Category Archives: Landlord Tenant
Explaining Habitability In Florida Rental Units
The idea of a warranty of habitability is an often-discussed one when renting a Florida dwelling. While the phrase is not stated verbatim in any of the relevant statutes, it essentially means that a tenant has the right to live in a dwelling that is safe, sanitary, and livable. That said, the meaning of… Read More »
Landlord-Tenant Communications Made Easier By Changes In Law
In general, one of the most difficult things about renting a home is communication between landlord and tenant. Both may have busy schedules, and it can sometimes be difficult to find time to touch base, even about important things. Recently, Florida’s legislature took a big step toward modernizing and simplifying landlord-tenant communication by passing… Read More »
Explaining Florida’s Fair Housing Act
When a landlord is looking for good tenants to occupy a dwelling, they can rent to whomever they see fit – in theory. In reality, federal and state law restricts a landlord from making choices based on discriminatory characteristics. Florida’s Fair Housing Act, like its federal counterpart, establishes protections for potential renters to ensure… Read More »
Can Landlords Ever Legally Disclose Tenant Information?
Landlords and tenants can interact with each other in many different ways, and have many different types of relationships. However, there are certain responsibilities that landlords and tenants have to each other, and one of them involves privacy rights. A landlord has an obligation to preserve the privacy rights of their tenants, and only… Read More »
How Many Is “Too Many” People In One Rental House?
On average, a Florida rental property will have an occupancy limit, even if it is not communicated to a potential renter at first – many landlords simply assume that a tenant will not breach it, and thus it is not worth bringing up. However, tenants may also simply ignore the limit if they choose… Read More »
Security Deposits In Landlord-Tenant Law
Nowadays, most residential leases require what is known as a security deposit, given to the landlord before a tenant can move into a home or apartment. Security deposits ostensibly provide some financial protection to landlords, though they can also be the impetus for some of the most common disagreements between landlords and tenants. If… Read More »
Landlord Responsibilities For Repairing Florida Dwellings
If you are a landlord and enter into a contract with a tenant to rent your dwelling, both you and the tenant have certain responsibilities you must uphold in order for the contract to exist unbroken. One of a landlord’s major duties is to ‘upkeep’ the residence, including heat or air conditioning if it… Read More »
Explaining The Florida Landlord’s Right Of Entry
In this day and age, the right to privacy has become more important than ever, and nowhere is this more evident than in one’s home. A right to privacy and quiet enjoyment of one’s home is enshrined in Florida’s common law and in its jurisprudence, but if you are renting, there is one important… Read More »
Landlords, Tenants, and Subleases In Florida
Subleases are common in residential landlord-tenant law, allowing a tenant who has to suddenly leave to ensure their commitment to the landlord is fulfilled by assigning the rent obligation to someone else. However, the landlord has the right to veto a sublease in most cases if they suspect the obligation will not be met…. Read More »
What A Landlord Cannot Do In Florida
Renting residential premises – whether a house, apartment, or other type of dwelling space – is essentially a contract between the landlord and the tenant. Each party agrees to perform certain actions, and to refrain from performing others, so that a ‘meeting of the minds’ can happen in order to enact the contract. A… Read More »