Chapter 83 of the Florida Statutes is the state’s landlord and tenant law. It sets the rules for residential rentals, commercial leases, and self-storage agreements, and it’s organized into three parts so the rules match the kind of space being rented. If you rent or rent out a home in Florida, the part that matters most is Part II, the Florida Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, which controls security deposits, maintenance duties, notices, and eviction.
Which Part of Chapter 83 Applies to You
Part I covers nonresidential tenancies and anything not covered by Part II.1The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 83.001 – Application Offices, retail spaces, and warehouses live here, and the parties have more room to set their own terms.
Part II is the Florida Residential Landlord and Tenant Act. It applies to the rental of a dwelling unit,2The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 83.40 – Short Title; 83.41 – Application which the statute defines as any structure or part of a structure rented for use as a home, residence, or sleeping place, including apartments, houses, and tenant-rented mobile homes.3Florida Senate. Florida Code 83.43 – Definitions
Part III is the Self-Storage Facility Act, which deals with storage-unit rentals, liens, and abandoned property rather than the habitability and eviction rules that govern homes.4The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 83.801 – Short Title The rest of this guide focuses on Part II.
One thing to know before reading any lease: a lease clause that waives a tenant’s rights under Part II, or eliminates the landlord’s remedies, is void. A person harmed because that kind of clause was in the lease can recover damages.5Florida Senate. Florida Code Chapter 83 – Landlord and Tenant – Section: 83.47 Lines like “tenant waives all rights to withhold rent” carry no legal weight.
When Rent Is Due and What Kind of Tenancy You Have
Unless the lease says otherwise, rent is due at the start of each payment period without any demand or reminder from the landlord.6Florida Senate. Florida Code Chapter 83 – Landlord and Tenant – Section: 83.46 If the lease doesn’t state a duration, the law fills that gap based on the payment schedule. Monthly rent creates a month-to-month tenancy; weekly rent creates a week-to-week tenancy. This matters at the end, because the notice needed to terminate depends on which one you have.
Security Deposits
How the Money Must Be Held
A landlord who takes a security deposit or advance rent beyond the next rental period must hold that money in one of three ways: a separate non-interest-bearing account at a Florida financial institution, a separate interest-bearing account, or a surety bond posted with the clerk of the circuit court.7Florida Senate. Florida Code 83.49 – Deposit Money or Advance Rent; Duty of Landlord and Tenant The money cannot be mixed with the landlord’s personal or business funds. If the landlord uses an interest-bearing account, the tenant is entitled to at least 75 percent of the annualized average interest earned, or 5 percent simple interest per year, whichever the landlord chooses.8Florida Senate. Florida Code 83.49 – Deposit Money or Advance Rent; Duty of Landlord and Tenant
The 30-Day Disclosure
Within 30 days of receiving the deposit, the landlord has to give the tenant written notice identifying the institution holding the funds, or stating that a surety bond has been posted, and disclosing whether interest is owed.7Florida Senate. Florida Code 83.49 – Deposit Money or Advance Rent; Duty of Landlord and Tenant
Returning the Deposit
After a tenant moves out, the landlord has two paths:
- If the landlord is making no claim against the deposit, the full amount plus any interest owed must be returned within 15 days.
- If the landlord intends to keep part or all of the deposit, a written notice must go out by certified mail within 30 days to the tenant’s last known mailing address, stating the amount claimed and the reason.
The tenant then has 15 days to object in writing. If no objection arrives in time, the landlord may deduct the claimed amount and must return the balance within 30 days of the notice date. A landlord who misses the 30-day claim deadline forfeits the right to keep any portion of the deposit, though a separate lawsuit for damages is still possible after the money is returned.7Florida Senate. Florida Code 83.49 – Deposit Money or Advance Rent; Duty of Landlord and Tenant A tenant who misses the objection window can still sue later over improper deductions in a separate action.
Maintenance Duties on Each Side
Where local building, housing, or health codes apply, the landlord must comply with those codes. Where they don’t, the state statute takes over: the landlord must keep roofs, windows, doors, floors, steps, porches, exterior walls, foundations, and other structural components in good repair, and keep plumbing in reasonable working condition. Window and door screens must be in reasonable condition at move-in, and screens damaged during the tenancy must be repaired once a year as needed.9The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 83.51 – Landlords Obligation to Maintain Premises
Tenants have to hold up their end too. That means keeping the unit clean and sanitary, disposing of garbage properly, keeping plumbing fixtures inside the unit clean and in repair, and using electrical, plumbing, heating, and air-conditioning systems in a reasonable way. Tenants must also avoid damaging the property, avoid letting guests damage it, and not disturb neighbors’ peaceful enjoyment of their homes.10The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 83.52 – Tenants Obligation to Maintain Dwelling Unit
When the Landlord Can Enter
A tenant can’t unreasonably refuse entry for inspections, agreed-upon repairs, or showings to prospective tenants or buyers. For repairs, the landlord must give at least 24 hours’ notice, and the visit has to happen between 7:30 a.m. and 8:00 p.m.11The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 83.53 – Landlords Access to Dwelling Unit Entry without consent is allowed in a genuine emergency, or when the tenant is unreasonably withholding consent. Repeated unreasonable refusal is itself grounds to terminate the lease.
What a Tenant Can Do When the Landlord Won’t Fix Things
If the landlord materially fails to meet the maintenance duties, the tenant can deliver written notice describing the problem and stating an intention to withhold rent. Seven days after the notice is delivered, if the repair still hasn’t happened, the tenant can raise that failure as a complete defense to an eviction based on nonpayment.12The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 83.60 – Defenses to Action for Rent or Possession; Procedure The court then decides whether rent should be reduced to reflect the reduced value of the unit during the noncompliance period.
The remedy is real, but it’s narrow. The notice has to be specific about what’s broken, and the tenant’s rent has to be genuinely current when the dispute reaches court. Vague complaints, or attempts to use the statute as cover for late payments, don’t tend to hold up.
Notices That End a Tenancy or Demand a Cure
Ending a Month-to-Month Tenancy
Either side can end a month-to-month tenancy with at least 30 days’ written notice before the end of a monthly period.13The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 83.57 – Termination of Tenancy Without Specific Term The 30 days count backward from the last day of a monthly period. A notice given on March 10 ends the tenancy at the end of April, because March doesn’t have 30 days left.
The 3-Day Notice for Unpaid Rent
Before filing anything in court, a landlord dealing with unpaid rent has to deliver a written demand giving the tenant three days, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and court-observed holidays, to pay or give up possession. The notice must state the amount owed, the property address, and the deadline.14The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 83.56 – Termination of Rental Agreement An error in the dollar amount or the address can invalidate the notice and force the landlord to restart the process.
The 7-Day Notices for Lease Violations
For lease violations other than unpaid rent, the law splits notices into two types. A curable violation, such as an unauthorized pet, an unauthorized vehicle, or failure to keep the unit clean, gets a seven-day notice to cure. If the tenant fixes the problem in that window, the tenancy continues.14The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 83.56 – Termination of Rental Agreement
Some behavior is serious enough that no cure is available. Intentional property destruction, repeated disturbances after a prior written warning within 12 months, or ongoing damage to other tenants’ property can support a seven-day unconditional notice to vacate, meaning the tenant has to leave with no chance to fix the underlying conduct. Using the wrong type of notice, cure versus unconditional, is one of the most common ways an eviction case falls apart.
What Landlords Are Not Allowed To Do
Self-help is prohibited. A landlord cannot shut off utilities, change the locks, remove doors or windows, or take the tenant’s personal property out of the unit, no matter how far behind the tenant is or how serious the lease breach.15The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 83.67 – Prohibited Practices A landlord who does any of these things is liable to the tenant for actual and consequential damages or three months’ rent, whichever is greater, plus attorney’s fees and court costs. Each separate violation can produce its own award. The statute also treats any such violation as irreparable harm, so the tenant can seek an emergency court order restoring access or utilities without meeting the usual injunction standards.
Retaliation is also off-limits. A landlord cannot raise rent, cut services, or threaten eviction primarily because a tenant complained to a government agency about code violations, joined a tenants’ organization, used the rent-withholding remedy, or exercised fair housing rights. A servicemember who terminates a lease under Chapter 83’s military provisions is also protected.16The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 83.64 – Retaliatory Conduct Retaliation is raised as a defense in an eviction case, and it doesn’t apply when the landlord can show a legitimate reason, such as actual nonpayment or a real lease violation.
How an Eviction Actually Proceeds
When the notice period runs out and the tenant hasn’t paid, cured, or left, the landlord’s only lawful path is a lawsuit filed in the county court where the property sits.17The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 83.59 – Right of Action for Possession Most courts require e-filing. The court issues a summons, and it has to be personally served on the tenant by the sheriff or a process server.
The tenant has five business days after service to file a written response. In a nonpayment case, contesting the eviction on grounds other than the landlord’s failure to maintain the property generally requires depositing the disputed rent into the court registry. If no response comes in and no rent is deposited, the landlord can seek a default judgment. A judgment for the landlord produces a writ of possession, which the sheriff posts on the property. Once the writ is posted, the tenant has 24 hours to leave before the sheriff returns and removes the tenant and their belongings.18The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 83.62 – Restoration of Possession to Landlord Weekends and holidays don’t pause that clock.
Filing fees, service fees, and attorney’s fees add up. The prevailing party in a residential eviction can recover attorney’s fees, but the money goes out of pocket first.
Staying Past the End of the Lease
A tenant who stays after the lease ends without the landlord’s written consent becomes a tenant at sufferance. Simply accepting rent from a holdover tenant doesn’t automatically renew the lease, but written consent to remain converts the arrangement into a tenancy at will. If the tenant refuses to give up possession, the landlord can demand double the monthly rent for the period the tenant continues to occupy the property without authorization.19The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 83.06 – Right to Demand Double Rent Upon Refusal to Deliver Possession The demand has to be formal, and the double-rent right runs only for the unauthorized period.