Fort Myers seniors at Calusa Harbour face a 1,000 dollar charge for each hurricane evacuation, and Florida's price gouging statute only switches on once the Governor declares an emergency

Several residents of Calusa Harbour, a senior living community in Fort Myers, are questioning a policy that would charge them 1,000 dollars each time a hurricane forces them out of the building.

The fee was reported by Olivia Jean at WINK News on Monday. Residents Barbara Costabile, Karen Taylor and Richard Vail told the station that the charge is 1,000 dollars per occurrence, per hurricane, to move them out of a mandatory evacuation zone, and that it was introduced after Sinceri Senior Living took over the community earlier this year. They said no resident signed a new agreement with the incoming operator, and that a 5 percent rent increase arrived alongside the charge. Vail, who was evacuated after Hurricane Ian while the building was repaired, told the station that the previous owner relocated residents and moved their belongings without charging extra.

Calusa Harbour, in a statement to the station, said resident safety is its top priority before, during and after any weather event.

The community said the 1,000 dollars applies only to independent living residents who require its assistance during a state ordered mandatory evacuation, and that the amount covers transport, temporary lodging, meals and additional staffing for the duration of the evacuation. It said residents who arrange both their own transport and their own accommodation away from the building will not be charged, that the policy was communicated to residents and their families in advance, and that no resident is grandfathered into the previous policy.

The residents asked whether the charge is legal. The station put that question to Paul Boudreaux of Stetson University College of Law, who said a fee of this kind is lawful if it is reasonable, that Florida law generally allows communities to charge residents reasonable fees for necessary services including hurricane evacuation transport, and that courts give property owners and associations broad discretion in setting them. He said that not having paid such a fee under a previous owner does not by itself exempt a resident now, and that he would expect charges like it to become more common as storm seasons grow more expensive.

Florida does have a statute aimed at storm pricing, and its shape is worth understanding before anyone relies on it.

Section 501.160 of the Florida Statutes prohibits renting or selling essential commodities at an unconscionable price, and its definition of commodity expressly includes services necessary for use as a direct result of the emergency. The prohibition is not always running. By the terms of subsection (2), it takes effect upon a declaration of a state of emergency by the Governor, it applies within the area for which that emergency is declared, and it lasts no more than 60 days under the initial declaration unless the Governor extends it by an executive order that names the section.

The statute measures an unconscionable price against the 30 days immediately before the declaration, and it allows a defence where the increase reflects additional costs actually incurred. A price increase approved by an appropriate government agency is not a violation.

Whether the statute is running on any given day therefore depends on the Governor's executive orders, which are published by the Executive Office of the Governor rather than by any county.