Florida Lease Agreements for Landlords

Florida has no required lease form, but every residential lease, or a document signed with it, must carry the radon notice set out word for word in Fla. Stat. section 404.056(5), and you must give the tenant your name and an address for notices before the tenancy starts. Add a federal lead disclosure for a home built before 1978 and, if you take a deposit and rent five or more units, the deposit notice. For a lease of one year or longer, give the tenant a separate flood disclosure at or before signing. A lease longer than one year must be in writing and signed to be enforced, and any clause that waives a tenant's rights under the Landlord and Tenant Act is void.

What must a Florida lease include or come with?

The radon notice must read:

"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."

The notice does not require you to test for radon. For the lead disclosure, keep the signed copy for 3 years after the lease begins. If the person authorized to receive notices changes, deliver the new name and address to the tenant's unit, or by email if the tenant signed an email-notice addendum under section 83.505. Our guide to Florida security deposit laws covers the deposit notice wording and the move-out claim rules.

When does a Florida lease have to be in writing?

Under section 725.01, a lease "for a period longer than 1 year" cannot be enforced in court unless it, or a note of it, is in writing and signed by the party you are trying to hold to it. Section 83.43(13) recognizes oral rental agreements for terms of less than one year. Even a shorter lease needs a signed writing if it cannot be completed within one year of being made. See whether a verbal rental agreement is legally binding for what an unwritten tenancy still requires of you.

Several Florida remedies work only if they are written into the lease, including the end-of-term notice clause, the early termination fee addendum, and a fee in lieu of a deposit. For a single-family home or duplex, any shift of repair duties to the tenant must also be in writing; see Florida landlord maintenance obligations.

How much notice ends a month-to-month tenancy?

Section 83.57 sets the minimum written notice for a tenancy with no fixed end date:

The 30-day month-to-month period comes from a 2023 law (chapter 2023-314); older lease forms that say 15 days are out of date. Deliver the notice by mail, by hand, by leaving a copy at the unit if the tenant is absent, or by email under a signed section 83.505 addendum. Example: to end a month-to-month tenancy on October 31, the tenant must receive your notice by October 1. Mailing it in late September leaves room for delivery.

How should you draft end-of-term, early termination, and fee terms?

End-of-term notice (section 83.575). A fixed-term lease can require the tenant to tell you before moving out at the end of the term, but only if the same clause requires you to tell the tenant within that period if you will not renew. The notice period cannot be shorter than 30 days or longer than 60 days for either side. To collect liquidated damages (a payment amount set in the lease) from a tenant who leaves without that notice, you must send a written reminder within the 15 days before the notice period starts, listing the tenant's obligations, the lease end date, and every fee that applies. Example: a lease ending June 30 with a 60-day notice clause has a notice period starting May 1, so your reminder goes out from April 16 through April 30. A tenant who stays past the end date with your permission owes one additional month's rent if they then fail to give the written month-to-month termination notice required by section 83.57(3), at least 30 days before the end of a monthly rental period.

Early termination fee (section 83.595). You may agree with the tenant on liquidated damages or an early termination fee of no more than 2 months' rent. For an early termination fee, the lease can require no more than 60 days' notice from the tenant. The tenant must accept or decline the option by signing a separate addendum in substantially the statute's checkbox form. If the tenant accepts and later leaves early, you collect the fee plus rent through the end of the month you retake possession, plus damage to the unit, and you give up any claim for rent after that month. Without a signed addendum, your choices are to end the lease, relet in good faith and charge the tenant the shortfall, or hold the tenant to rent as it comes due.

Fee in lieu of a deposit (section 83.491). For leases signed or renewed on or after July 1, 2023, you may offer a monthly or other scheduled fee instead of a deposit. You cannot use an applicant's choice to approve or deny them, the offer must go to every new tenant at the property, and the tenant must receive written disclosures and sign an agreement that can be ended by paying the deposit.

Which lease clauses does section 83.47 void?

A clause is void and unenforceable to the extent it:

• waives or limits the rights, remedies, or requirements in the Florida Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (Part II of chapter 83); or
• limits or excuses the landlord's or the tenant's liability to the other that arises under law.

That covers clauses that waive the 3-day notice to pay rent (weekends and legal holidays excluded) before an eviction, waive the deposit refund and claim deadlines, or release you from liability for injuries caused by your failure to make repairs. If a void clause causes the other side actual damages, they can recover them. Section 83.48 also lets the winning party in a lease dispute recover reasonable attorney fees and court costs, and a lease cannot waive that right, so a clause giving fees only to the landlord works both ways in court. The Florida eviction process explains the notices a lease cannot shorten, and Florida entry rules cover access clauses.

How do condo and HOA rules affect the lease?

If the unit is in a condominium or homeowners' association, the declaration, bylaws, and rules can require association approval of each lease, set a minimum lease term, or limit how often you rent. Read them before you advertise; the association applies these limits, and a lease term cannot override them.

State law limits when new rental restrictions bind you:

• Condominiums (section 718.110(13)): an amendment that bans rentals, changes the allowed lease length, or limits how many times you can rent applies only to owners who consented to it and owners who bought after it took effect.
• HOAs (section 720.306(1)(h)): a rule adopted after July 1, 2021 that bans or regulates rentals applies only to owners who consented and later buyers, with two exceptions that bind every owner: a ban or limit on leases shorter than 6 months, and a cap of three rentals per calendar year.

In the lease, make the tenancy subject to any required association approval, attach the current rules, and state that a rule violation by the tenant is a lease violation. For the general terms a lease should cover, such as rent, term, and occupants, see what terms a rental agreement usually includes.