What Florida law does to your lease
These are the figures the builder holds you to. Each one is the statute's, not ours, and the citation is there so you can read it yourself.
| Rule | Florida | Where it says so |
|---|---|---|
| Most a landlord may take as a deposit | No statutory limit | Fla. Stat. 83.49 |
| Earliest a late fee may be charged | The day after it is due | Fla. Stat. ch. 83, pt. II |
| Most a late fee may be | No statutory limit, but it has to be reasonableFlorida's Residential Tenancies part sets neither a grace period nor a ceiling. | Fla. Stat. ch. 83, pt. II |
| Notice before the landlord may enter | 24 hoursRepairs may be made only between 7:30 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. | Fla. Stat. 83.53(2) |
| Notice to end a month-to-month tenancy | 30 daysThe notice must land at least 30 days before the end of a monthly period, not 30 days before the day the tenant wants to leave. | Fla. Stat. 83.57(3) |
What Florida makes you disclose
- Where the deposit is held
- Within 30 days of receiving a deposit or advance rent the landlord must tell the tenant in writing the name and address of the depository, whether it is an interest-bearing account, and the rate and time of interest payments, or that a surety bond is posted instead. The statutory paragraph about the landlord's 30-day claim and the tenant's 15-day objection must be included in the lease. Fla. Stat. 83.49(2), (3)(a), (4)
- Radon gas
- RADON GAS: Radon is a naturally occurring radioactive gas that, when it has accumulated in a building in sufficient quantities, may present health risks to persons who are exposed to it over time. Levels of radon that exceed federal and state guidelines have been found in buildings in Florida. Additional information regarding radon and radon testing may be obtained from your county health department. Fla. Stat. 404.056(5)
- Who to serve notices on
- The lease must disclose the name and address of the landlord or of a person authorized to receive notices and demands on the landlord's behalf. Fla. Stat. 83.50
- Flood history
- On a term of one year or longer the landlord must give a separate written flood disclosure at or before signing: whether the landlord knows of flooding of the unit, and whether a flood insurance claim or federal flood assistance has been received for it. Fla. Stat. 83.512
The clause most landlords get wrong
Rent stated as a base figure with mandatory fees bolted on beside it. If a fee is not optional, it is rent, and several states now say so outright: the lease has to carry one total figure that the landlord may not charge above. The builder asks for the total and then asks how much of it is fees, which is the same information in the order the law wants it.
The second is the assistance animal. A no-pets clause that does not carve one out is a fair-housing problem, not a pet problem, and no pet rent or pet deposit may be charged for one. Your lease says so whether or not you allow pets.
After it is signed
Download the PDF and it is yours, account or not. If you want the tenant to sign it without printing anything, a free Kouzr account sends it for signature, files the executed copy against the tenancy, and keeps it beside the listing, the rent record and the deposit accounting, so the paperwork for that home is in one place when the tenancy ends.