Tenants Rights in the State of Florida

By Business & Finance Last updated Friday, May/31/2024

Tenant rights are spelled out by Florida law.apartment for rent image by dead_account from Fotolia.com

Tenants, also known as renters, are people who lease apartment homes, town homes or houses. Tenants enter into contracts with property owners, known as landlords, for temporary possession of property. The state of Florida affords certain rights and protections to tenants, according to the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, or HUD.

Equal Party

Under Florida law, a tenant is considered a equal party to the landlord, and is afforded the right to negotiate a rental contract with a landlord, according to the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS). Landlords cannot force tenants to sign rental contracts. Tenants have the right to ensure that all relevant aspects of renting are covered in the lease contract.

Florida law requires that all notices from a landlord to a tenant be in writing, regardless of whether the lease was given in oral or written form, according to the FDACS. Under Florida law, tenants are also required to communicate with landlords in written form.

Many landlords require tenants to pay a security deposit before move-in, usually equal to one month's rent. Under Florida law, tenants have the right to receive their full deposit within 15 days of lease termination if the landlord does not plan to use the deposit for repairs to tenant-caused damages, and the balance of their deposit within 30 days after lease termination if the landlord does plan to use the deposit for repairs to tenant-caused damages, according to the FDACS.

Tenants and landlords share several responsibilities, including the maintenance and upkeep of the unit. However, under Florida law, landlords have a duty to comply with building codes, provide safe and livable premises, provide extermination for pests such as rats or insects and remove trash. However, in the case of a single-family home, landlords or tenants may modify these provisions in writing, according to the FDACS.

Although a landlord can evict a tenant for any number of violations such as nonpayment of rent, illegal activity or public disturbance, landlords must give the tenant advance notice of eviction and, in most cases, allow the tenant to take action to remedy the situation. Additionally, under Florida law, it is illegal for a landlord to attempt to get a tenant to leave by turning off utilities, changing locks or removing the tenant's property from the premises. If a landlord does this, the tenant has the right to sue for consequential and actual damages, according to the FDACS.