Florida Senate - 2014                             CS for SB 1556
       
       
        
       By the Committee on Commerce and Tourism; and Senator Simpson
       
       
       
       
       
       577-02738-14                                          20141556c1
    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; providing the form for the
    6         disclosure summary; requiring the disclosure summary
    7         to be included in, or incorporated by reference in,
    8         the contract for sale; defining the term “subsurface
    9         rights”; defining the term “seller”; providing an
   10         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) The seller must provide a prospective purchaser of
   19  residential property with a disclosure summary at or before the
   20  execution of the contract for sale if a subsurface right or the
   21  right of entry was severed or retained by the seller or an
   22  affiliated or related entity, or will be severed or retained by
   23  the seller or an affiliated or related entity. The disclosure
   24  summary must be conspicuous, in boldfaced type, and in a form
   25  substantially similar to the following:
   26  
   27                          SUBSURFACE RIGHTS                        
   28                         DISCLOSURE SUMMARY                        
   29  
   30  SUBSURFACE RIGHTS HAVE BEEN OR WILL BE SEVERED FROM THE TITLE TO
   31  REAL PROPERTY BY CONVEYANCE (DEED) OF THE SUBSURFACE RIGHTS FROM
   32  THE SELLER OR BY RESERVATION OF THE SUBSURFACE RIGHTS BY THE
   33  SELLER OR AN AFFILIATED OR RELATED ENTITY. WHEN SUBSURFACE
   34  RIGHTS ARE SEVERED FROM THE PROPERTY, THE OWNER OF THOSE RIGHTS
   35  MAY HAVE THE PERPETUAL RIGHT TO DRILL, MINE, EXPLORE, AND REMOVE
   36  ANY OF THE SUBSURFACE RESOURCES ON OR FROM THE PROPERTY EITHER
   37  DIRECTLY FROM THE SURFACE OF THE PROPERTY OR FROM A NEARBY
   38  LOCATION. SUBSURFACE RIGHTS MAY HAVE A MONETARY VALUE.
   39  
   40  ...(Buyer 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 “subsurface rights”
   49  means the rights to all minerals, mineral fuels, and other
   50  resources, including, but not limited to, oil, gas, coal, oil
   51  shale, uranium, metals, and phosphate, whether or not it may be
   52  mixed with any other substance, found, or located beneath the
   53  surface of the earth.
   54         (4) As used in this section, the term “seller” means any
   55  seller of real property which, at the time of sale, is zoned for
   56  residential use and is property upon which a new dwelling is
   57  being constructed, or will be constructed pursuant to the
   58  contract of sale with the seller, or has been constructed since
   59  the last transfer of the property.
   60         Section 2. This act shall take effect October 1, 2014.