Florida Lease Agreement Requirements and Disclosures

A Florida lease agreement must identify the landlord, the tenant, and the rental property, and it must state the lease term, the rent amount, and when rent is due. On top of those core terms, Florida law layers on required written disclosures and a set of statutory rules that apply whether the lease mentions them or not. Getting the Florida lease agreement requirements right matters on both sides of the signature: landlords who skip a disclosure can lose the right to keep a deposit or enforce a penalty, and tenants who sign without knowing their protections may give up money or rights they didn’t have to.

Core Terms Every Florida Lease Should Identify

At the contract level, a Florida residential lease needs the basics: who the landlord is, who the tenant is, which unit is being rented, how long the tenancy lasts, how much the rent is, and when it’s due. Florida law does not set a statutory grace period for late rent and does not cap late fees, so whatever the lease says on those points controls.

The landlord also must disclose, in writing at or before the start of the tenancy, the name and address of the landlord or an authorized agent who can receive legal notices on the landlord’s behalf.¹ That designation stays in effect until the tenant is notified of a change. Without a valid notice address, a tenant has no reliable way to deliver the written notices Florida law requires for maintenance complaints, rent withholding, or lease termination.

Required Written Disclosures

Radon Gas Warning

Every Florida lease (except short-term stays of 45 days or less) must contain a specific radon warning. The required language reads: “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.”²

Lead-Based Paint (Pre-1978 Housing)

For any rental unit in housing built before 1978, federal law requires a lead-based paint disclosure before the lease is signed. The landlord must share any known information about lead-paint hazards in the unit, provide copies of any available reports, include a lead warning statement in the lease itself, and give the tenant the EPA pamphlet “Protect Your Family From Lead in Your Home.”³

Landlord or Agent Address

The notice-recipient disclosure described above counts as the third required disclosure, and it carries the same consequences for omission as the other two: tenants cannot be charged with notice they had no way to deliver.

Security Deposit Terms the Lease Should Reflect

Florida does not cap the amount of a security deposit, but Section 83.49 tightly controls how the money is held. A landlord has three choices: a non-interest-bearing account at a Florida bank kept separate from personal funds; a separate interest-bearing account at a Florida bank where the tenant earns either 75% of the annualized average interest rate on that account or 5% simple annual interest (landlord’s choice); or a surety bond posted with the clerk of the circuit court in the county where the property sits, in the total amount of deposits held or $50,000, whichever is less.⁴

Within 30 days of receiving the deposit, the landlord must give the tenant written notice stating which method is being used and identifying the financial institution or the location of the bond.⁴ Skipping this notice can forfeit the landlord’s right to make any later claim against the deposit.

At move-out, if there is no claim for damages, the landlord has 15 days to return the full deposit plus any required interest. To keep part or all of it, the landlord must send written notice by certified mail to the tenant’s last known address within 30 days after the tenant vacates, stating the reason for the claim.⁴ The tenant then has 15 days to object. No objection in that window, and the landlord can collect on the claim and return whatever remains.

Statutory Rules the Lease Cannot Override

Maintenance Obligations

The landlord must comply with all applicable building, housing, and health codes. If no code applies, the landlord must keep roofs, windows, doors, floors, exterior walls, foundations, and structural components in good repair, and plumbing in reasonable working condition.⁵ For multi-unit properties (anything other than a single-family home or duplex), the landlord must also provide pest control, locks and keys, clean and safe common areas, garbage removal, and working heat, running water, and hot water. Single-family home and duplex landlords have narrower defaults that can be modified in writing, but they must install working smoke detectors at the start of the tenancy.

Tenants have their own duties under Section 83.52: keep the unit clean and sanitary, dispose of garbage properly, maintain plumbing fixtures, use appliances reasonably, avoid causing damage, and not disturb the neighbors.⁶

Landlord’s Right of Entry

A tenant cannot unreasonably refuse the landlord access for inspections, repairs, agreed improvements, or showings. For repairs, the landlord must give at least 24 hours’ written notice and enter only between 7:30 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. For other purposes, entry requires the tenant’s consent, an emergency, or the tenant’s unreasonable refusal. A landlord may also enter without consent if the tenant has been absent for at least half of the rental period (two weeks on a monthly lease, for example), unless the tenant notified the landlord of the absence and rent is current.⁷ A landlord may never abuse entry rights or use them to harass a tenant.

Prohibited Landlord Practices

Section 83.67 bans self-help eviction regardless of what the lease says. A landlord cannot shut off utilities, change the locks, or otherwise block the tenant from accessing the unit to force them out, and cannot remove outside doors, locks, roofs, walls, or windows except for legitimate repair.⁸ A tenant’s personal property stays put unless the tenant surrenders or abandons the unit or a lawful eviction has occurred. The only lawful route to remove a tenant is the court process. Landlords also cannot discriminate against servicemembers in offering a rental or in setting lease terms.

Florida law also bars retaliation. A landlord cannot raise rent, cut services, or threaten eviction because a tenant complained to a government agency about code violations, joined a tenant organization, gave the landlord notice of maintenance failures, or exercised fair housing rights.⁹

Termination and Notice Terms

Fixed-Term Leases

A fixed-term lease ends on the date it specifies. The lease can require the tenant to give notice before vacating at the end of the term, but the required notification window must sit between 30 and 60 days, and the same obligation must apply to the landlord if the lease will not be renewed.¹⁰

If the lease includes liquidated damages for a tenant’s failure to give that notice, the landlord must send a separate written reminder at least 15 days before the notification period begins, listing the tenant’s obligations and any fees that would apply. Without that reminder, the liquidated damages provision is unenforceable. A tenant who stays on with the landlord’s permission after the lease expires and then leaves without giving 30 days’ notice owes an additional month’s rent.

Periodic Tenancies (No Fixed End Date)

When the lease has no specific term, either side can end it by giving written notice tied to the rent interval:¹¹

Year-to-year: at least 60 days before the end of the annual period.
Quarter-to-quarter: at least 30 days before the end of the quarter.
Month-to-month: at least 30 days before the end of the month.
Week-to-week: at least 7 days before the end of the week.

Protections the Lease Cannot Waive

Fair Housing

Every Florida lease is subject to the federal Fair Housing Act, which prohibits discrimination in the rental of housing based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, familial status, or disability.¹² A landlord cannot refuse to rent, set different terms, or provide different services based on these characteristics.

Assistance animals are a common point of confusion. Under federal law, landlords must grant reasonable accommodations for tenants with disabilities who need an assistance animal, including emotional support animals, even if the property has a no-pets policy. Pet deposits and fees must be waived for a qualifying assistance animal.¹³ A landlord can deny the request only if the specific animal poses a direct threat to safety, would cause significant property damage no other accommodation could prevent, or if granting it would impose an undue burden.

Servicemember Lease Termination

Active-duty military personnel can terminate a residential lease early without penalty under the federal Servicemembers Civil Relief Act when the lease was signed before entering military service, or when the servicemember receives permanent change of station orders, deployment orders for 90 or more days, or separation or retirement orders.¹⁴

The servicemember delivers written notice with a copy of the orders. For monthly rent, termination takes effect 30 days after the next rent payment is due following delivery of the notice. Lease provisions that try to impose early termination fees, mileage requirements between duty stations, or repayment of rent concessions on servicemembers are generally unenforceable.¹⁵ If a servicemember dies during military service, the spouse can terminate the lease within one year of the death.

1
Florida Senate. Florida Code 83.50 – Disclosure of Landlord’s Address
2
Florida Department of Health. Notification on Real Estate Documents
3
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Lead-Based Paint Disclosure Rule (Section 1018 of Title X)
4
Florida Senate. Florida Code 83.49 – Deposit Money or Advance Rent
5
Justia Law. Florida Code 83.51 – Landlord’s Obligation to Maintain Premises
6
Florida Senate. Florida Code 83.52 – Tenant’s Obligation to Maintain Dwelling Unit
7
Online Sunshine. Florida Statutes Chapter 83 – Section 83.53 Landlord’s Access to Dwelling Unit
8
Online Sunshine. Florida Code 83.67 – Prohibited Practices
9
Justia Law. Florida Code 83.64 – Retaliatory Conduct
10
Florida Senate. Florida Code 83.575 – Termination of Tenancy With Specific Duration
11
Justia Law. Florida Code 83.57 – Termination of Tenancy Without Specific Term
12
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 3604 – Discrimination in the Sale or Rental of Housing
13
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Assistance Animals
14
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 50 USC 3955 – Termination of Residential or Motor Vehicle Leases
15
U.S. Department of Justice. Financial and Housing Rights