Gov. Ron DeSantis on May 6, 2026 signed a package of five bills in Jacksonville that rewires how small residential work, plat approvals, septic systems, stormwater credits and bail-bond reporting are handled across Florida. Together, the measures shift some authority from local governments to statewide rules, set tighter deadlines for permit reviews and create new provisional paths for environmental credits and private pre-application reviews.
Permit changes for small projects
The most immediate change is HB 803, which lets owners and contractors skip a local building permit for work on a single-family home valued under $7,500. According to the Florida Senate, that break does not apply to electrical, plumbing, mechanical, gas or structural work, and the law bars anyone from slicing up a job into smaller chunks to dodge permits. The bill also standardizes permit forms, expands when private providers can be used and sets most of its provisions to take effect July 1, 2026.
Faster plat approvals and preapproved reviewers
HB 927 orders counties and many cities to set up a program by January 1, 2027 that allows qualified, preapproved private professionals from a local registry to handle preapplication reviews and plan checks. As summarized by LegiScan, applicants who choose that route get a completeness check within five business days, and local governments must act on complete applications within 45 days. If a county does not respond to an applicant's notice within 10 days, the application may be deemed approved by operation of law. The bill also creates faster tracks for phased subdivisions and protects a developer's vested right in an approved preliminary plat for at least five years in many cases.
Stormwater credits and provisional permits
SB 848 updates how regional stormwater systems and water-quality enhancement areas, or WQEAs, can count toward environmental resource permit requirements and authorizes enhancement credits under a new framework. The Florida Association of Counties notes that the Department of Environmental Protection must adopt WQEA rules by October 1, 2026, and that the agency may accept provisional WQEA permit applications and issue provisional permits, including enhancement credits, while those rules are pending. The change is intended to offer alternative compliance options where ambient water quality makes standard treatment impractical, while adding new financial-assurance and reporting obligations for regional systems.
Septic permits and bail-bond reporting
HB 589 says a municipality may not require a separate DEP construction permit for an onsite sewage, or septic, system before issuing a building or plumbing permit for a single-family home. Instead, applicants must show proof that they have applied for the septic permit when they file for the building or plumbing permit. The law also makes property owners who start septic work before a permit is issued legally and financially responsible for that construction, and it shields permit applications filed within 90 days after new DEP septic rules are adopted from being governed by those new rules. The package also includes HB 271, which tightens reporting by foreign and alien bail-bond insurers and requires direct written premiums for bail bonds to be at least 6.5 percent, according to News4JAX. Some provisions in this bill take effect immediately, while others start July 1.
Legal implications
The new laws reset timeframes and responsibilities that builders and local governments have been operating under. HB 927's deadlines and potential automatic-approval triggers increase pressure on local permitting offices to meet tighter review windows. According to Florida Senate documents, the mix of preapproved private reviewers and administrative approvals shifts when projects can move forward and when municipalities still retain discretion. That shift is expected to generate new questions for local appeals boards and counsel about how and when vested rights and exemption rules apply.
What to watch next
Key dates ahead include DEP's deadline to adopt WQEA rules by October 1, 2026, and local governments' obligation to launch preapplication programs by January 1, 2027. Homeowners and small contractors should tread carefully. Even if a job falls under the $7,500 threshold, many routine repairs that sound minor can still trigger electrical, plumbing, mechanical, gas or structural permitting, and local governments will be revising their forms and processes over the summer.
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