Fla. real estate license fees cut 50% for two years
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – June 6, 2019 – On Wednesday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) announced that the Florida Real Estate Commission (FREC)approved the two-year reduction of biennial license renewal fees for certain active licenses.
The discount begins with the next renewal cycle that ends on Sept. 30, 2019. The temporary fee reduction, which lowers license renewal fees by 50% for licenses of real estate brokers, real estate sales associates and real estate broker branch offices, will continue through the renewal periods of licenses expiring March 31, 2020, Sept. 30, 2020, and March 31, 2021.
Effective July 1, 2019, the biennial license renewal fee for an active licensee will drop from $72.00 to $36.00 for licensure renewal as a real estate broker and from $64.00 to $32.00 for licensure renewal as a real estate sales associate or broker branch office.
“This new fee reduction is a direct outcome of my administration’s Deregathon and means more than 200,000 licensed real estate professionals will be able to keep more of their hard-earned money in their pockets,” says DeSantis.
FREC, in action taken at its business meeting on March 13, 2019, voted to initiate the rule development necessary to implement the reduction of fees as established in Rule 61J2-1.011, Florida Administrative Code. Based on licensure and renewal rates from the past two years, the upcoming license fee reduction is projected to result in an estimated savings of over $8.8 million dollars for eligible license holders in Florida.
“License holders expect the commission to establish reasonable license fees and to act on the authority Florida law provides to reduce these fees when financial circumstances allow,” says Florida Real Estate Commission Chairwoman Patricia Fitzgerald, who served as 2011 president of Florida Realtors. “I am proud of the work our commission has done in identifying this recommendation and acting on this opportunity for a fee reduction as part of a broader deregulation call by Governor DeSantis.”
In January, FREC joined 16 other professional licensing boards at the Florida Deregathon, a one-day event held to discuss and identify regulations that could be modified or eliminated to improve Florida’s regulatory framework and strengthen the state’s economy. At the conclusion of the Florida Deregathon, Chair Fitzgerald presented the FREC recommendation to reduce fees for initial licensure and license renewal.
Pursuant to section 455.219, Florida Statutes, FREC is authorized to implement a waiver of license renewal fees for a period not to exceed two years when the profession’s trust fund moneys exceed the amount required to cover the necessary functions of FREC.
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