Florida rental law changes since 2023, in one place

2023: the deposit alternative fee

HB 133 created section 83.491, effective July 1, 2023. A landlord can offer, at its sole discretion, a fee in place of a security deposit, usually a monthly charge due with the rent. If the landlord offers it, it has to offer it to every new tenant at that property and can't hold your choice against your application.

• You can switch to a regular deposit at any time by paying it.
• The fee isn't a deposit. You still owe for damage beyond normal wear and tear and for unpaid rent.
• The landlord has to tell you in writing within 30 days after you move out if it claims you owe anything.
• It can't file a claim with an insurer until at least 15 days after that notice.
• If the landlord buys insurance with the fee, you aren't insured by it and aren't its beneficiary.

On a 12-month lease, a $75 monthly fee adds up to $900 you never get back, and you still owe for any damage. A refundable deposit costs you the use of the money, and you get back whatever isn't properly claimed. A 2024 law, HB 1305, adjusted this section and the deposit rules in section 83.49 around a new definition of a Florida financial institution.

2023: local tenant rules preempted, 30-day notice

HB 1417 created section 83.425, effective July 1, 2023. It says the regulation of residential tenancies and the landlord-tenant relationship is preempted to the state, and it supersedes local rules on screening, deposits, application fees, lease terms, disclosures, landlord fees and notice requirements. Miami-Dade, Broward and other counties had passed tenant bills of rights with their own notice rules on rent increases, fees and changes of ownership. On the subjects the statute lists, those rules no longer apply.

The same bill changed section 83.57: ending a month-to-month now takes at least 30 days' notice before the end of a period, and a fixed-term lease can require 30 to 60 days' notice that you won't renew. Details in ending a month-to-month lease.

2025: notices by email

HB 615 created section 83.505, effective July 1, 2025. Landlords and tenants can send any notice required by the landlord and tenant act by email, including a 3-day notice and a deposit claim, but only after both sign an addendum in the form the statute sets, with each side's email address. Either side can revoke it or change the address with written notice. An emailed notice counts as delivered when sent, unless it bounces, and the sender has to keep a copy and proof of sending.

October 2025: the flood disclosure

SB 948 created section 83.512, effective October 1, 2025. Before you sign a lease of a year or longer, the landlord has to give you a separate flood disclosure. It says whether the landlord knows of flooding that damaged the home during their ownership, whether they filed a flood insurance claim, and whether they received federal flood assistance such as from FEMA. It also reminds you that renters insurance doesn't cover flood damage.

If a landlord doesn't give a truthful disclosure and you lose 50% or more of the value of your belongings to flooding, you can end the lease by written notice within 30 days of the flood, and get back rent paid in advance for the time after you leave. More in flood zones for renters.

2026: nothing new for renters

Bills to stretch the 3-day notice to 5 days (HB 811 and SB 716) died in committee in March 2026, so the 3-day notice stands.