Common Provisions of Lease Agreements in Florida
The State of Florida has adopted a body of laws known as the Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, Chapter 83, Florida Statutes, which governs rental of residential property upon a periodic basis. In a typical lease agreement, the parties define their rights and obligations in consideration for the use of a landlord’s residential property as follows:
Commencement. The agreement defines the date upon which the tenant obtains possession of the property from the landlord.
Rent. The agreement specifies the amount of rent and the day it is to be paid. Most lease agreements specify that rent is due on the first day of each month.
Security Deposits. The agreement will almost always provide the security deposit terms, including the amount of the security deposit and whether the return of the security deposit is contingent upon the tenant vacating the unit in good condition.
Commencement of Tenancy. The tenancy commences at the time and date provided in the agreement and the tenant is granted possession of the unit.
Possession: Right to Entry. The landlord shall at all times have the right to enter into the premises with or without notice to the tenant in the event of an emergency. In the absence of an emergency situation, the landlord is required to provide the tenant with reasonable notice of his intent to enter the premises but may not demand entry of the tenant.
Usual and Customary Duties of the Landlord. The landlord is obligated to "maintain the premises" and make necessary repairs. This includes compliance with local building, housing , and health codes that materially impact health and safety. However, the landlord is not responsible for damages caused by the negligence of the tenant or household members and/or guests.
Tenant’s Obligation to Pay Rent. The tenant is obligated by the lease agreement to pay the full amount of the rent on the date specified in the lease agreement.
Tenant’s Obligations: Maintenance of the Unit. The tenant is obligated to comply with building codes that materially impact health and safety, keep the unit clean, use all electrical and plumbing fixtures responsibly, and avoid visiting guests that create a nuisance.
Tenant’s Obligation to Report. The tenant is obligated to inform the landlord in writing of the non-permitted leak of, or hazardous conditions involving, plumbing fixtures, heating or cooling elements, or appliances.
Right to Withhold Rent. A residential tenant may not withhold rent. Failure to timely pay rent will entitle the landlord to evict the tenant and obtain a money judgment for the amount of back rent due.
Duty to Repair. A residential tenant may not make substantial alterations or improvements to a residence without the written consent of the landlord.
Right to Have Guests. A residential tenant has the right to invite guests but cannot allow guests to remain on the premises if the lease provides that their presence will exceed a specific period of time.
Right to Privacy. A residential tenant has a right to quiet enjoyment of the premises. The landlord cannot require the tenant to accept entry into the premises (other than emergency situations).
Section 83.51(1), Florida Statutes.
Permissible Grounds for Lease Break Requirements
In Florida, the law does not regard a residential rental agreement as "sacrosanct." Florida Statutes Section 83.41 specifically states that a residential rental agreement may or may not contain a "residential rental agreement rental unit." Such language is read to mean that a residential rental agreement, in particular those that do not contain a residential rental agreement rental unit do not contain any protections against termination other than those listed in Chapter 83 of Florida Statutes.
Breaking a lease without penalty can be accomplished legally by the following: military service, health or safety violations or "breach of habitability."
Members of the military have protections found in the Serviceman’s Civil Relief Act (SCRA). The SCRA allows an active-duty service member and his or her spouse to terminate a lease if the individual receives permanent change of station orders to another location or is deployed for more than 90 days. To avoid legal liability, the individual must provide written notice of termination to the landlord prior to vacating the premises.
In Florida, a tenant can break a lease due to health and safety violations that landlord either had actual notice of or reasonably should have had notice of (constructive notice). Under Florida Statutes Section 83.51(1), if a landlord is in violation of a rental agreement or fails to comply with Chapter 83, Florida Statutes, the tenant may serve written notice of noncompliance and if the noncompliance continues for seven (7) days, the tenant can terminate the lease or may remedy the noncompliance and deduct any future rent due to the landlord by the amount spent to remedy the breach.
If a lease is violated or terminated as a result of a natural disaster or criminal activity- such as murder- the lease may be broken under Florida Statutes Section 83.651. Under this section, crime victims can terminate their residency, or their survivors can terminate the residency, if a household member is murdered or seriously injured in the leased premises. The same applies to commercial leases.
The last way in which Florida law provides a tenant the right to break a lease is by "breach of habitability." This statutory theory of eviction does not exist in Florida, but may exist in other states. Under this theory, if a landlord violates the warranty of habitability by failing to meet minimum housing standards such as adequate plumbing, heat, security, locks, and/or window latches, then a tenant may terminate a lease without penalty.
Early Termination Provision in Florida
Many leases in Florida contain an early termination clause that allows the tenant to break their lease with notice after providing payment of a set fee. Florida law does not require landlords to offer an early termination clause, but many choose to include it as it can help them limit their liability for vacancies down the road. In exchange for this option, however, the tenant will usually pay a higher per-month rent. Early termination clauses can vary widely from lease to lease. Many allow the tenant to break the lease once they have occupied the premises for at least half the expected term, while others have no minimum occupancy requirement. Illegally breaking a lease in Florida is very costly. Tenants that do so will be responsible for paying for the vacancy period, and will still need to pay any fees outlined in the lease addendum. Tenants that simply authorize an early termination clause in good faith and then experience circumstances that make it impossible for them to fulfill their rental agreement should hire an experienced attorney to help them navigate the situation and determine how to best limit their liability.
Legal Procedure to Terminate a Lease
Should you wish to terminate your lease through legal means, Florida law requires several steps to be taken. Failure to ensure that you take the proper steps may actually mean that you are still legally bound by the lease, and may require you to pay complete rent until the landlord leases the property to someone else.
First, you will always need to notify the landlord in writing of your plan to terminate the lease. Some leases already contain language that allows you to terminate early with 30 days’ notice. Some might contain language that says "All landlords are required to maintain the residence and charge a $50 fee should they fail to do so in a reasonable time" or something similar. However, most residential leases do not have this language, meaning that you must inform the landlord in writing of your desire to cancel the lease.
Second, you will need to present the legal reason for breaking the lease. In Florida, under Florida Statute ยง83.51(1) (part of the Florida Residential Landlord and Tenant Act), landlords are obligated to maintain the residence and to provide "functioning facilities as prescribed by applicable building, housing and health codes … [and] which are otherwise clean, sanitary, and reasonably fit for human occupancy." A breach of any of these can entitle you to terminate your lease.
Other examples of reasons for breaking a lease include: (1) military service; (2) domestic violence; (3) a breach of the lease by the landlord; (4) entering into an agreement with the landlord to terminate the lease early; (5) you being a person over 62 who is responsible for the care of a person requiring special use of the premises; and (6) a documented medical condition requiring relocation to a permanent care setting.
Finally, some landlords will require added documentation to terminate the lease. For instance, if you are relocating because you are the victim of domestic violence, your landlord may have a form for you to fill out documenting the need to relocate, in lieu of simply terminating in writing.
Engaging in Negotiations with Your Landlord
When it comes to ending a rental agreement, tenants have one more option available to them: negotiating with their landlord. Even if a lease has an explicit provision for damages or forfeiting the deposit, it’s still in the landlord’s best interests to come to a mutual agreement with a tenant. Keeping a person in a contract that they want to exit may lead to litigation, and providing credit for the future in exchange for an early exit is often the path of least resistance.
In many cases, landlords will attempt to negotiate during the process of developing the rental agreement itself. However, if the rent is due and the time has come to leave, this is not usually possible. This is where the tenant’s ability to negotiate can come into play. This is a potential whammy for landlords looking for passive income rather than negotiating disputes.
As with most negotiations, two key components will determine whether or not the conversation is successful: timing and communication. Depending on the lease agreement, a tenant may only be allowed to dispute a charge in writing within a particular timeframe. In Florida, tenants cannot bring a lawsuit against a landlord for failure to make repairs until 7 days after the first written notice of the potential violation; the landlord then has 7 days to respond. Failing to send a written notice when required may forfeit the tenant’s right to sue.
When negotiating to break a lease early, once again the tenant must follow any relevant procedures. When addressing issues during the lease , for example, the tenant must pay full rent on time whether or not the unit’s plumbing is broken. This means that the tenant the balance due plus court costs. If the tenant is willing to pay all of the outstanding balance on a rental, they should do so before or while negotiating guidelines on breaking the lease.
Communicating issues at hand to the landlord directly may be preferable to use of a mediator. Maybe the tenant has missed a payment or paid the incorrect amount. If the tenant has communicated the situation to the landlord, it may be faster to simply pay the back rent and ask to terminate the lease early. Even outside the context of punctuality, misunderstanding on one part or another may be the result of poor communication and can be quickly resolved through discussion.
If the above-mentioned strategies fail, it may be necessary to compromise. Tenants may be asked to cover the landlord’s advertising costs when re-renting the property, or may need to pay to chemically treat carpets, remove broken appliances, and otherwise restore the property to its original condition. If the tenant is not interested in paying the full cost, then it may be best to move out in as clean and damage-free state as possible, and hope the good graces of the existing landlord bring about some kind of compromise.
When negotiating with their landlord, the most important strategy for a tenant is simply to be honest. Failing to fully disclose the situation will put the tenant in a position of having to take responsibility for additional violations.
Possible Legal Ramifications of Lease Break Requirements
Though some may be under the impression that once a tenant breaks the lease by moving out, the obligation to pay rent is removed, this is absolutely untrue. When a tenant breaks a lease, they are still liable for the remaining rent, unless another arrangement has been made. Unfortunately, there may be other consequences that an unknowing tenant would not expect but should be aware of:
- A civil suit. If the tenant breaks the lease agreement and vacates the premises without properly breaking the lease, the landlord has the right to sue the tenant for the remaining months, damages, attorneys’ fees and costs, even if the tenant was not evicted, as long as the tenant is still subject to the lease agreement. The tenant could be found liable for damages above the amount of the security deposit.
- Landlord’s ability to sue in small claims court. Even if the amount sought by the landlord is under the jurisdictional limit of $5,000, the landlord is allowed to file suit in the county court and may obtain a judgment that could then be sent to a collection agency.
- Damage to the tenant’s credit report. If the landlord obtains a judgment for the balance owed under the lease, that judgment can then be lowered to a judgment lien against any real or personal property belonging to the defendant, in this case the tenant. This lien would have to be satisfied before the tenant could sell or transfer their healthy property. However, if the tenant breaks a lease and is evicted, that eviction will not appear on their credit report and leave a stain for all to see.
- Emails, phone calls and letters to you from your former landlord or property manager. While the former landlord or property manager may just move on with the property as if it were never rented, they may also be relentless in communicating with the tenant who broke the lease. Relief of the debt may only come after the tenant is aware of the suit brought against them and seeks the help of a qualified attorney.
Seeking Professional Guidance
If you are thinking of breaking a lease without just cause or legal basis, it’s important to seek professional legal guidance as soon as possible. Rental laws vary by state, and Florida’s statutes are no exception. A legal expert or tenant rights organization may be able to help you establish a just cause for breaking your lease . They can also negotiate with landlords on your behalf to find a compromise that resolves the lease agreement while also protecting your interests. Not all landlords are willing to be reasonable and flexible, which makes it even more important to have an advocate from a legal organization to help ensure that your rights and interests are properly protected.
