A Florida rental agreement is a legal contract between a landlord overseeing a rental property and a tenant using the property. Florida landlord-tenant law governs and regulates these agreements.
Florida Rental Agreement Types
A Florida roommate agreement (“room rental agreement”) is a legal contract between two or more people (“co-tenants”) who share a rental property according to rules they set, including things like splitting rent. This agreement binds the co-tenants living together, and doesn’t include the landlord.
Common Rental Agreements in Florida
- The Florida Bar’s Residential Lease (Single Family Home/Duplexes) – This easy-to-read template is for renting single-family homes or duplexes, for a (renewable) term of up to one year. The lease outlines landlord-tenant laws, and also covers fees for early termination and related matters.
- The Florida Bar’s Residential Lease (Apartments/Multi-Family) – This template is for renting apartments, condominiums, cooperatives, or multi-family housing, for a (renewable) term of up to one year. It provides an extensive list of rules and procedures, such as an overnight guest policy.
Florida Required Lease Disclosures
- Landlord’s Name and Address (required for all leases) – Florida landlords must give the tenant their name and address, or that of their authorized agent. This allows required communication (for example, about repairs) to happen in a smooth way.
- Dangers of Radon Gas (required for all leases) – Florida leases must warn tenants about the potential dangers of radon gas on the property.
- Security Deposit Holdings (required for some leases) – Florida landlords managing 5 or more individual rental units, must disclose details about where any security deposit is held. This includes information about accruing interest, plus a specific state-provided notice about handling of security deposits.
- Lead-Based Paint Disclosure (required for some leases) – Landlords must provide an EPA-approved disclosure and informational pamphlet to tenants renting any property built before 1978.
To learn more about required disclosures in Florida, click here.
Florida Landlord Tenant Laws
- Warranty of Habitability – Florida landlords can only rent out habitable property. This means providing certain basic health and safety features like heat, plumbing, and electricity. Landlords must repair any issues within seven days after proper notice. Failure to repair lets the tenant terminate the lease, or sue the landlord.
- Evictions – Florida landlords may evict for rent nonpayment, lease violations, or illegal acts, among other things. Before filing eviction, landlords must serve tenants with prior notice to pay, comply or quit, depending on eviction type. This means most evictions take a week to a few months. The timeline depends on whether the landlord must give the tenant a chance to fix the situation.
- Security Deposits – Florida has no cap on the amount of a security deposit. A landlord has 15 days after tenant move-out to return a security deposit, 30 days if making deductions.
- Lease Termination – Florida landlords and tenants can end a month-to-month lease with 15 days of advance notice. Terminating a fixed-term lease early requires (in most cases) active military duty, landlord harassment, uninhabitable property, or domestic abuse.
- Rent Increases and Fees – Florida landlords aren’t subject to a specific notice requirement before increasing rent. There’s no limit to the amount of a rent increase. Late fees are capped at the greater of $20 or 20% of the rental payment, plus reasonable collection costs. Bounced check fees are limited to either $25, $30, $40, or 5% of the check (depending on the amount).
- Landlord Entry – Florida landlords may enter rental property for reasonable business purposes like maintenance, inspections, and property showings. Before entering, they must provide at least 24 hours of advance notice before entry, and must enter at a reasonable time (between 7:30AM and 8:00PM). These rules don’t apply in emergencies, or as agreed in writing by the landlord and tenant.
- Settling Legal Disputes – Florida lets small claims courts hear landlord-tenant disputes (including evictions), as long as the amount in controversy is under $8,000. There’s a 5-year and 4-year statute of limitations for written and oral contracts, respectively.
To learn more about landlord tenant laws in Florida, click here.
Sources
- 1 Fla. Stat. § 83.808(3)
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A facility or unit owner may charge a tenant a reasonable late fee for each period that he or she does not pay rent due under the rental agreement. The amount of the late fee and the conditions for imposing such fee must be stated in the rental agreement or in an addendum to such agreement. For purposes of this subsection, a late fee of $20, or 20 percent of the monthly rent, whichever is greater, is reasonable and does not constitute a penalty. In addition to late fees, a facility or unit owner may also charge a tenant a reasonable fee for any expenses incurred as a result of rent collection or lien enforcement.
- 2 Fla. Stat. § 68.065(2)
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In lieu of a service charge authorized under subsection (3), s. 832.062(4)(a), or s. 832.07, the payee of a payment instrument, the payment of which is refused by the drawee because of lack of funds, lack of credit, or lack of an account, or where the maker or drawer stops payment on the instrument with intent to defraud, may lawfully collect bank fees actually incurred by the payee in the course of tendering the payment, plus a service charge of $25 if the face value does not exceed $50; $30 if the face value exceeds $50 but does not exceed $300; $40 if the face value exceeds $300; or 5 percent of the face value of the payment instrument, whichever is greater. The right to damages under this subsection may be claimed without the filing of a civil action…
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