Landlords and Tenants – Florida Requirements

Florida has an active legislature with much interest in real estate. Part of that interest extends to residential rentals and frequent adjustments to the Florida Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (“the Act”). Some of the Act’s requirements are often unknown to both landlords and tenants, but they still apply. Failure to comply with the statutes can create a claim for damages and attorney fees to boot.

Let’s take a look at some of the provisions of the Act. Deposit money and advance rent is one area where landlords often fail. These funds must either be held in a separate Florida non-interest-bearing account for benefit of the tenant or in a separate Florida interest-bearing account with the tenant getting seventy-five percent (75%) of the interest or five percent (5%) interest, whichever the landlord elects.

Only deposit and advance rent may be in the separate account. If the landlord does not want to open the separate account, the landlord may post a security bond equal to the deposits and pay the tenant five percent (5%) interest.

Landlords must notify the tenant of the option elected by the landlord, name and address of the depositary, and whether the tenant gets interest no later than thirty (30) days after the lease is signed.

If the landlord fails to comply with the deposit requirements, the tenant can sue, get the deposit and attorney fees even if the tenant is in breach of the lease. The landlord does not get to apply the deposit to damage or rent if the tenant raises the failure to comply with the Act.

Landlords have always been able to waive security deposits. They can also accept an insurance product or a surety bond in lieu of a security deposit. In 2024, the Act was amended to allow landlords to offer tenants the option of paying a fee in lieu of a security deposit.

The fee does not excuse the tenant from liability for any damage and is not treated as a deposit to be applied to unpaid rent or property damage. The tenant always has the right to refuse the fee option or change from fee option to a deposit. The fee can be payable periodically. A written agreement concerning the fee must include notice to the tenant that the fee is not a security deposit and that the tenant may terminate the fee agreement at any time.

Another area where landlords make mistakes is failing to provide written disclosure of the landlord’s address or the name and address of a person authorized to receive notices and demands on landlord’s behalf at or before commencement of the tenancy. If the landlord fails to provide this information, the tenant may be excused from notice requirements, including statutory requirement to provide a landlord with at least fourteen (14) days notice of any deficiency in the property before the tenant withholds rent.

The legislature brought notice requirements into the twenty-first century with an amendment to the Act effective July 1, 2025. Email can now be used for notices required under the Act if an addendum to the rental agreement specifically provides for electronic delivery of notices and each party provides a valid email address for notice. The addendum must be in a form substantially following that set out in the new statute. Text cannot be used.

The Act addresses repairs and maintenance. Landlords must comply with the requirements of applicable building, housing, and health codes, or if no such codes are applicable, maintain the roofs, windows, doors, floors, steps, porches, exterior walls, foundations, all other structural components, and plumbing. At the beginning of tenancy, landlords must ensure that screens are installed in a reasonable condition and must thereafter repair damage to the screens at least annually.

Unless otherwise agreed in writing, landlords of property other than a single-family home or duplex must make reasonable provision for extermination of rats, mice and bedbugs; provide and maintain locks and keys; keep common areas clean and safe; remove garbage and provide an outside receptacle for garbage and provide functioning facilities for heat in the winter, running water and hot water; and provide working smoke detection devices. The landlord can charge for garbage removal, water, fuel, and utilities.

Effective October 1, 2025, landlords must provide flood disclosure at or before the tenant signs a rental agreement for a term of one year or longer. The flood disclosure must be a separate document in which the landlord tells the tenant if the landlord has any knowledge of flooding, flood insurance claims, or government assistance for flooding during the time the landlord on the property.

If the landlord does not provide this notice and no less than fifty percent (50%) of the market value of the tenant’s personal property is damaged by flooding, the tenant can terminate the rental agreement and get back deposits and any rent paid for time after the tenant vacates. The statute does not say it, but the tenant could likely also sue the landlord for damages.

Landlord access to rental property is often a cause of friction. The Act tries to solve the problem. The Act prohibits tenants from unreasonably withholding consent to the landlord access to inspect, make repairs, improvements or to exhibit the property to prospective purchasers and tenants. Landlords can enter the rental at any time to protect or preserve it. Landlords can enter upon 24-hour notice to repair, and repair hours are limited to 7:30 AM until 8:00 PM. The Act does not specify hours or notice for other entry, but the minimum 24-hours’ notice for repair would seemingly suffice for those aspects as well.

When one or both parties fail to comply with the Act or lease, litigation is not uncommon. The prevailing party in any lawsuit to enforce a lease can recover attorney’s fees and costs. When the parties believe they will win and a lawsuit will not cost them anything, provision of the Act may actually encourage litigation.