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, how small claims court 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 provides that 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)

Florida Statute 163.086 says that in certain situations a PACE financing agreement may not be enforced, and a recorded agreement may be removed from the property and deemed null and void; where it applies, the contractor must restore the property and return funds. This runs through the circuit court, so it is the path where an attorney matters most.

Florida Statute 163.086 names three situations: the owner canceled within the 3-business-day period, a person other than the property owner obtained the recorded agreement, or the program administrator or contractor obtained funding through fraudulent means in violation of the 2024 PACE statutes. Document everything; whether any of them reaches a particular agreement, including one signed before July 1, 2024, is a question for a Florida attorney.

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. Claims against an active lender or administrator are a different matter, and arbitration clauses in your contract can affect them.

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. Talk to a Florida attorney before filing in county or circuit court.
• 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. The fund has its own filing rules.

Realistic outcomes — route by route

• Full payoff / at-sale / refinance: the clean exit — costs the balance plus a small fee. The most common resolution.
• Section 163.086 (three named situations): where one applies, the statute says the agreement may not be enforced and the contractor must restore the property; whether one applies is a question for a Florida attorney.
• Small claims vs. a dissolved installer: a paper judgment, roughly $0 collected. Do it for the record, not the money.
• Recovery Fund: state money, but only after a judgment, award, or restitution order.
• 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? Exit paths & records →
• 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.