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In response to concerns from construction contractors over the slow response from Florida local governmental entities to change orders that could create delays and added costs, the Florida Legislature made some important changes earlier this year. For new contracts that are executed as of July 1, 2025, local governmental entities now have a strict deadline for their review and approval or denial of change orders. Florida Statutes Section 218.755 reads:
If “a local governmental entity receives from its contractor a price quote for a change order requested or issued by the local governmental entity for construction services, and the price quote conforms to all statutory requirements and contractual requirements for the project, the local governmental entity must approve or deny the price quote and send written notice of that decision to the contractor within 35 days after receipt of such quote.”
The legislative changes also address the requirements for the responses from the local governmental entities. Denial notices in response to change orders from contractors “must specify the alleged deficiencies in the price quote and the actions necessary to remedy those deficiencies.”
Failures by local governmental entities to respond within the set timeframe are to be considered approvals:
“If the local governmental entity fails to provide the contractor with a notice in compliance, the change order and price quote will be deemed approved by the local governmental entity, and the local governmental entity must pay the contractor the amount stated in the price quote” upon completion of the work included therein.
Florida law also restricts the ability of either party to change their respective duties stipulated in a contract. It states that the local governmental entity and the contractor cannot alter the local governmental entity’s duties under the contract, and any attempt to waive these duties will be unenforceable.
While this law applies to any contract for construction services entered into on or after July 1, 2025, it does not define the date on which the change order request is stamped as received or complete. Therefore, the parties should outline the specific requirements for a change order request to be considered complete, which may include detailed backup documentation supporting the change order, price breakdown, time impact, and the basis for the proposed change in the work.
These legislative changes will help to avoid slow responses from local governmental entities and the added costs that such delayed replies could create.
Our firm’s South Florida construction law attorneys write about important matters for property owners and contractors in this blog and our Miami Herald column, which appears every two weeks on Sundays, and we encourage all Florida construction industry followers to click here and subscribe to our newsletter to receive our future articles.