| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to residential tenancies; creating s. |
| 3 | 83.683, F.S.; defining terms; prohibiting a landlord from |
| 4 | terminating, failing to renew, or refusing to enter into a |
| 5 | residential rental agreement because the tenant, |
| 6 | applicant, or family or household member is a victim of |
| 7 | domestic violence, dating violence, repeat violence, or |
| 8 | sexual violence; prohibiting a landlord from including in |
| 9 | a residential rental agreement a provision that authorizes |
| 10 | the landlord to terminate a rental agreement or impose a |
| 11 | penalty on a tenant for calling for assistance from a law |
| 12 | enforcement agency or other emergency assistance in |
| 13 | response to domestic violence, dating violence, repeat |
| 14 | violence, or sexual violence; providing for evidence of |
| 15 | the domestic violence, dating violence, repeat violence, |
| 16 | or sexual violence which may be provided to the landlord; |
| 17 | allowing victims of domestic violence to terminate a |
| 18 | residential rental agreement under certain circumstances; |
| 19 | providing procedures to notify the landlord; providing for |
| 20 | liability for payment of rent by the respondent who has |
| 21 | been excluded from the dwelling unit; requiring a landlord |
| 22 | to change door and other locks of the dwelling unit of a |
| 23 | victim of domestic violence, dating violence, repeat |
| 24 | violence, or sexual violence under certain circumstances |
| 25 | within a specified period; requiring the protected tenant |
| 26 | to pay the costs of changing the door and other locks of |
| 27 | the dwelling unit; prohibiting waiver of the provisions of |
| 28 | the act; providing an effective date. |
| 29 |
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| 30 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 31 |
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| 32 | Section 1. Section 83.683, Florida Statutes, is created to |
| 33 | read: |
| 34 | 83.683 Discrimination against victims of domestic |
| 35 | violence, dating violence, repeat violence, or sexual violence |
| 36 | prohibited.-- |
| 37 | (1) DEFINITIONS.--As used in this section, the term: |
| 38 | (a) "Dating violence" has the same meaning as provided in |
| 39 | s. 784.046(1). |
| 40 | (b) "Domestic violence" has the same meaning as provided |
| 41 | in s. 741.28. |
| 42 | (c) "Family or household member" has the same meaning as |
| 43 | provided in s. 741.28. |
| 44 | (d) "Repeat violence" has the same meaning as provided in |
| 45 | s. 784.046(1). |
| 46 | (e) "Sexual violence" has the same meaning as provided in |
| 47 | s. 784.046(1). |
| 48 | (2) VICTIM PROTECTION; NONDISCRIMINATION.-- |
| 49 | (a) A landlord may not terminate a tenancy, fail to renew |
| 50 | a tenancy, refuse to enter into a rental agreement, or otherwise |
| 51 | retaliate in the rental of a dwelling unit because: |
| 52 | 1. The tenant, applicant, or a household member is a |
| 53 | victim of domestic violence, dating violence, repeat violence, |
| 54 | or sexual violence; or |
| 55 | 2. The tenant or applicant terminated a rental agreement |
| 56 | due to domestic violence, dating violence, repeat violence, or |
| 57 | sexual violence as provided in subsection (4). |
| 58 | (b) A landlord may not include in a residential rental |
| 59 | agreement a provision that authorizes a landlord to terminate |
| 60 | the agreement or to impose a penalty upon a tenant for calls |
| 61 | made by the tenant for assistance from a law enforcement agency |
| 62 | or other emergency assistance in response to domestic violence, |
| 63 | dating violence, repeat violence, or sexual violence. A rental |
| 64 | agreement may not waive a tenant's right to call for assistance |
| 65 | from a law enforcement agency or other emergency assistance. |
| 66 | (3) EVIDENCE.--Evidence provided to a landlord to prove |
| 67 | the occurrence of domestic violence, dating violence, repeat |
| 68 | violence, or sexual violence may include any of the following: |
| 69 | (a) Records, orders, or files of a court, law enforcement |
| 70 | agency, or state or federal agency; |
| 71 | (b) Documentation from a domestic violence or sexual |
| 72 | assault protection program; or |
| 73 | (c) Documentation from a medical professional. |
| 74 | (4) EARLY TERMINATION OF A RENTAL AGREEMENT BY A VICTIM OF |
| 75 | DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, DATING VIOLENCE, REPEAT VIOLENCE, OR SEXUAL |
| 76 | VIOLENCE.-- |
| 77 | (a) A tenant protected by this section may terminate his |
| 78 | or her rental agreement for a dwelling unit by providing the |
| 79 | landlord with a written notice of termination to be effective on |
| 80 | a date stated in the notice which must be at least 30 days after |
| 81 | the landlord receives the written notice of termination. The |
| 82 | notice to the landlord must be accompanied by: |
| 83 | 1. A copy of a permanent injunction for protection against |
| 84 | domestic violence issued by a court pursuant to s. 741.30 or a |
| 85 | copy of a permanent injunction for protection against repeat |
| 86 | violence, sexual violence, or dating violence issued by a court |
| 87 | pursuant to s. 784.046; |
| 88 | 2. A valid card issued under an address confidentiality |
| 89 | program to the victim or a minor member of the tenant's |
| 90 | household pursuant to s. 741.403; or |
| 91 | 3. An order of no contact entered by a court in a criminal |
| 92 | case. |
| 93 | (b) After terminating a rental agreement, the tenant who |
| 94 | is released from the rental agreement under paragraph (a) is |
| 95 | liable to the landlord for the rent due under the rental |
| 96 | agreement prorated to the effective date of the termination and |
| 97 | payable at the time that would have been required by the terms |
| 98 | of the rental agreement. The tenant is not liable for any other |
| 99 | rent or fees due to the early termination of the tenancy. If a |
| 100 | tenant terminates the rental agreement 14 days or more before he |
| 101 | or she initially occupies the dwelling unit, the tenant is not |
| 102 | liable for any damages or penalties. |
| 103 | (c) Notwithstanding paragraph (a) or the exclusion of a |
| 104 | respondent of domestic violence, dating violence, repeat |
| 105 | violence, or sexual violence by a court order, if there are any |
| 106 | remaining tenants residing in the dwelling unit, the tenancy |
| 107 | shall continue for those tenants. The respondent who has been |
| 108 | excluded from the dwelling unit under court order remains liable |
| 109 | under the lease with any other tenant of the dwelling unit for |
| 110 | rent or damages to the dwelling unit. |
| 111 | (5) VICTIM PROTECTION; CHANGING DOOR AND OTHER LOCKS.-- |
| 112 | (a) If the respondent of domestic violence, dating |
| 113 | violence, repeat violence, or sexual violence is not a tenant in |
| 114 | the same dwelling unit as the protected tenant, the protected |
| 115 | tenant may give oral or written notice to the landlord that he |
| 116 | or she is a victim of domestic violence, dating violence, repeat |
| 117 | violence, or sexual violence and may request that the door and |
| 118 | other locks to the dwelling unit be changed. A protected tenant |
| 119 | is not required to provide documentation of the domestic |
| 120 | violence, dating violence, repeat violence, or sexual violence |
| 121 | to initiate the changing of the door and other locks. A landlord |
| 122 | who receives a request under this paragraph must change the door |
| 123 | and other locks to the protected tenant's dwelling unit or give |
| 124 | the protected tenant permission to change the door and other |
| 125 | locks within 72 hours. |
| 126 | (b) If the respondent of the domestic violence, dating |
| 127 | violence, repeat violence, or sexual violence is a tenant in the |
| 128 | same dwelling unit as the victim, any tenant or protected tenant |
| 129 | of the dwelling unit may give oral or written notice to the |
| 130 | landlord that a protected tenant is a victim of domestic |
| 131 | violence, dating violence, repeat violence, or sexual violence |
| 132 | and may request that the door and other locks to the dwelling |
| 133 | unit be changed. Before the landlord or tenant changes the door |
| 134 | and other locks under this paragraph, the tenant must provide |
| 135 | the landlord with a copy of a court order excluding the |
| 136 | respondent from the dwelling unit of the protected tenant. A |
| 137 | landlord who receives a request to change the door and other |
| 138 | locks to the protected tenant's dwelling unit under this |
| 139 | paragraph must change the door and other locks within 72 hours. |
| 140 | (c) The protected tenant shall bear the expense of |
| 141 | changing the door and other locks. If a landlord fails to act |
| 142 | within the required time, the protected tenant may change the |
| 143 | door and other locks without the landlord's permission. If the |
| 144 | protected tenant changes the locks, the protected tenant must |
| 145 | give a key to the new locks to the landlord within 48 hours |
| 146 | after the door and other locks are changed. |
| 147 | (d) If a landlord has been provided with a court order |
| 148 | excluding the respondent from the dwelling unit of the protected |
| 149 | tenant, the landlord may not grant the respondent access to the |
| 150 | dwelling unit, provide keys to the respondent, or provide the |
| 151 | respondent access to the respondent's personal property within |
| 152 | the dwelling unit. If the respondent has a court order allowing |
| 153 | the respondent to return to the dwelling unit to retrieve |
| 154 | personal belongings, the landlord may grant him or her access to |
| 155 | the dwelling unit. If a landlord complies with this paragraph, |
| 156 | the landlord is not liable for civil damages to a respondent |
| 157 | excluded from the dwelling unit, for loss of use of the dwelling |
| 158 | unit, or for loss of use or damage to the respondent's personal |
| 159 | property. |
| 160 | (6) NONWAIVER OF RENTAL TERMS.--Pursuant to s. 83.47, the |
| 161 | provisions of this section may not be waived or modified by |
| 162 | agreement of the parties. |
| 163 | Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2008. |