The Florida PACE Exit Playbook — Verified

This playbook is the condensed, checklist version of everything we verified about getting out of a Florida residential PACE assessment — every exit path, the self-help steps you can take without a lawyer, how small claims court actually works, and what outcomes are realistic. Every claim was checked against primary sources (Florida Statutes, court rules, FTC and CFPB records, and the PACE providers' own payoff desks) in July 2026.

Exit Path 1 — Pay it off (the clean exit)

If your agreement was signed on or after July 1, 2024, Florida law guarantees you can repay the remaining amount at any time without penalty beyond nominal administrative costs (Florida Statute 163.081). If your agreement is older — and most Ygrene, Renew Financial, and Florida PACE Funding Agency assessments are — your contract's own prepayment clause governs. In practice, all the major Florida providers state there is no residential prepayment penalty; confirm it in writing when you request your payoff.

• Step 1: find your provider on your property tax bill — it's the non-ad valorem assessment line.
• Step 2: request a payoff statement. Renew Financial: 844-736-3934 · FL PACE Funding Agency / Home Run: Payoffs@FloridaPACE.gov or 800-969-4382 · Ygrene: 866-634-1358 · FRED: paymypace.com / 888-338-3578. Statement fees run about $25–$70.
• Step 3: pay, then confirm the lien release and that the assessment comes off next year's tax roll.

Exit Path 2 — Payoff at sale (the market forces it)

FHA and Fannie Mae will not back a buyer's mortgage on a home with a senior PACE lien, so in practice the assessment is paid from your sale proceeds at closing. Order the payoff statement early, and remember sellers are required to disclose a PACE assessment.

Exit Path 3 — Refinance it away

Fannie Mae expressly allows a limited cash-out refinance for the specific purpose of paying off a PACE assessment (Selling Guide B5-3.4-01). That converts tax-bill debt into mortgage debt — usually at a lower rate. Run the numbers with any conventional lender.

Exit Path 4 — Challenge the deal's validity (the fraud route)

Under Florida Statute 163.086, a court can declare a PACE financing agreement null and void where the owner cancelled within the 3-business-day window but it was funded anyway, where someone other than the owner signed (forgery), or where funding was approved through fraud. The contractor can be ordered to restore the property and return funds. This is a circuit-court action — it's the path where an attorney matters most.

If your signature was forged, you never got the required disclosures, or the work was never permitted — this is the exit path to explore first. Document everything before you call anyone.

Exit Path 5 — Hardship deferral (breathing room, not forgiveness)

• Florida's homestead tax deferral (Statute 197.252) can defer the bill when it exceeds about 5% of household income (3% if 65+).
• File Form DR-570 with your county tax collector by March 31.
• The debt keeps accruing interest — it's a pause, not a cure.

Whatever you do: never just stop paying your property taxes. Missed payments become a tax certificate, and a tax-deed sale is possible after two years — homestead included.

Small claims court — the quick facts

• Handles money claims up to $8,000 (excluding costs, interest, attorney fees) — Rule 7.010(b), current for 2026.
• Filing fees run roughly $55–$300 by claim size, plus ~$10 per summons and ~$40 per defendant for service.
• You file a Statement of Claim at the county clerk; certified-mail service works for Florida defendants.
• Pretrial conference in about 50 days, same-day mediation is standard, trial usually within 60 days after.
• Want a jury? You must demand it in writing when you file — or it's waived.

What small claims cannot do: remove or invalidate the PACE lien itself — that's circuit court (Exit Path 4). And be honest about collection: a judgment against a dissolved installer usually collects nothing. Suing an active lender or administrator creates real settlement leverage, but watch for arbitration clauses in your contract.

Going bigger — pro se beyond small claims

• County Court handles up to $50,000; Circuit Court above that and for lien-removal cases.
• E-file yourself at myflcourtaccess.com · self-help resources at flcourts.gov.
• FDUTPA warning: Florida's consumer-protection statute shifts attorney fees BOTH ways — lose, and you can owe the company's fees. Get advice before filing a big case alone.
• Construction Recovery Fund: pays homeowners who already hold a judgment, arbitration award, or CILB restitution order against a licensed contractor. Solar (CVC) contractors are Division II — caps of $15,000 (contracts before July 2024) or $30,000. One-year filing deadline.

Realistic outcomes — route by route

• Full payoff / at-sale / refinance: the clean exit — costs the balance plus a small fee. The most common resolution.
• Fraud or forgery challenge (163.086): the best case — lien voided and property restored — but it needs evidence and an attorney.
• Small claims vs. a dissolved installer: a paper judgment, roughly $0 collected. Do it for the record, not the money.
• Recovery Fund: real state money, but only after you win somewhere first.
• Waiting on regulators: free and worth doing — but Ygrene victims' median FTC check was $2,555, with the lien intact. Don't make it your plan.

• The complete PACE & Ygrene guide (full detail on everything above) →
• Stuck in a Ygrene or PACE loan? How to fight back →
• Can't sell or refinance because of a solar lien? →
• How to file complaints against a solar company →

This playbook is general information, not legal advice. Statutes and program rules change — everything here was verified July 2026 against primary sources. Confirm your specific situation with a Florida-licensed attorney.