BreakThru Realty

Florida's Foreign Ownership Law (SB 264): Who It Restricts and What Every Buyer Signs

A short list of countries, a set of restricted places, and an affidavit at every Florida closing

In 2023 Florida enacted a law, known by its bill number SB 264 and found in chapter 692 of the Florida Statutes, that restricts the purchase of certain real estate by people and entities tied to a short list of countries. It reaches far fewer buyers than its reputation suggests, but it touches every closing in the state, because every buyer now signs an affidavit about it. This page explains who the law restricts, what it restricts, and what the affidavit says, in outline. A Florida attorney confirms whether it reaches you, and the law has been challenged in court, so ask where it stands today.

BreakThru Realty · Founder and Broker of Record: Tyson E. Sam, Florida License 3565210

Published October 24, 2026 · Reviewed by Tyson E. Sam, Founder and Broker of Record

Plan My Florida Purchase From Abroad

Find My Florida Home

Your first step: BreakThru International Buyer Plan

Buying in Florida From Another Country? Settle the Rules, the Money and the Paperwork Before You Choose a Home

Foreign citizens buy South Florida homes every day, and the ones who do it well settle three things first: which rules reach them, how the money will arrive and what they can sign from home. The plan starts with a consultation in your language about how you will use the home and how you will pay, and ends with a shortlist, a carrying cost review in United States dollars, and a closing you can complete without a second flight.

What you receive

  • A consultation in English or Spanish, with an interpreter arranged for Portuguese or French, about how you will use the home and how you will pay
  • A plain summary of the rules that reach a buyer from your country: the Florida ownership law, the tax identification you will need, and FIRPTA when you sell
  • A shortlist of homes and buildings whose rules allow your plans, including seasonal use and renting it out
  • A carrying cost review in United States dollars: property tax without homestead, insurance, flood, association dues and the services that run while you are away
  • Introductions to the professionals a foreign buyer needs: a lender who writes foreign national loans, a cross border tax adviser, an attorney and a title company that closes with buyers abroad
  • A tour and closing plan: live video tours now, one visit scheduled around the finalists, and the signing arranged for where you live

What happens next

  1. Tell us where you live, where you are looking, your budget in United States dollars, how you expect to pay and the language you prefer.
  2. A BreakThru agent replies within one business day to schedule your consultation.
  3. After the consultation, your agent prepares the rules summary, the shortlist and the carrying cost review, and introduces the professionals you need.
  4. You tour by video or in person when you are ready, and the closing is arranged around where you are.

Free and without obligation. Nothing you tell us is shared with a seller, and you sign a buyer agreement only when you are ready to tour.

Plan My Florida Purchase From Abroad · Find My Florida Home

What does Florida's foreign ownership law (SB 264) restrict? Purchases of agricultural land and of property near military installations and critical infrastructure by people domiciled in a short list of countries of concern, with a broader prohibition for people domiciled in China and a narrow residence exception. Every Florida buyer signs an affidavit about it at closing. A Florida attorney confirms whether it reaches you.

Who the Law Calls a Foreign Principal

The law applies to what it calls foreign principals: the governments of a listed set of countries of concern, parties and officials of those governments, companies organized or with their main place of business in those countries, companies majority owned by such people, and individuals who are domiciled in a listed country and are not United States citizens or lawful permanent residents. The listed countries are China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Cuba, Syria and the Venezuelan regime of Nicolás Maduro. A citizen of one of those countries who lives permanently somewhere else may fall outside the law, because domicile rather than citizenship is the test for individuals; an attorney reads your facts against the statute.

What a Foreign Principal May Not Buy

Two categories of land are restricted for every foreign principal. The first is agricultural land anywhere in Florida. The second is real property within a set distance of a military installation or of critical infrastructure, a defined list that includes airports, seaports, power plants, water treatment facilities, refineries and similar sites. The distance is measured in miles from the boundary of the installation, and because South Florida has several military sites and many pieces of critical infrastructure, a surprising share of the region falls inside one radius or another. The restriction is on acquiring an interest after the law took effect; holdings from before it are registered rather than divested.

The Stricter Rule for People Domiciled in China

For individuals domiciled in China who are not citizens or permanent residents of the United States, and for entities tied to the Chinese government or state, the law goes further: it bars the purchase of any real property in Florida, not only agricultural land and property near sensitive sites. One narrow exception allows such an individual who holds a non tourist visa, or who has been granted asylum, to buy a single residential property of limited size, provided it is not within a set distance of a military installation. The exception has conditions and limits that an attorney should check against the specific home before an offer is written.

The Affidavit Every Buyer Signs

The law requires every buyer of real property in Florida, foreign or not, to sign an affidavit at closing stating that the buyer is not a foreign principal and is not acting for one, or, where the law allows the purchase, disclosing the facts. The form is prescribed by the state and the title company presents it with the other closing documents. For most buyers it is a single signature. For a buyer who is a foreign principal, the affidavit is where the law bites, because a false statement carries penalties and a purchase in violation can be challenged. Expect your agent and the title company to raise the affidavit early rather than at the table.

Registration, Penalties and Enforcement

A foreign principal who owned restricted property before the law took effect, or who acquires property the law permits, is required to register that ownership with the state, with daily penalties for registering late. A purchase made in violation of the law can be forfeited to the state after a court process, and the law provides criminal penalties for knowing violations by buyers and by those who knowingly sell to them. These provisions are the reason title companies, lenders and real estate brokers take the affidavit seriously, and the reason the question of your domicile is asked plainly at the start of a transaction rather than assumed.

The Court Challenge and Where It Stands

The law was challenged in federal court soon after it passed, on constitutional grounds including equal protection and conflict with federal authority over foreign affairs. It has remained in force while the case moved through the courts, and a federal appeals court allowed it to stand. Because court decisions and legislative amendments can change the picture after this page was written, treat this section as a prompt rather than a conclusion: before you rely on the law or on an exception to it, ask a Florida attorney where the statute and the litigation stand on the day you sign.

What This Means for Most International Buyers

For a buyer from Canada, Colombia, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, the United Kingdom, France or most other countries, the law changes nothing except one affidavit at closing. For a citizen of a listed country who lives permanently elsewhere, domicile is the question, and an attorney should answer it before you search. For a person domiciled in a listed country, the law restricts or bars the purchase, with narrow exceptions. BreakThru asks the question on the first call, because the answer decides which homes can be shown and which cannot, and introduces a Florida attorney when the answer is not plain.

Questions you may be asking

Can a foreigner even buy property in Florida?
Yes. Citizenship and residency are not required to own real estate in the United States, and a foreign owner has the same property rights as anyone else. One Florida law restricts purchases by people domiciled in a short list of countries, and the plan tells you plainly whether it reaches you.
We do not have United States credit or a bank account.
Most international buyers start that way. Lenders who write foreign national loans work from documents in your home country rather than a United States credit file, and a bank account and a taxpayer identification number can be opened as part of the process. Consult a mortgage lender early; many buyers simply pay cash instead.
We cannot travel for every step.
You should not have to. Your agent tours homes on live video, attends the inspection with you on the line, and the closing documents can be signed abroad before a notary, at a United States consulate, by remote online notarization where the title company allows it, or by a power of attorney.
What about taxes when we sell one day?
FIRPTA requires the buyer of a home from a foreign seller to withhold a share of the price for the IRS, as a deposit against the tax on the gain. There are exceptions and a certificate that can reduce it. The plan explains it in outline; a tax adviser who handles nonresident owners plans it with you before you buy.
We would rather do this in our own language.
Then we will. Spanish speaking agents are on staff, and for Portuguese or French an interpreter joins the consultation and the tours. The contracts are in English, as Florida law and the title company require, and your attorney explains them in your language.

Plan My Florida Purchase From Abroad

Tell us where you live, where in South Florida you are looking, how you expect to pay and the language you prefer. A BreakThru agent replies within one business day to schedule your consultation, in English or Spanish, with an interpreter arranged for Portuguese or French.

Call or email the brokerage directly: (786) 914-1017 · sales@breakthrurealty.com

Questions International Buyers Ask

Which countries are affected by Florida's foreign ownership law?
The statute lists China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Cuba, Syria and the Venezuelan regime of Nicolás Maduro as countries of concern. For individuals the test is domicile in one of those countries without United States citizenship or permanent residency, not citizenship alone. A Florida attorney reads your facts against the statute.
Does the law stop Canadians, Colombians or Brazilians from buying?
No. Buyers from countries that are not on the list are not restricted by it. They sign the same affidavit every Florida buyer signs, stating that they are not a foreign principal under the law, and the purchase proceeds as it would for anyone else.
What does the affidavit say?
That the buyer is not a foreign principal as the law defines one and is not buying on behalf of one, or, where the law permits the purchase, the facts that make it permitted. Every buyer of Florida real property signs it at closing, on a form prescribed by the state, and the title company presents it with the other closing documents.
Can a Chinese citizen buy a home in Florida?
A Chinese citizen who is a United States citizen or lawful permanent resident, or who is domiciled outside China, is generally not restricted. An individual domiciled in China faces a broad prohibition with one narrow exception for a single residence of limited size, away from military installations, for holders of certain visas. An attorney should check the exception against the specific home.
Is the law still in force after the court challenge?
As of this writing, yes. The law remained in effect while the case proceeded and a federal appeals court allowed it to stand. Court decisions and amendments can change the position, so ask a Florida attorney where the statute and the litigation stand on the day you sign.

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