It’s no secret that Florida is has become even more developed than ever before and many of our customers live in neighborhood communities governed by HOA’s. Have you ever had a customer decide not to buy a RV because they weren’t allowed to keep it on their property? Thanks to §720.3045 that took effect on July 1, 2023, Florida has now made legal exceptions for folks to keep RV’s on their property even if they have an HOA which prohibits it.
The focus of the original bill was primarily to allow people to fly flags, including the American flag and military flags from their property, however, it expands to include things like storing boats, artificial turf and recreational vehicles. The statute now reads, “… an association may not restrict parcel owners or their tenants from installing, displaying, or storing any items on a parcel which are not visible from the parcel’s frontage or an adjacent parcel, including, but not limited to, artificial turf, boats, flags, and recreational vehicles.” `
So the real question becomes whether your customer has the type of space on their property to keep their RV. How close are their neighbors? Are there tall trees that obstruct some of the view into their side or back yard? Could they make an argument that it wouldn’t be visible from the front or the adjacent neighbor’s yard? The statute does not provide homeowners with the ability to slap their RV in their front yard in plain view, but simply allows wiggle room for people who may otherwise need to store their RV off-site, usually with a storage fee. If you find yourself with a customer on the fence whether they should buy a RV, bring up this new law and tip the scale by letting them know they have options, even in an HOA, to keep it on their property!