Florida Senate - 2014                      CS for CS for SB 1032
       
       
        
       By the Committees on Appropriations; and Criminal Justice; and
       Senator Latvala
       
       
       
       
       576-04565-14                                          20141032c2
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to subsurface rights; creating s.
    3         689.29, F.S.; requiring a seller to provide a
    4         prospective purchaser with a subsurface rights
    5         disclosure summary when selling residential property;
    6         providing a form for the disclosure summary; requiring
    7         the disclosure summary to be included in the contract
    8         for sale or incorporated by reference into the
    9         contract for sale; defining the terms “seller” and
   10         “subsurface rights”; providing an effective date.
   11          
   12  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   13  
   14         Section 1. Section 689.29, Florida Statutes, is created to
   15  read:
   16         689.29 Disclosure of subsurface rights to prospective
   17  purchaser.—
   18         (1) A seller must provide a prospective purchaser of
   19  residential property with a disclosure summary at or before the
   20  execution of a contract if the seller or an affiliated or
   21  related entity has previously severed or retained or will sever
   22  or retain any of the subsurface rights or right of entry. The
   23  disclosure summary must be conspicuous, in boldface type, and in
   24  a form substantially similar to the following:
   25  
   26                          SUBSURFACE RIGHTS                        
   27                         DISCLOSURE SUMMARY                        
   28  
   29  SUBSURFACE RIGHTS HAVE BEEN OR WILL BE SEVERED FROM THE TITLE TO
   30  REAL PROPERTY BY CONVEYANCE (DEED) OF THE SUBSURFACE RIGHTS FROM
   31  THE SELLER OR AN AFFILIATED OR RELATED ENTITY OR BY RESERVATION
   32  OF THE SUBSURFACE RIGHTS BY THE SELLER OR AN AFFILIATED OR
   33  RELATED ENTITY. WHEN SUBSURFACE RIGHTS ARE SEVERED FROM THE
   34  PROPERTY, THE OWNER OF THOSE RIGHTS MAY HAVE THE PERPETUAL RIGHT
   35  TO DRILL, MINE, EXPLORE, OR REMOVE ANY OF THE SUBSURFACE
   36  RESOURCES ON OR FROM THE PROPERTY EITHER DIRECTLY FROM THE
   37  SURFACE OF THE PROPERTY OR FROM A NEARBY LOCATION. SUBSURFACE
   38  RIGHTS MAY HAVE A MONETARY VALUE.
   39  
   40  ...(Purchaser’s Initials)...
   41  
   42         (2) If the disclosure summary is not included in the
   43  contract for sale, the contract for sale must refer to and
   44  incorporate by reference the disclosure summary and must
   45  include, in prominent language, a statement that the potential
   46  purchaser should not execute the contract until he or she has
   47  read the disclosure summary required under this section.
   48         (3) As used in this section, the term:
   49         (a) “Seller” means a seller of real property which, at the
   50  time of sale, is zoned for residential use and is property upon
   51  which a new dwelling is being constructed or will be constructed
   52  pursuant to the contract for sale with the seller or has been
   53  constructed since the last transfer of the property.
   54         (b) “Subsurface rights” means the rights to all minerals,
   55  mineral fuels, and other resources, including, but not limited
   56  to, oil, gas, coal, oil shale, uranium, metals, and phosphate,
   57  whether or not they are mixed with any other substance found or
   58  located beneath the surface of the earth.
   59         Section 2. This act shall take effect October 1, 2014.