Title: Subsurface Rights

Summary: Requiring a seller to provide a prospective purchaser with a subsurface rights disclosure summary; providing the form for the disclosure summary; requiring the disclosure summary to be included in, or incorporated by reference in, the contract for sale, etc.

Full Text:
An act relating to subsurface rights; creating s. 689.29, F.S.; requiring a seller to provide a prospective purchaser with a subsurface rights disclosure summary; providing the form for the disclosure summary; requiring the disclosure summary to be included in, or incorporated by reference in, the contract for sale; defining the term  subsurface rights ; defining the term  seller ; providing an effective date. Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: Section 1. Section 689.29, Florida Statutes, is created to read: 689.29 Disclosure of subsurface rights to prospective purchaser.  (1) The seller must provide a prospective purchaser of residential property with a disclosure summary at or before the execution of the contract for sale if a subsurface right or the right of entry was severed or retained by the seller or an affiliated or related entity, or will be severed or retained by the seller or an affiliated or related entity. The disclosure summary must be conspicuous, in boldfaced type, and in a form substantially similar to the following: SUBSURFACE RIGHTS DISCLOSURE SUMMARY SUBSURFACE RIGHTS HAVE BEEN OR WILL BE SEVERED FROM THE TITLE TO REAL PROPERTY BY CONVEYANCE (DEED) OF THE SUBSURFACE RIGHTS FROM THE SELLER OR BY RESERVATION OF THE SUBSURFACE RIGHTS BY THE SELLER OR AN AFFILIATED OR RELATED ENTITY. WHEN SUBSURFACE RIGHTS ARE SEVERED FROM THE PROPERTY, THE OWNER OF THOSE RIGHTS MAY HAVE THE PERPETUAL RIGHT TO DRILL, MINE, EXPLORE, AND REMOVE ANY OF THE SUBSURFACE RESOURCES ON OR FROM THE PROPERTY EITHER DIRECTLY FROM THE SURFACE OF THE PROPERTY OR FROM A NEARBY LOCATION. SUBSURFACE RIGHTS MAY HAVE A MONETARY VALUE....(Buyer Initials)... (2) If the disclosure summary is not included in the contract for sale, the contract for sale must refer to and incorporate by reference the disclosure summary and must include, in prominent language, a statement that the potential purchaser should not execute the contract until he or she has read the disclosure summary required under this section. (3) As used in this section, the term  subsurface rights  means the rights to all minerals, mineral fuels, and other resources, including, but not limited to, oil, gas, coal, oil shale, uranium, metals, and phosphate, whether or not it may be mixed with any other substance, found, or located beneath the surface of the earth. (4) As used in this section, the term  seller  means any seller of real property which, at the time of sale, is zoned for residential use and is property upon which a new dwelling is being constructed, or will be constructed pursuant to the contract of sale with the seller, or has been constructed since the last transfer of the property. Section 2. This act shall take effect October 1, 2014.