The Florida Fair Housing Act of 1968 was designed to protect tenants from unfair treatment by landlords. The current Florida Statutes incorporate these principles and lay out the rights and responsibilities of both the landlord and the tenant. Read Do’s and Don’t’s: What Your Florida Landlord is Responsible For to learn about the landlord’s responsibilities.
Tenant’s responsibilities
The tenant’s responsibilities are defined in 2017 Florida Statutes paragraph 83.52:
Landlords and property owners who rent out their property to tenants must fulfill certain legal obligations in Florida. Under Florida law, tenants are equal parties with the landlord and have rights and responsibilities, just as the landlord does.
What the landlord can’t do
The Florida Fair Housing Act of 1968 protects Florida tenants from unfair or unsafe landlord behavior. Under this law, landlords may not:
Florida Habitability Laws clearly delineate the responsibilities of landlords to provide safe, habitable living environments. The laws list what landlords are responsible for maintaining and repairing in their rental property. The laws also provide for tenant options when the landlord does not make repairs in a timely manner.
The types of housing that are covered by the habitability laws are single-family and multi-family homes, as well as mobile home parks and condos (if a renter is occupying the unit). The habitability laws do not specifically address RV parks. Hotels/motels and fraternities/sororities/clubs are not included under the habitability laws.
Landlord responsibilities
South Florida Injury Lawyer Blog