In Allendale, the year a house was built tells an insurer less than most buyers expect. Citizens Property Insurance Corporation requires a four-point inspection for homes more than 20 years old. The houses that define this neighborhood passed that line decades ago.
When every house on the street counts as old for underwriting, the year built stops separating one house from another. Three narrower questions take its place. When was the roof last replaced in full? When were the pipes last replaced? Can anyone prove it with records?
Allendale Cleared the 20-Year Line Long Ago
The neighborhood's oldest layer goes back almost a century. The Tampa Bay Times dated developer Cade B. Allen's first Allendale Terrace house to 1923. The same article reported that he built about 44 homes there during the Depression, with stone exteriors and chimneys. The Allendale Neighborhood Association still describes Allendale Terrace as known for giant oaks and large estate homes.
The next layer is mid-century. The City of St. Petersburg's Design Guidelines for Historic Properties date the Mid-Century category to 1940 through 1970. The guidelines describe the Ranch as the dominant type of the 1950s and '60s, with broad asymmetrical fronts, picture windows, flat or low-sloped rooflines, and garages or carports. They list Allendale Oaks as a local example.
Both eras put a home well past 20 years, so for a Citizens application a four-point inspection is close to automatic. The form itself shows what the inspection is really measuring. Citizens' current four-point form asks for:
- the electrical panel's brand and model, wiring type, fuses and amperage
- the plumbing supply and drain materials and any re-pipe history
- HVAC condition
- the roof's age and remaining useful life
- any signs of leaks
It also requires photos and a licensed inspector. A 1923 stone house with a recent full roof and a documented re-pipe can come out of that form in better shape than a 1958 Ranch running on original systems. The form does record the year the house was built, but most of its fields ask how old each system is and what condition it's in.
The Roof Clock Starts at the Last Full Replacement
Florida law sets out how a roof's age is counted, and the rule is more specific than most sellers assume. Under Florida Statutes §627.7011, roof age runs from the last date on which 100% of the roof's surface was built or replaced under the building code in effect at the time. Sometimes a roof is replaced in phases that together cover the whole surface. In that case, the age runs from the date the first partial replacement began.
That second clause matters on older houses that have been reroofed in sections over the years. A roof finished in two phases dates from the first phase, so it can be older on paper than its newest section looks. A roof that has only been patched in some places has never had a full replacement. Its age stays tied to the last time 100% of the surface was replaced.
The statute and Citizens' own underwriting rules each set thresholds:
| Rule | Where it comes from | What it asks for |
|---|---|---|
| Roof under 15 years old | §627.7011(5)(b) | An insurer may not refuse to issue or renew a homeowner's policy solely because of roof age |
| Roof 15 years or older | §627.7011(5)(c) | The homeowner may have an authorized inspection at their own expense; if it shows at least 5 years of useful life, the insurer may not refuse solely on age |
| Soft roof over 25 years, such as shingle | Citizens underwriting | Documentation of at least 5 years of remaining useful life |
| Hard roof over 50 years, such as tile, slate, clay, concrete or metal | Citizens underwriting | Documentation of at least 5 years of remaining useful life |
| Less than 5 years of useful life remaining | Citizens underwriting | Proof of a full roof replacement before any policy is written |
The statutory protection applies to homeowners' policies issued or renewed on or after July 1, 2022. It does not stop an insurer from declining a home for other lawful underwriting reasons. Either way, the date that goes on the form is the date of the last full replacement. Owners who can show when that happened give the inspector something firm to record.
Since 2025, the Form Asks How Old the Pipes Are
Roofs get most of the attention, but Citizens' March 2025 update shifted more of the four-point form toward the plumbing. On March 20, 2025, Citizens added these fields to the form's plumbing supplemental section:
- age of the supply piping
- age of the water heater
- age of the drain piping
- whether the plumbing is original to the home, completely re-piped or partially re-piped
- additional pipe types, including the year PEX was installed
The same update added a required photo of the water heater's temperature pressure relief valve. It also clarified that any remediation of single-strand aluminum wiring needs separate documentation certified by a licensed electrician.
"Partially re-piped" now has its own checkbox, so a re-pipe that stopped at the kitchen is recorded as partial. On a house from the Allendale Terrace years or the Ranch decades, the plumbing section now asks for the same dates the roof section does.
Some materials raise eligibility questions before condition comes up at all. Citizens' polybutylene FAQ, updated January 2026, says new-business risks over 20 years old with polybutylene piping are not insurable under the Citizens homeowners and dwelling forms it lists. On electrical panels, the Citizens form asks the inspector to record the brand and model without naming any brand as disqualifying. A Florida insurance agency identifies Federal Pacific and Zinsco as panels that insurers commonly question.
Citizens' standard is that systems must work as intended with no visible hazards or deficiencies. The form states that agents may not submit an application when the electrical, heating or plumbing system is defective or hazardous. Citizens also says serious hazards, such as exposed wiring or active leaks, should be repaired before an application is submitted.
Where an Allendale House's Paper Trail Lives
Every date the form asks for leads back to the same question: was the work permitted, and when? Permit records live with the City for addresses inside St. Petersburg, and Pinellas County runs its own portal.
- City of St. Petersburg. The City's Online Permits & Status link opens the City's Click2Gov permitting portal, the same portal the City uses to track permits and plan reviews.
- Pinellas County. The County's tool is the Pinellas County Access Portal. The County's instructions say to choose Building, then Search Permits, and to search by street number and street name.
A permit search will show what was permitted, but not whether a house has every receipt a buyer might want. Citizens' own guidance on the 2025 form changes suggests gathering permits, invoices and replacement records so that updated systems can be documented in an application.
The City's notice on Florida's new HB 803 permit exemption is relevant here too. It says the exemption for small work does not cover roofing, mechanical, electrical or plumbing work. Those are the same four systems the four-point form inspects.
The 2026 Session Left These Rules in Place
The rules above are still the ones in force. SB 808, "Roofing Requirements for Property Insurance," would have revised the roof rules. According to its official bill history, it died in the Senate Banking and Insurance committee on March 13, 2026, and its identical House bill, HB 815, died in subcommittee the same day. The 2026 insurance bill that did become law was SB 1028, signed June 16, 2026. It changed Citizens' eligibility rules for commercial properties and its clearinghouse procedures, not roof-age or four-point rules for homes.
Citizens is still a large insurer in this county. Its county report for the period ending Aug. 31, 2026, lists 19,292 personal residential multiperil policies in Pinellas. That figure is down 749 from the prior month, and the report excludes takeouts. On pricing, Citizens announced average 2026 decreases of 8.8% for homeowners multiperil and 5.5% for homeowners wind-only. The new rates apply to new policies from July 1 and to existing policies at renewal.
Lower average rates don't change who has to get a four-point inspection, though. For a house built in 1923 or 1958, that inspection will still be part of any Citizens application.
A Few Common Questions
Is a four-point inspection the same as a wind mitigation inspection? No. Citizens describes the four-point as an eligibility inspection. A wind mitigation inspection documents construction features that may qualify a home for premium discounts. The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation updated its wind mitigation form, OIR-B1-1802, effective April 1, 2026. OIR says the form is valid for up to five years unless the structure changes materially or the form contains inaccuracies.
How recent does a four-point need to be? Citizens' four-point FAQ says the inspection must have been completed within the prior year.
Do all insurers use Citizens' roof thresholds? The 25-year and 50-year thresholds are Citizens' own underwriting rules. The 15-year roof-age provisions in §627.7011 apply to homeowners' policies more broadly. The statute also keeps insurers' ability to decline a home for other lawful underwriting reasons.
This post is general information, not legal, insurance or financial advice. Every home and policy is different, so confirm your situation with a licensed insurance agent or the right professional before you act on it.
If you're buying or selling an older home in Allendale, we can help you pull the permit history and organize the roof and re-pipe records before an inspector asks for them. Silver and Welch Collective offers a free consultation to go through that paperwork with you calmly, one step at a time.
