Miya’s Law in Florida: Background Checks, Notice, and Key Logs

Miya’s Law is a Florida statute, effective July 1, 2022, that requires apartment landlords to run nationwide background checks on their employees, give tenants at least 24 hours’ notice before entering a unit for repairs, and keep written logs and policies for every key issued on the property.¹ The law was passed as Senate Bill 898 after the 2021 murder of Miya Marcano, a 19-year-old killed by a maintenance worker who used a master key fob to enter her apartment without permission. Each of its three main requirements targets one of the failures that made that crime possible.

Which Apartments and Employees Are Covered

Miya’s Law applies to landlords of apartment buildings classified under Florida Statute 509.242 as either nontransient or transient apartments.² A nontransient apartment is a building or complex where at least 75 percent of the units are rented to long-term tenants. A transient apartment is one where more than 25 percent of the units are marketed for short-term stays.³ Most conventional apartment complexes fall within one of those two categories.

Stand-alone single-family rentals, duplexes, and quads that are not part of a licensed apartment complex are outside those classifications, so the screening and key-log requirements written into Miya’s Law do not reach them. The 24-hour notice rule sits in a different statute (Section 83.53) and applies more broadly to residential rentals under Florida’s Landlord and Tenant Act.

On the employment side, the background-check requirement covers “each employee of the establishment,” which includes leasing agents, office staff, and maintenance workers.² The statute uses the word “employee” and does not expressly address independent contractors, so landlords who rely on outside vendors for maintenance or cleaning should get legal advice rather than assume those workers are exempt.

What the Background Check Must Include

Every covered landlord must require a background screening as a condition of employment. The screening has to be done through a consumer reporting agency, comply with the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act, and cover criminal history plus the sexual predator and sexual offender registries in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.² A single-state check does not satisfy the law.

The statute lets a landlord disqualify an applicant, but does not force the issue. The operative word is “may.”² Two categories of criminal history give a landlord that authority:

Any criminal offense showing disregard for the safety of others that would be a felony or first-degree misdemeanor in Florida.
Any violent offense in any jurisdiction, including but not limited to murder, sexual battery, robbery, carjacking, home-invasion robbery, and stalking.¹

The violent-offense list is not exhaustive; other violent crimes can support a denial too.

The 24-Hour Notice Rule for Entry

Miya’s Law amended Florida Statute 83.53 to require landlords to give tenants at least 24 hours’ notice before entering a unit for repairs. The previous minimum was 12 hours. Entry must occur between 7:30 a.m. and 8:00 p.m.⁴ The statute does not require a particular delivery method, but written notice is easier to prove later.

The 24-hour minimum is specific to repairs. For other permitted reasons to enter, such as showing the unit to prospective tenants or making improvements the tenant has already agreed to, the statute simply requires “reasonable notice” without setting an hour count.⁴

When a Landlord Can Enter Without Notice

Several situations override the 24-hour rule:

Protection or preservation of the premises, such as a fire or burst pipe.
Any emergency requiring urgent access.
The tenant consents to entry.
The tenant unreasonably withholds consent to entry for a purpose the statute allows.
The tenant is absent for at least half of the rental period without giving the landlord notice. If the rent is current and the tenant did give notice of the absence, the landlord may still enter only with consent or to protect the property.

Even inside those exceptions, the statute forbids landlords from abusing the right of access or using it to harass tenants.⁴

Key Logs and Written Access Policies

SB 898 also set operational rules for how apartment management handles unit keys. Management must keep a log tracking the issuance and return of keys for every dwelling unit, and must adopt written policies covering how keys are issued, returned, and stored, and who has access to unissued keys.¹ This is the piece of the law aimed most directly at the Marcano case, where a maintenance worker took a master key fob with no meaningful oversight.

During the Division of Hotels and Restaurants’ annual inspection, the landlord must be able to produce proof of compliance on request.¹ The statute does not spell out a specific penalty for a key-control failure, but DBPR enforcement of public lodging standards can include fines and, in serious cases, action against a property’s operating license.

What You Can Do If a Landlord Enters Without Proper Notice

If a landlord enters your unit without the required notice or uses the right of access to harass you, Section 83.67 of the Florida Residential Landlord and Tenant Act makes the landlord liable for the greater of your actual damages or three months’ rent, plus court costs and attorney’s fees.⁵ Separate incidents can support separate damage awards.

Tenants who report unauthorized entries are also protected from retaliation. A landlord cannot raise the rent, cut services, or move to evict you because you exercised a right under the statute. Document every entry: the date, the time, who entered, and whether you got notice. That record is what makes a Section 83.67 claim work in court.

1
Florida Senate. CS for SB 898, 1st Engrossed 2022
2
Florida Senate. Florida Code 83.515 – Background Screening of Apartment Employees; Employment Disqualification
3
Florida Senate. Florida Code 509.242 – Public Lodging Establishments; Classifications
4
Florida Senate. Florida Code 83.53 – Landlords Access to Dwelling Unit
5
Florida Senate. Chapter 83 – 2025 Florida Statutes