Under Florida Statute 83.57, ending a periodic rental agreement when no one has breached the lease requires written notice: at least 60 days for a year-to-year tenancy, 30 days for a quarter-to-quarter or month-to-month tenancy, and 7 days for a week-to-week tenancy. The same deadlines apply whether the landlord or the tenant is giving notice, and the notice must expire before the next rental period begins.
When Section 83.57 Applies
Section 83.57 governs tenancies “without a specific duration.” If you signed a one-year lease with a fixed end date, this statute is not the one you need. It applies when the rental agreement has no set end date, or when a fixed-term lease has expired and the tenant has kept paying rent on a periodic basis without signing a new agreement.
Florida Statute 83.46 sets how the type of periodic tenancy is determined: it follows the interval at which rent is payable. Monthly rent creates a month-to-month tenancy, weekly rent creates a week-to-week tenancy, and so on for quarterly and yearly payments.1Justia Law. Florida Code 83.46 – Rent; Duration of Tenancies
The Four Notice Periods
Either party can start the termination. The minimums are:
- Year-to-year: at least 60 days’ notice before the end of any annual period.
- Quarter-to-quarter: at least 30 days’ notice before the end of any quarterly period.
- Month-to-month: at least 30 days’ notice before the end of any monthly period.
- Week-to-week: at least 7 days’ notice before the end of any weekly period.
You can give more notice than the statute requires, but not less.2Justia Law. Florida Code 83.57 – Termination of Tenancy Without Specific Term
If you remember a 15-day notice rule for month-to-month tenancies, you are working from outdated information. Florida amended the statute in 2023 (Chapter 2023-314) to raise the month-to-month notice period from 15 days to 30 days. Any month-to-month tenancy terminated today needs the full 30.
Delivering the Notice
A notice that arrives late, or by a method the statute does not recognize, does nothing. Section 83.56(4) sets the acceptable delivery methods for the written notices required under 83.57:
- Hand delivery of a true copy to the other party.
- Mailing a true copy.
- Leaving a copy at the residence if the tenant is absent from the premises.
- Email, but only if both parties signed an addendum to the rental agreement specifically agreeing to electronic delivery of notices and providing valid email addresses for that purpose.
The email option comes with strings attached. Under Section 83.505, electronic delivery is valid only when both parties signed a separate addendum that conspicuously states the election is voluntary and can be revoked at any time. An emailed notice is considered delivered when sent, unless it bounces back as undeliverable, and the sender must keep both a copy of the notice and proof of transmission.3Online Sunshine. Florida Statutes Chapter 83 – Landlord and Tenant If you never signed an email addendum, use hand delivery or mail. A text message does not satisfy the statute, addendum or not.
Counting the Days Without Missing the Deadline
This is where terminations fail. The notice period must run out before the next rental period begins. You cannot end a tenancy mid-period; the termination date has to land on the last day of the current cycle.
Take a month-to-month tenancy with rent due on the first. To terminate at the end of August, you need 30 full days of notice before September 1, which means the notice has to be delivered by August 1. The day of delivery is typically excluded from the count, so delivering on August 1 gives the recipient August 2 through August 31, exactly 30 days. Deliver on August 2 instead, and those 30 days run through September 1, which is already the start of the next rental period. The August termination fails and the tenancy rolls into September, ending September 30 at the earliest.
The same math applies to the other tenancy types. A week-to-week tenancy running Monday through Sunday needs notice by the prior Monday for a Sunday termination. Quarterly tenancies use the 30-day clock against the quarter’s end date. Year-to-year tenancies need 60 full days before the annual period renews.2Justia Law. Florida Code 83.57 – Termination of Tenancy Without Specific Term
Missing by one day does not create a grace period or partially terminate the tenancy. It renews for the full next cycle, and the notice process starts over.
If the Tenant Stays Past the Termination Date
When a landlord has delivered proper notice and the tenant remains after the termination date without permission, the tenant becomes a holdover. Section 83.58 gives the landlord two remedies: file an eviction lawsuit under Section 83.59 to recover possession, and recover double the rent for the entire holdover period.4Justia Law. Florida Code 83.58 – Remedies; Tenant Holding Over A court can impose the double-rent penalty for the full period the tenant refuses to leave, on top of any attorney’s fees and court costs that follow a successful eviction judgment.
The landlord cannot bypass the courts. Section 83.67 prohibits self-help tactics like changing locks, removing doors, or hauling out a tenant’s belongings. The lawful path runs through county court, using the summary procedure set out in Section 83.59.5Online Sunshine. Florida Statutes 83.59 – Right of Action for Possession
How This Differs From Termination for Cause
Section 83.57 is for clean breaks. Neither party is accusing the other of breaching the lease, and no explanation is required in the notice beyond the intent to terminate and the effective date.
Termination for cause runs on a different track under Section 83.56. A landlord terminating for unpaid rent must serve a three-day notice demanding payment and give the tenant a chance to cure. For other lease violations, the landlord serves a seven-day notice with an opportunity to fix the problem. Those notice-and-cure requirements have no counterpart in 83.57, because there is no alleged breach to cure. A landlord who uses the no-cause process to shortcut around a for-cause situation, or who confuses the notice periods between the two statutes, risks having the eviction case dismissed.
Military Tenants and the SCRA
Federal law overrides Florida’s notice periods for qualifying servicemembers. Under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (50 U.S.C. ยง 3955), a military tenant can terminate a residential lease early after entering active duty, receiving permanent change of station orders, or being deployed for 90 days or more. The tenant delivers written notice with a copy of the military orders.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 50 USC 3955 – Termination of Residential or Motor Vehicle Leases
For a lease with monthly rent, termination takes effect 30 days after the first date the next rent payment is due following delivery of the notice. The landlord cannot charge early termination fees or penalties. The tenant still owes rent through the effective termination date and remains responsible for damage beyond normal wear and tear. Delivery can be by hand, private carrier, return-receipt mail, or electronic means reasonably calculated to reach the landlord.
Fixed-Term Leases Are Not Covered
If your lease has a fixed end date and no renewal clause, Section 83.57 does not apply. The tenancy ends on the date stated in the agreement. Section 83.575 governs situations where a lease with a set term includes a notice-before-vacating clause, and it requires any such clause to bind both landlord and tenant reciprocally within a 30-to-60-day window.7Florida Senate. Chapter 83 – 2025 Florida Statutes Section 83.57 becomes the operative rule only once a fixed-term lease has expired and the tenant continues paying rent periodically without a new agreement, converting the arrangement into a periodic tenancy.