Citizens of Cuba, China, Venezuela, Russia, Syria, North Korea and Iran have until the end of January to register certain real estate with the Florida Department of Commerce, under a passed earlier this year.
The consequences of not registering with the state include steep penalties 鈥� $1,000 per day 鈥� and even property seizure.
The law only applies to citizens of 鈥渃ountries of concern鈥� who do not have a permanent residency or citizenship in the U.S. Companies and government entities from the listed countries are included.
鈥淧rotecting Floridians and Florida鈥檚 infrastructure from agents like the Chinese Communist Party and other foreign adversaries is important to our state鈥檚 security,鈥� Governor Ron DeSantis said in a statement last month when the for registering properties was launched.
鈥淚 am proud to have signed the strongest legislation in the nation to fight back against foreign malign influence.鈥�
READ MORE: FIU institutes a 'pause' in hiring Cuban, Chinese researchers as law goes into effect
Any agricultural land must be registered with the state under the law, even if the citizen or business entity from the 鈥渃ountry of concern鈥� owns just a minority stake. Future purchases of agricultural land is banned almost entirely in the new law, with certain exceptions for diplomatic or federally-approved purposes.
Other real estate owned by a 鈥渇oreign principal鈥� from one of the listed countries must be registered with the Florida Department of Commerce if it falls within 10 miles of any military installation or 鈥渃ritical infrastructure鈥� in the state.
In a region like South Florida, almost the entire populated area falls within those boundaries. Airports, seaports, Army Corps of Engineer flood control infrastructure and military bases are all included in the criteria.
Accusations of 'anti-Chinese' sentiment
The for owning real estate apply to Chinese nationals.
Opposition to the sweeping law has sparked in Miami. Top real estate groups have vowed to , fearing it will and foreign investment, particularly from China. Bloomberg Law recently at least two major construction projects were halted due to the law, because they were receiving Chinese capital to fund the projects.
The Chinese Communist Party official propaganda newspaper China Daily has the law as part of 鈥渁nti-Chinese鈥� sentiment in Florida, citing another law about the Florida university system that is just going into effect.
鈥淚鈥檓 grateful for the Governor鈥檚 leadership on this issue that is critical to both our national security and the security of Florida鈥檚 economy,鈥� Florida Secretary of Commerce J. Alex Kelly said in a statement.
The law was in both the Florida House and Florida Senate. A handful of Democrats in both bodies voted against the measure.
If an individual or a company acquired affected real estate before July 31, that property must be registered by Dec. 31. But it is only considered late if it is not registered by Jan. 31, 2024.
If residents of the listed countries don鈥檛 register properties with the state by the Jan. 31st deadline, they can be hit with $1,000 per day in property liens, . The law even allows the State of Florida to seize properties it deems are owned in violation of the law.
The portal for registering properties can be accessed . An FAQ about who needs to register 鈥� and what needs to be registered 鈥� can be .
