Florida's 25 Percent Roof Rule, and What Changed in 2022
For years, the most expensive sentence a Florida homeowner could hear after a storm was "you're over 25 percent, so it has to be a full replacement." One slope of blown-off shingles turned into a whole new roof, because the building code said so. In 2022 the state changed that rule for newer roofs, and a lot of homeowners around Putnam County still do not know it. Here is what the rule was, what changed, and how JM Roofing LLC figures out which side of the line your roof sits on.
What the 25 percent rule said before 2022
The rule lives in the Existing Building volume of the Florida Building Code, section 706.1.1. The old version was blunt: not more than 25 percent of the total roof area, or of a roof section, could be repaired, replaced or recovered in any 12 month period unless the entire roof system or roof section was brought up to current code.
If a tropical storm peeled the shingles off the back slope of a house in Satsuma and that slope was a third of the roof, the code did not let a roofer patch the slope and leave the rest. The whole roof came off and went back on.
What Senate Bill 4-D changed
In May 2022 the Florida Legislature met in a special session on property insurance and passed Senate Bill 4-D. The Governor signed it on May 26, 2022, and it took effect that day. The bill added an exception to the 25 percent rule, and that exception is now written into the Florida Building Code, 8th edition (2023), in the same section 706.1.1.
In plain terms: if a roof system or roof section was built, repaired or replaced in compliance with the 2007 Florida Building Code or any later edition, and 25 percent or more of it is being repaired, replaced or recovered, only the portion being worked on has to meet current code. The rest of the roof can stay.
The 2007 code took effect on March 1, 2009, so the practical dividing line is a roof permitted and installed on or after that date. A roof from before it is still under the old rule.
Two things the bill did not do. It did not lower the standard for the repair itself; the repaired section still gets today's underlayment, fastening and flashing. And it did not tell an insurer what to pay for. The code and the policy are two different documents.
A 2010s roof with storm damage on one slope
Take a common case. A block house in Interlachen, shingle roof permitted and installed in 2014, and a summer storm tears the shingles off the west slope. That slope is about 40 percent of the roof. The other slopes are fine.
Before 2022 that roof was a full replacement by rule, because 40 is more than 25. Today, if we can show the roof went on under a 2007 or later edition of the code, which a permitted 2014 roof would have, the west slope can be stripped, re-decked where needed and re-shingled to current code, and the other three slopes stay put. That is a roof repair, not a roof replacement, and the difference in cost and disruption is large.
How we figure out whether a roof qualifies
Juan does not guess on this, because the building department will not accept a guess. There are three places we look.
Permit history. Every roof replacement in Florida needs a permit, and the permit record is the cleanest proof of when the roof went on and under which code. Putnam, Flagler, Volusia, St. Johns, Marion and the other counties we work in keep searchable records, and Tania can pull a property's history before we climb a ladder.
The roof itself. Sometimes the permit record is thin. Then we read the roof: the shingle line, the underlayment, the nailing pattern, the drip edge, the flashing. A roof built to the 2007 or later code looks different from a 1990s roof once you are on it, and Juan has been on enough of both to tell.
The county's other records. Property appraiser records, a prior wind mitigation inspection (form OIR-B1-1802), a 4-point inspection from when the house was bought or the policy was written, and the closing documents all carry roof dates.
When the evidence is clear, we write it up with the repair estimate. When it is not, we say so.
When a full replacement is still the smart call
Qualifying for a repair and wanting one are two different questions. There are roofs where the rule allows a partial job and Juan still recommends replacing the whole thing.
An older roof near the end of its life. If the undamaged slopes are brittle, curling or shedding granules, repairing one slope buys a year or two before the rest fails, and you pay for two projects instead of one.
A roof where the damaged section is most of it. Once three of four slopes are involved, the leftover slope is not saving much.
A roof the owner wants to move to metal. You cannot put a metal section on a shingle roof and call it done. If the plan is a metal roof that outlasts the house, the storm is the moment to make the change across the whole roof.
Juan will tell you when a repair is enough. He will also tell you when it is not.
The insurance side: roof age still matters
The 2022 change took the building code out of the full-replacement decision for newer roofs. It did not take roof age out of the insurance decision. Many insurers in Florida still weigh the age and condition of a roof when they write or renew a policy, and many decline or non-renew older shingle roofs regardless of what the code allows. A roof inspection from us can tell you what they will find before they find it.
On a claim, the insurer decides what it pays for. The code exception can support a repair scope, but the claim is yours and the carrier makes the call. What we do is document the roof, explain the scope, and make sure the facts about the roof's age and code compliance are in the file. Our post on what to expect from a roof insurance claim in Florida walks through that process.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, with a major exception. Section 706.1.1 of the Florida Building Code still says that repairing more than 25 percent of a roof in a 12 month period triggers a full replacement to current code. Since Senate Bill 4-D took effect on May 26, 2022, that trigger no longer applies to roofs built, repaired or replaced in compliance with the 2007 Florida Building Code or a later edition. On those roofs only the repaired portion has to meet current code.
The 2007 Florida Building Code took effect on March 1, 2009, so a roof permitted and installed on or after that date is the usual test. The county or city building department's permit records are the best proof. If those are missing, a prior wind mitigation or 4-point inspection report, property appraiser records, or the closing documents from when you bought the house often carry the roof date.
That is the insurer's decision under your policy, and nobody can promise the result. The 2022 change means the building code no longer forces a full replacement on a newer roof, which can support a repair scope. Insurers still look at roof age and condition when they adjust a claim. We document the roof and explain the scope so the decision is made on accurate facts.
Under the current code, a roof that was not built or replaced in compliance with the 2007 Florida Building Code or later is still subject to the original rule: more than 25 percent repaired in 12 months means the whole roof system or section is replaced to current code. On those roofs a full replacement is usually the honest answer, and a chance to move to metal.
Talk to Juan before you decide
If a storm took part of your roof and someone has already told you it "has to be" a full replacement, get a second look. Call JM Roofing at (386) 559-2169 or use the contact page. We will check the permit history, walk the roof, and tell you plainly where it stands. If a full roof is the right answer, we will say so and show you the financing options.