News & Insights

Florida’s construction lien law contains several provisions directed specifically at construction lenders. The following practices can help lenders protect their collateral and reduce potential liability.

In today’s commercial real estate market, particularly across Florida’s rapidly expanding office, retail, and mixed-use corridors, tenant improvement allowances have grown larger and the financial stakes for both landlords and tenants have never been higher. A once-uncommon deal structure is gaining serious traction: the use of third-party escrow agreements to hold and disburse tenant improvement funds.

Florida homebuilders can protect project economics by understanding how impact fee increases, permit timing, and infrastructure credits affect development costs and by taking proactive steps during contract negotiations and permitting. Recent and upcoming changes to Florida law provide additional safeguards, but builders should carefully document credits, preserve pending application protections, and allocate impact fee risks before closing on a project.