buildings follow Sections 1512 through 1525 instead.

Hurricane mitigation when you replace a roof

State law (s. 553.844) directed that roof replacements on site-built single-family homes include certain wind-mitigation upgrades. The code puts them into effect for wood roof decks:

• Roof deck attachment (Section 706.7.1). When the roof covering is removed and replaced, the deck must meet minimum nailing. Where existing fasteners fall short, supplemental ring-shank nails are added at the spacing the code specifies.
• Secondary water barrier (Section 706.7.2). A secondary water barrier must be installed when a roof covering is removed and replaced. The exceptions are roofs with slopes under 2:12 that have a continuous roof system, and clay or concrete tile systems installed to code.
• Roof-to-wall connections (Section 706.8). These apply to buildings in the wind-borne debris region with an insured value of $300,000 or more. If the building is uninsured or no insured value is shown, the test is a just value of $300,000 or more for property tax purposes. The required retrofit is capped at a 15 percent increase in the cost of reroofing. It is not required unless the gable ends or all corners can be evaluated and connected for 15 percent of the roof replacement cost.

Sections 706.7 and 706.8 each carry an exception: structures that were permitted under the Florida Building Code are not required to comply with them. In practice the upgrades mostly affect older homes.

Roof age and your homeowners insurance

A 2022 law, now section 627.7011(5), limits how insurers can use roof age. It applies to homeowners policies issued or renewed on or after July 1, 2022:

• An insurer may not refuse to issue or renew a homeowners policy solely because the roof is less than 15 years old.
• For a roof that is 15 years or older, the insurer must let you have the roof inspected by an authorized inspector, at your expense, before it can require replacement as a condition of issuing or renewing the policy.
• If that inspection shows the roof has 5 years or more of useful life left, the insurer may not refuse to issue or renew solely because of roof age.
• Authorized inspectors must be approved by the insurer. They include licensed home inspectors, certified building code inspectors, licensed general, building or residential contractors, roofing contractors, professional engineers and architects.
• Roof age runs from the last date the entire roof surface was built or replaced to the code in effect at the time.

The rule does not apply to mobile home policies, or to policies not considered homeowners policies in the insurance industry.

Wind mitigation inspections and premiums

Florida requires residential property insurers to give actuarially reasonable discounts, credits or deductible reductions for construction features that reduce windstorm losses (s. 627.0629). Insurers must tell you which discounts are available when the policy is issued and at each renewal (s. 627.711).

To claim those credits, you submit the Uniform Mitigation Verification Inspection Form, OIR-B1-1802. The Office of Insurance Regulation issued a revised version (Rev. 04/26) effective April 1, 2026. The current form records the building code in force when the home was permitted, region, roof slope, roof covering, roof deck attachment, roof-to-wall attachment, roof geometry, sealed roof deck or secondary water resistance, and opening protection. Each feature claimed must be backed by at least one photo or document. The form is valid for up to five years, provided the structure has no material changes and the form has no inaccuracies.

Insurers must accept a form signed by a qualifying home inspector, a certified building code inspector, a licensed general, building or residential contractor, a professional engineer, an architect, or anyone else the insurer recognizes as qualified. A new roof can change several of these answers, so it is worth getting a new inspection after reroofing.

Permits for reroofing

Under Section 105.1 of the Florida Building Code, Building, anyone who intends to alter or repair a building must first apply for and get a permit. Reroofing is not on the list of exempt work. Ordinary minor repairs may be made without a permit only with the building official's approval. Edge 2 Edge Roofing is a GAF Master Elite contractor licensed in Florida (CCC 1330977) and offers free roof inspections.

This guide is general information, not legal or insurance advice. Policies differ — check yours, and ask your insurer or a licensed professional about your situation. Last reviewed October 2026.