Florida Landlord Law Changes, 2022 to 2026: What Is New

Every Florida landlord-tenant change since 2022: state preemption, 30-day notices, deposit alternatives, squatter removal, email notices, flood disclosure.

By Seayora Editorial Team · Published October 23, 2026 · Facts checked October 23, 2026 · 5 min read

Short answer: Florida has changed its landlord-tenant law every year since 2022. Repair entry now needs 24 hours’ notice. Since July 1, 2023 the State alone regulates residential tenancies, a month-to-month tenancy needs 30 days’ notice to end, and landlords may offer a fee in lieu of a security deposit. In 2024 owners gained a sheriff-assisted way to remove squatters. In 2025 the parties gained the option to exchange notices by email and landlords had to start giving a flood disclosure with leases of a year or longer. From October 1, 2026, renting a home with a forged identity is a felony and the tenancy can be ended on seven days’ notice.

Key takeaways

Local governments may no longer regulate screening, deposits, application fees, lease terms, disclosures or notices.
Month-to-month: 30 days’ notice to end; the nonpayment notice is still three days, excluding weekends and court holidays.
Email notices count only with a signed addendum in the statutory form.
Flood disclosure: a separate document before signing any lease of one year or longer.

What changed in 2022?

Miya’s Law (chapter 2022-222) raised the notice a landlord must give before entering a unit for repairs from 12 hours to 24 hours. Entry for repairs must still be between 7:30 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. (Fla. Stat. § 83.53). The same law requires apartment landlords licensed as public lodging establishments to background screen their employees and keep a log of unit keys.

What changed on July 1, 2023?

HB 1417 (chapter 2023-314) preempted the regulation of residential tenancies to the State (Fla. Stat. § 83.425). The statute supersedes any local regulation of the screening process, security deposits, rental applications and their fees, lease terms and conditions, the rights and responsibilities of landlord and tenant, disclosures, fees charged by the landlord, and notice requirements. Local tenant bills of rights adopted before then stopped applying to the matters the statute covers.

The same law raised the notice needed to end a month-to-month tenancy from 15 days to 30 days before the end of a monthly period (Fla. Stat. § 83.57), and provided that a fixed-term lease requiring notice before move-out may require no less than 30 and no more than 60 days.

A separate 2023 law (chapter 2023-181) lets a landlord offer a fee in lieu of a security deposit for leases entered into or renewed on or after July 1, 2023 (Fla. Stat. § 83.491). Offering it is optional. The tenant must sign a written agreement with the statutory disclosure, may switch to paying the deposit at any time, and must be told within 30 days after the tenancy ends of any amounts due. The landlord may not file a claim with an insurer until at least 15 days after that notice and may not collect the same amount from both the tenant and an insurer.

What changed in 2024?

HB 621 (chapter 2024-44), approved March 27, 2024, created a limited alternative to an eviction for squatters (Fla. Stat. § 82.036). An owner may ask the sheriff to remove people unlawfully occupying a residential dwelling by filing a verified complaint, but only if every condition is met:

The occupants entered unlawfully, the property was not open to the public when they entered, and the owner has told them to leave.
They are not current or former tenants under any written or oral rental agreement the owner authorized, and they are not immediate family members of the owner.
No litigation about the property is pending between the owner and any known occupant.

The sheriff serves a notice to vacate immediately and puts the owner in possession. Someone wrongfully removed may recover actual damages, statutory damages of three times the fair market rent, costs and attorney’s fees, so the remedy is never a shortcut around evicting a tenant. Also in 2024, chapter 2024-199 widened where deposit money may be held, from a Florida banking institution to any insured Florida financial institution, which now includes credit unions, trust companies and savings associations authorized to do business in the state (Fla. Stat. § 83.49).

What changed in 2025?

HB 615 (chapter 2025-16), effective July 1, 2025, allows a landlord and a tenant to deliver any notice required under the residential part of chapter 83 by email, but only if both have signed an addendum to the lease in the statutory form and each has designated an email address (Fla. Stat. § 83.505). Either party may revoke the election or change the address by written notice. An emailed notice counts as delivered when sent unless it bounces, and the sender must keep a copy and proof of transmission.

SB 948 (chapter 2025-166), effective October 1, 2025, requires a landlord to give a prospective tenant a flood disclosure in a separate document at or before signing a lease of one year or longer (Fla. Stat. § 83.512). It states whether the landlord knows of flooding that damaged the unit during the landlord’s ownership, has filed a flood insurance claim for the unit, or has received flood assistance such as FEMA aid, and it warns that renters’ insurance does not cover floods. If a landlord fails to give it and the tenant’s belongings suffer substantial flood damage, the tenant may end the lease within 30 days and recover rent paid in advance.

What changed in 2026?

HB 1293 (chapter 2026-143), effective October 1, 2026, made it a third-degree felony to take possession of a rental home by knowingly lying about identity on a rental application, presenting forged documents such as a driver license, bank statement or paystub, or impersonating the applicant (chapter 2026-143). It also made fraudulent entry a lease violation the tenant has no chance to cure, so the landlord may terminate with a seven-day notice whether or not criminal charges have been filed.

What did not change?

The nonpayment notice is still three days, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and court-observed holidays (Fla. Stat. § 83.56). A 2026 bill to lengthen it to five days did not pass.
A security deposit is returned within 15 days if the landlord makes no claim. To keep any of it, the landlord must send written notice of the claim within 30 days by certified mail, or by email under a signed addendum, and the tenant has 15 days to object.
Florida has no statewide rent control, and local rent control is preempted.

Frequently asked questions

Can a Florida city pass its own tenant protections?

Not on the matters chapter 83 covers. Since July 1, 2023, Fla. Stat. § 83.425 preempts local regulation of screening, deposits, applications and fees, lease terms, disclosures, landlord fees and notice requirements.

How much notice ends a month-to-month lease in Florida?

30 days before the end of a monthly period, since July 1, 2023. It was 15 days before that.

Can a Florida landlord send notices by email?

Yes, since July 1, 2025, but only if both parties signed a lease addendum in the form in Fla. Stat. § 83.505 and designated email addresses. Otherwise the usual delivery methods apply.

Does a Florida landlord have to disclose flooding?

Yes, since October 1, 2025, for any lease of one year or longer, in a separate document given at or before signing.

State-by-state rules

How much notice must a landlord give to end a tenancy? — compared across 47 states and the District of Columbia
How much notice does a landlord have to give before entering? — compared across 23 states and the District of Columbia
How many days does a tenant get to pay late rent? — compared across 48 states and the District of Columbia
How long does a landlord have to return a security deposit? — compared across 48 states and the District of Columbia

Sources

Chapter 83, Part II, Residential Tenancies (2026 Florida Statutes), The Florida Senate
Fla. Stat. § 83.425, Preemption, The Florida Senate
Laws of Florida, chapter 2023-314 (CS/HB 1417), Florida Department of State
Fla. Stat. § 83.491, Fee in lieu of security deposit, The Florida Senate
Fla. Stat. § 82.036, Limited alternative remedy to remove unauthorized persons, The Florida Senate
Laws of Florida, chapter 2025-16 (CS/CS/CS/HB 615), Florida Department of State
Fla. Stat. § 83.512, Disclosure of flood risks to prospective tenant, The Florida Senate
Laws of Florida, chapter 2025-166 (CS/CS/SB 948), Florida Department of State
Laws of Florida, chapter 2026-143 (CS/HB 1293), Florida Department of State
Laws of Florida, chapter 2022-222 (Miya’s Law), Florida Department of State
Fla. Stat. § 83.53, Landlord’s access to dwelling unit, The Florida Senate
Fla. Stat. § 83.57, Termination of tenancy without specific term, The Florida Senate
Fla. Stat. § 83.49, Deposit money or advance rent, The Florida Senate
Fla. Stat. § 83.505, Electronic delivery of notices, The Florida Senate
Fla. Stat. § 83.56, Termination of rental agreement, The Florida Senate

How Seayora helps

Lease renewals and endings: Computes Florida’s 30-day month-to-month notice and the 15- and 30-day deposit deadlines from the dates on the lease.

This article is general information, not legal advice. Landlord-tenant law varies by state and city and changes often, so check the current rule for your property and talk to an attorney before acting on a dispute.

How we write and check these guides: editorial standards.

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