Florida Senate - 2009 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT Bill No. CS for CS for SB's 1646 & 1038 Barcode 163754 LEGISLATIVE ACTION Senate . House . . . . . ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— The Committee on General Government Appropriations (Aronberg) recommended the following: 1 Senate Amendment (with title amendment) 2 3 Delete lines 44 - 99 4 and insert: 5 Section 1. Section 83.683, Florida Statutes, is created to 6 read: 7 83.683 Possession following foreclosure; notice to occupant 8 of dwelling unit subject to rental agreement.— 9 (1) The grantee of a certificate of title from the sale in 10 foreclosure of a dwelling unit subject to a rental agreement 11 that is not in default may not obtain a writ of possession until 12 30 days after the grantee provides notice in writing to the 13 occupant of the dwelling unit stating that the dwelling unit has 14 been sold, that the lease is terminated, and that the grantee 15 desires to take possession of the dwelling unit. 16 (2) The grantee shall effectuate the notice required by 17 this section by depositing the notice in United States mail 18 first class and by sending a duplicate of the notice using 19 certified mail. 20 (3) The clerk of the circuit court may not issue a writ of 21 possession unless the grantee files with the clerk a duplicate 22 of the notice mailed to the occupant as required by this 23 section. 24 (4) Nothing in this section is intended to eliminate any 25 requirement in law that may exist to name the occupant of 26 property as a party to a foreclosure action as a condition for 27 the issuance of a writ of possession as part of that foreclosure 28 action. 29 Section 2. Section 83.495, Florida Statutes, is created to 30 read: 31 83.495 Commencement of foreclosure; disclosure; security 32 deposits and advance rents.—After the initial service of the 33 complaint in foreclosure proceedings commenced with respect to 34 property rented as a dwelling unit: 35 (1) The landlord or the landlord’s authorized 36 representative shall hold as provided under s. 83.49(1) the 37 total amount of money deposited or advanced by a current or 38 prospective tenant as security for performance of the rental 39 agreement or as advance rent. 40 (2) The landlord or the landlord’s authorized representative 41 shall disclose to a prospective tenant the existence of the 42 pending foreclosure proceedings in the rental agreement or in 43 another writing before the prospective tenant executes the 44 rental agreement. The written disclosure shall inform the 45 prospective tenant that the foreclosure proceedings may affect a 46 tenant’s right to possess and reside in the dwelling unit and 47 that the landlord or the landlord’s authorized representative is 48 required to hold the tenant’s total amount of deposit money or 49 advance rent as provided under s. 83.49(1). A landlord’s 50 authorized representative is not liable for failure to notify a 51 prospective tenant of the foreclosure proceedings unless the 52 representative received notice of the existence of the pending 53 foreclosure proceedings from the landlord. (3) In the event the 54 landlord or the landlord’s authorized representative does not 55 hold the deposit money or advance rent as provided under s. 56 83.49(1) and the property is sold in foreclosure, the grantee of 57 the certificate of title shall credit the tenant’s account for 58 any deposit money paid by the tenant and make claims against the 59 deposit pursuant to the provision of s. 83.49(1) attributable to 60 the tenant. The grantee shall also credit the tenant’s account 61 for any advance rent for an unexpired rental period. The tenant 62 must have documentation demonstrating the payment of the 63 security deposit or advance rent in order to receive the credit. 64 65 ================= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ================ 66 And the title is amended as follows: 67 Delete lines 2 - 20 68 and insert: 69 An act relating to foreclosures; creating s. 83.683, F.S.; 70 providing that the grantee of a certificate of title from the 71 foreclosure sale of a rental dwelling unit may not take 72 possession until a specified period after notifying the occupant 73 of the sale and the intent to take possession; prescribing the 74 manner of effectuating the notice; prohibiting the clerk of 75 court from issuing a writ of possession unless the grantee 76 submits proof of the notice sent to the occupant; providing that 77 the notice requirement does not eliminate certain requirements 78 that may exist to make an occupant of property a party to a 79 foreclosure action; creating s. 83.495, F.S.; providing 80 requirements for landlords following commencement of a 81 foreclosure action; providing for security deposits and advance 82 rents to be maintained in a specified manner; providing for 83 disclosure of the foreclosure action to prospective tenants; 84 providing an exception to liability for failure to provide 85 notice; requiring the grantee of a certificate of title to the 86 dwelling unit to credit the tenant for security deposits and 87 advance rents under certain conditions; 88