Habitability and Repairs in Florida Rentals
Florida law outlines responsibilities for landlords and tenants in maintaining rental properties. Landlords must ensure homes meet building codes and basic maintenance standards, while tenants must keep their units clean and functional.
- Maintenance
- Applicable building, housing and health codes govern; the statute gives baseline duties where there are no applicable codes.
- Written agreements
- Some duties may be modified in writing, with different rules for single-family homes and duplexes.
- Extermination
- Where the statutory extermination duty applies, temporary vacancy requires seven days’ written notice, lasts at most four days and includes rent abatement.
- Tenant duties
- Keep the unit sanitary, use systems reasonably and avoid damage or unreasonable disturbance.
Landlord Responsibilities
Follow § 83.51’s code and maintenance duties. Where no applicable codes exist, the statute specifies structural, plumbing and screen duties. Subsection 1 duties may be modified in writing for single-family homes or duplexes. Unless otherwise agreed in writing, subsection 2 adds specified services for other dwellings, including pest control and common-area care. Tenant-caused conditions have a statutory exception.
Tenant Duties
Maintain sanitation, plumbing fixtures and reasonable use of facilities under § 83.52, and avoid damage or disturbances. Where subsection 2’s pest-control provisions apply, an absence required for extermination is limited to four days with seven days’ written notice and rent abatement. The landlord is not liable for damages for that required absence under this provision.
83.51 Landlord’s obligation to maintain premises.—(1) The landlord at all times during the tenancy shall:(a) Comply with the requirements of applicable building, housing, and health codes; or(b) Where there are no applicable building, housing, or health codes, maintain the roofs, windows, doors, floors, steps, porches, exterior walls, foundations, and all other structural components in good repair and capable of resisting normal forces and loads and the plumbing in reasonable working condition. The landlord, at commencement of the tenancy, must ensure that screens are installed in a reasonable condition. Thereafter, the landlord must repair damage to screens once annually, when necessary, until termination of the rental agreement.The landlord is not required to maintain a mobile home or other structure owned by the tenant. The landlord’s obligations under this subsection may be altered or modified in writing with respect to a single-family home or duplex.(2)(a) Unless otherwise agreed in writing, in addition to the requirements of subsection (1), the landlord of a dwelling unit other than a single-family home or duplex shall, at all times during the tenancy, make reasonable provisions for:1. The extermination of rats, mice, roaches, ants, wood-destroying organisms, and bedbugs. If the tenant must vacate the premises for such extermination, the landlord is not liable for damages but must abate the rent. The landlord must provide 7 days’ written notice, in person, by mail, or by e-mail in accordance with s. 83.505, to the tenant if the tenant must temporarily vacate the premises for extermination pursuant to this subparagraph. A tenant is only required to vacate the premises for a period of time not to exceed 4 days.2. Locks and keys.3. The clean and safe condition of common areas.4. Garbage removal and outside receptacles therefor.5. Functioning facilities for heat during winter, running water, and hot water.(b) Unless otherwise agreed in writing, at the commencement of the tenancy of a single-family home or duplex, the landlord shall install working smoke detection devices. As used in this paragraph, the term “smoke detection device” means an electrical or battery-operated device which detects visible or invisible particles of combustion and which is listed by Underwriters Laboratories, Inc., Factory Mutual Laboratories, Inc., or any other nationally recognized testing laboratory using nationally accepted testing standards.(c) Nothing in this part authorizes the tenant to raise a noncompliance by the landlord with this subsection as a defense to an action for possession under s. 83.59.(d) This subsection shall not apply to a mobile home owned by a tenant.(e) Nothing contained in this subsection prohibits the landlord from providing in the rental agreement that the tenant is obligated to pay costs or charges for garbage removal, water, fuel, or utilities.(3) If the duty imposed by subsection (1) is the same or greater than any duty imposed by subsection (2), the landlord’s duty is determined by subsection (1).(4) The landlord is not responsible to the tenant under this section for conditions created or caused by the negligent or wrongful act or omission of the tenant, a member of the tenant’s family, or other person on the premises with the tenant’s consent.History.—s. 2, ch. 73-330; s. 22, ch. 82-66; s. 4, ch. 87-195; s. 1, ch. 90-133; s. 3, ch. 93-255; s. 444, ch. 95-147; s. 8, ch. 97-95; s. 6, ch. 2013-136; s. 4, ch. 2025-16.
- Fla. Stat. § 83.52 — Tenant’s obligation to maintain dwelling unit
- Is pest-control relocation unlimited?
- No. Where § 83.51(2)(a) applies, required vacancy is at most four days after seven days’ written notice, and rent must be abated.
- Are all Florida rental maintenance duties identical?
- No. Applicable codes, building type, permitted written agreements and the cause of the condition matter.
- What are a Florida tenant’s basic upkeep duties?
- Section 83.52 requires tenants to keep occupied areas sanitary, remove garbage properly, maintain plumbing fixtures, use facilities reasonably, and avoid damage or unreasonable disturbance.
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Important: This page quotes and summarizes statutes for general information. It is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Statutes are amended; verify against the official source linked above. For advice on your situation, consult a licensed attorney in your state.
Sources and summary checked: 2026-09-26