Florida Senate - 2009 SENATOR AMENDMENT Bill No. CS/CS/CS/HB 27, 2nd Eng. Barcode 804456 LEGISLATIVE ACTION Senate . House . . . . . ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— Senator Constantine moved the following: 1 Senate Substitute for Amendment (879436) (with title 2 amendment) 3 4 Between lines 2844 and 2845 5 insert: 6 Section 26. Subsection (7) of section 83.49, Florida 7 Statutes, is amended to read: 8 (7) Upon the sale or transfer of title of the rental 9 property from one owner to another, or upon a change in the 10 designated rental agent, any and all security deposits or 11 advance rents being held for the benefit of the tenants shall be 12 transferred to the new owner or agent, together with any earned 13 interest and with an accurate accounting showing the amounts to 14 be credited to each tenant account. Upon the transfer of such 15 funds and records as stated herein, and upon transmittal of a 16 written receipt therefor, the transferor shall be free from the 17 obligation imposed in subsection (1) to hold such moneys on 18 behalf of the tenant. However, nothing herein shall excuse the 19 landlord or agent for a violation of the provisions of this 20 section while in possession of such deposits. To the extent the 21 grantee of the certificate of title in a foreclosure action, or 22 the grantee’s assignee, receives a tenant’s deposit money or 23 advance rent, the grantee or grantee’s assignee shall be 24 responsible for the proper handling and refund of the security 25 deposit and advance rent as provided in this section. 26 Section 27. Section 83.495, Florida Statutes, is created to 27 read: 28 83.495 Commencement of foreclosure; disclosure; security 29 deposits and advance rents.—After the initial service of the 30 complaint in foreclosure proceedings commenced with respect to 31 property rented as a dwelling unit: 32 (1) The landlord or the landlord’s authorized 33 representative shall continue to be responsible for money 34 deposited or advanced as security or as advance rent as provided 35 in s. 83.49. 36 (2) The landlord or the landlord’s authorized 37 representative shall disclose to a prospective tenant the 38 existence of the pending foreclosure proceedings in the rental 39 agreement or in another writing before the prospective tenant 40 executes the rental agreement. The written disclosure shall 41 inform the prospective tenant that the foreclosure proceedings 42 may affect a tenant’s right to possess and reside in the 43 dwelling unit and that the landlord or the landlord’s authorized 44 representative is required to hold the tenant’s total amount of 45 deposit money or advance rent as provided in s. 83.49. A 46 landlord’s authorized representative is not liable for failure 47 to notify a prospective tenant of the foreclosure proceedings 48 unless the representative received notice of the existence of 49 the pending foreclosure proceedings from the landlord. 50 Section 28. Section 83.683, Florida Statutes, is created to 51 read: 52 83.683 Possession following foreclosure; notice to occupant 53 of dwelling unit subject to rental agreement.— 54 (1) The grantee of a certificate of title from the sale in 55 foreclosure of a dwelling unit subject to a rental agreement 56 that is not in default, or the grantee's assignee, may not 57 obtain a writ of possession until 30 days after the grantee or 58 its assignee provides notice in writing to the occupant of the 59 dwelling unit stating that the dwelling unit has been sold, that 60 the lease is terminated, and that the grantee or its assignee 61 desires to take possession of the dwelling unit. 62 (2) The grantee or its assignee shall effectuate the notice 63 required by this section by depositing the notice in United 64 States mail first class and by sending a duplicate of the notice 65 using certified mail. 66 (3) The clerk of the circuit court may not issue a writ of 67 possession in an action subject to subsection (1) unless the 68 grantee or its assignee files with the clerk a duplicate of the 69 notice mailed to the occupant as required by this section. 70 (4) Nothing in this section is intended to eliminate any 71 requirement in law that may exist to name the occupant of 72 property as a party to a foreclosure action as a condition for 73 the issuance of a writ of possession as part of that foreclosure 74 action. 75 76 (Redesignate subsequent section.) 77 78 ================= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ================ 79 And the title is amended as follows: 80 Delete line 172 81 and insert: 82 specified provisions of federal law; amending 83.49, F.S.; 83 providing that the grantee, or its assignee, of a certificate of 84 title in a foreclosure action is responsible for proper handling 85 and refund of a tenant's security deposit and advance rent under 86 certain conditions; creating s. 83.495, F.S.; prescribing a 87 landlord’s responsibility for security deposits or advance rents 88 following commencement of a foreclosure action; providing for 89 disclosure of the foreclosure action to prospective tenants; 90 providing an exception to liability for failure to provide 91 notice; creating s. 83.683, F.S.; providing that the grantee of 92 a certificate of title from the foreclosure sale of a rental 93 dwelling unit, or its assignee, may not take possession until a 94 specified period after notifying the occupant of the sale and 95 the intent to take possession; prescribing the manner of 96 effectuating the notice; prohibiting the clerk of court from 97 issuing a writ of possession unless the grantee submits proof of 98 the notice sent to the occupant; providing that the notice 99 requirement does not eliminate certain requirements that may 100 exist to make an occupant of property a party to a foreclosure 101 action; providing an