Notice Requirements

Overview

Florida, through state statute, gives landlords specific instructions for notice requirements. These notices are for evictions, non-renewals, and fees that a resident may be responsible for. However, in recent years, some local governments have grown concerned about notice requirements and have decided to adopt ordinances that strengthen requirements on a local level. These changes to notice requirements can lead to a patchwork of policies across the state and create issues for apartment operators with communities across the state. 

Background

Notice requirements, which can be found in Chapter 83, Part II of Florida statutes, gives specific lengths of time that landlords and tenants must follow for issuing specific notices to each other. A non-renewal of a tenant’s lease is an example of an instance when there is a specific time period for a notice to be made under state law. Chapter 83.57 outlines the specific notice requirements, which are based on the tenancy duration (example: by year or by month). 

Florida Statute 83.57 “Termination of tenancy without specific term” states: A tenancy without a specific duration, as defined in s. 83.46(2) or (3), may be terminated by either party giving written notice in the manner provided in s. 83.56(4):

(1) When the tenancy is from year to year, by giving not less than 60 days’ notice prior to the end of any annual period.

(2) When the tenancy is from quarter to quarter, by giving not less than 30 days’ notice prior to the end of any quarterly period.

(3) When the tenancy is from month to month, by giving not less than 15 days’ notice prior to the end of any monthly period.

(4) When the tenancy is from week to week, by giving not less than 7 days’ notice prior to the end of any weekly period.

Generally speaking, these notice requirements were implemented in state law to protect both the landlord and the tenant in certain circumstances involving time-sensitive events that occur throughout the tenancy. It is important to note, however, that Florida law does not expressly give local governments the ability to change or amend landlord/tenant law through local ordinances. 

Apartment communities with five or more units are defined as public lodging establishments through Florida statute found in Chapter 509.032 (7)(a). This law preempts the regulation of public lodging establishments to the state. This means that the state has the sole discretion to regulate apartment communities under Florida law. For example, all apartment communities must adhere to state regulations of building and fire codes, annual state license renewal, and state-based human trafficking awareness guidelines. The Florida Apartment Association and local affiliates have used the preemption clause in Chapter 509  to prevent potentially harmful local ordinances such as a rental registry for short-term rentals in Collier County. Unfortunately, this preemption clause in Chapter 509 has not prevented the proliferation of local ordinances that seek to alter existing landlord/tenant processes that exist in state law. 

Problem

Some local governments have pursued tenant protection measures that increase regulations on apartment communities. These heightened regulations are carried out by passing local ordinances that only affect the properties located within the city or county. With more than four hundred municipalities spread across 67 counties, there is the potential that local governments can cause harm to the industry if there are multiple variations of notice requirements across the state.

Florida is sometimes referred to as a pay-to-play state. According to Florida statute 83.232, tenants must pay the rent owed at the time the eviction was filed into the court registry to be able to have a court hearing for an eviction. While this requirement exists in state law, it is not always consistently enforced by judges across the state. In light of the existing notice framework in statute, tenant advocate groups often push local governments to enact ordinances that require landlords to provide longer notice periods to tenants. These local protections are sometimes referred to as human rights ordinances, tenant bill of rights, etc. The intention of these local ordinances is to put in place stronger tenant protection measures.

Examples of Notice Requirements in Florida

St. Petersburg

The City of St. Petersburg now requires a notice regarding late fees. Ordinance 20-320 makes it unlawful to assess a late fee against a tenant without first providing written notice to the tenant against whom the late fee is assessed, for each late fee. To learn more about the St. Petersburg Tenant Bill of Rights, visit Renter’s Rights website. For the full text of the ordinance, please see the St. Petersburg, FL City Code.

Miami-Dade County / Miami / Miami Beach

The cities of Miami and Miami Beach and Miami-Dade County all have similar ordinances regarding notice requirements (see Miami-Dade County’s Ordinance 21-1). These ordinances increase the notification period for termination of month-to-month residential tenancies to 30 days. The Miami-Dade ordinance applies to incorporated and unincorporated areas of Miami-Dade County. Currently, under Florida Law, the required notice for termination of a month-to-month lease is only 15 days. Therefore, Miami-Dade County doubled the notice period by passing a local ordinance.

Alternative Solutions

Florida Statutes already outline how landlord/tenant notice practices should be carried out across the state. The practice of allowing local governments to create a patchwork of varying notice requirements across the state creates compliance challenges for housing providers with properties across the state. For this reason, FAA believes it is important to have all Florida counties and municipalities follow a uniform set of laws related to landlord/tenant law and notice requirements.

In the event a city or county government chooses to pursue a local ordinance that seeks to change existing notice requirements, an FAA affiliate should work to educate elected officials regarding the negative implications caused by variations in notice requirements.