Florida Residential Construction Contract

What a Florida residential construction contract is for

Florida writes a lot of its homeowner protection straight into the contract. Any direct contract for improving a home over $2,500 must carry the Construction Lien Law warning on the first page, in capitalized bold type, and the Homeowners' Construction Recovery Fund notice. Leave the lien notice out and the contractor can lose the right to lien the owner it harmed. Leave the Recovery Fund notice out and the contractor risks discipline. On top of that come the deposit rules, the home solicitation right to cancel, the Chapter 558 defect process, and, since the 2022 and 2023 insurance reforms, strict limits on how contractors deal with insurance claims.

This template is a contract for renovations, additions, roofing, windows and doors, pool enclosures and storm repairs on Florida homes. It opens with the lien law notice, then covers the parties and licence, scope and product approvals, price and payment stages, deposit rules, schedule and hurricane preparedness, lien releases and the notice of commencement, permits, insurance-claim rules, warranty, the Chapter 558 and Recovery Fund notices, and the right to cancel. Schedules give the owner a Notice to Owner log, a change order, a notice of cancellation and the contractor's final payment affidavit.

When to use it

Use it for any residential project over $2,500 by a Florida licensed contractor: kitchen and bath remodels, additions, roof replacements, impact window and door installations, hurricane and water damage repairs, screen enclosures and similar work on one- to four-unit homes. It suits contractors who want a compliant standard contract and owners who want to check what a contractor's form should contain.

It is not meant for a new home built by a builder who also sells the lot, for condominium association common-element projects, or for commercial work. Pool construction and solar installations carry extra statutory disclosures of their own.

What's inside

The full list of sections and fields in this template, in the order they appear.

1. Construction Lien Law notice

   • Section 713.015 notice in 12-point capitalized bold on page 1
   • Owner's initials

2. Parties and property

   • Contractor and licence number
   • Qualifying agent
   • Owners
   • Legal description
   • Year built
   • Insurance claim number

3. Scope, price and schedule

   • Detailed scope
   • Product approvals and NOAs
   • Exclusions
   • Fixed price or cost plus
   • Payment stages
   • Deposit rules
   • Change orders
   • Hurricane preparedness

4. Liens and permits

   • Releases before each payment
   • Final payment affidavit
   • Notice of commencement
   • Permits and inspections

5. Owner, insurance and warranty

   • Owner's responsibilities
   • Liability and workers' compensation
   • No deductible rebates
   • No assignment of benefits
   • Workmanship and roof warranty

6. Statutory notices

   • Chapter 558 construction defect notice
   • Homeowners' Construction Recovery Fund notice
   • Home solicitation right to cancel

7. Disputes, general and signatures

   • Mediation
   • Attorneys' fees
   • Entire agreement
   • Venue
   • Copy to owner

8. Schedules A to D

   • Notice to Owner and release log
   • Change order
   • Notice of cancellation
   • Contractor's final payment affidavit

9. Contract Checklist

   • 10 checks before signing

Preview pages

How to complete the contract

1. Keep the lien law notice on page 1. Have the owner initial it.
2. Enter the contractor's licence details. Name exactly as licensed, licence number and type, and the qualifying agent.
3. Identify the property. Owners on the deed, legal description, parcel ID, year built, and any insurance claim number.
4. Describe the work precisely. Include product approval or Miami-Dade NOA numbers and list exclusions.
5. Set the price and payment stages. Tie each payment to an inspected stage; if the deposit exceeds 10%, note the permit and start deadlines.
6. Set the schedule. Include permit and start dates and storm delay terms.
7. Fill in the Recovery Fund notice. Use the Construction Industry Licensing Board's current address and phone number.
8. Mark where the contract was signed. Attach the Notice of Cancellation for a home solicitation sale.
9. Sign and record. Give the owner a copy, record the notice of commencement before the first inspection, and use Schedule A at every payment.

Example: a roof replacement after a storm

A fictional contractor, Suncoast Ridge Roofing LLC (CCC1330000), agrees with Elena and Marcus Ortiz to replace the shingle roof on their 1998 home in Lakeland for $18,400 after hurricane damage. The contract is signed at the Ortiz home on October 6, 2026.

Deposit: $3,680 (20%). Because it exceeds 10%, Suncoast must apply for the permit by November 5, 2026 and start within 90 days after the permit issues. Payments: $3,680 deposit; $7,360 at dry-in inspection; $7,360 at final inspection with final releases. Insurance: the Ortizes' claim is with their insurer; Suncoast offers no deductible waiver and takes no assignment of benefits. Right to cancel: signed at home, so the Ortizes may cancel until midnight October 9, 2026. Notices to Owner: the shingle supplier serves one on October 20; the Ortizes collect its release with the dry-in payment.

Florida rules to know

• Lien law notice (section 713.015). Contracts over $2,500 for residential improvements; 12-point capitalized bold, first page or signed separate page.
• Recovery Fund notice (section 489.1425). Required in residential contracts over $2,500 by every licensed contractor since 2016.
• Deposits (section 489.126). Over 10%: permits within 30 days, work within 90 days after permits.
• Notice of commencement (section 713.13). Recorded and posted before the first inspection for most jobs over $2,500.
• Notices to Owner (section 713.06). Served within 45 days of first furnishing; owners should pay only against releases.
• Final payment affidavit (section 713.06(3)(d)). Required before final payment.
• Chapter 558. Notice and opportunity to cure before a defect lawsuit, at least 60 days.
• Insurance claims (sections 489.147 and 627.7152). No deductible rebates or gifts; no assignment of benefits under policies issued since 2023.
• Home solicitation sales (sections 501.021 to 501.055). Three business days to cancel.

Where Florida homeowners and contractors get burned

After every hurricane season the same problems appear. A roofer takes a 50% deposit and does not pull a permit for months. An owner pays the contractor in full, then gets a lien from a supplier whose Notice to Owner was ignored. A contract signed at the kitchen table has no cancellation notice. A contractor's form, copied from another state, omits the lien law notice and loses lien rights. And an "assignment of benefits" or a promise to cover the deductible turns an ordinary repair into a regulatory problem. The deposit, release, notice and insurance sections of this contract are written to prevent each of them.