Florida Senate - 2020 SB 274
By Senator Rodriguez
37-00488-20 2020274__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to residential tenancies; creating s.
3 83.684, F.S.; providing legislative intent; defining
4 terms; prohibiting a landlord from evicting a tenant
5 or terminating a residential rental agreement because
6 the tenant is a victim of actual or threatened
7 domestic violence, dating violence, sexual violence,
8 or stalking; specifying that a rental agreement may
9 not contain certain provisions; authorizing a victim
10 of such actual or threatened violence or stalking to
11 terminate a residential rental agreement without
12 penalty by providing written notice of intent to
13 terminate the agreement and to vacate the premises;
14 providing that such termination of a rental agreement
15 is effective immediately upon delivery of the written
16 notice; providing requirements for such notice of
17 termination; providing for liability for payment of
18 rent; specifying that a tenant does not forfeit any
19 deposit money or advance rent paid to the landlord for
20 terminating a rental agreement under certain
21 circumstances; providing construction; providing that
22 a perpetrator’s liability for rent and obligations
23 under a rental agreement are not terminated under
24 certain circumstances; requiring a landlord to change
25 the locks of a dwelling unit within a specified period
26 under certain circumstances; authorizing a tenant to
27 change the locks of a dwelling unit under certain
28 circumstances; prohibiting a landlord from refusing to
29 enter into or negotiate a rental agreement, from
30 making a dwelling unit unavailable, or from
31 retaliating in the rental of a dwelling unit under
32 certain circumstances; providing an exception;
33 requiring a landlord to keep certain information
34 relating to certain tenants confidential; providing
35 exceptions; authorizing a tenant to file a civil
36 action against a landlord under certain circumstances;
37 providing a civil penalty and awards for damages,
38 court costs, and attorney fees; prohibiting waiver of
39 the provisions of the act; providing an effective
40 date.
41
42 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
43
44 Section 1. Section 83.684, Florida Statutes, is created to
45 read:
46 83.684 Early termination of a residential rental agreement
47 or lock changing authorized for victims of domestic violence,
48 dating violence, sexual violence, and stalking.—
49 (1) It is the intent of the Legislature to protect tenants
50 and their minor children who are victims of actual or threatened
51 domestic violence, dating violence, sexual violence, or stalking
52 and to facilitate relocation for their protection.
53 (2) As used in this section, the term:
54 (a) “Dating violence” has the same meaning as in s.
55 784.046(1)(d).
56 (b) “Domestic violence” has the same meaning as in s.
57 741.28.
58 (c) “Sexual violence” has the same meaning as in s.
59 784.046(1)(c).
60 (d) “Stalking” has the same meaning as the term
61 “cyberstalking” as defined in s. 784.048(1)(d).
62 (3) A landlord may not terminate a residential rental
63 agreement or evict a tenant for an incident involving actual or
64 threatened domestic violence, dating violence, sexual violence,
65 or stalking if the tenant is the victim of such actual or
66 threatened violence or stalking. A rental agreement may not
67 include a provision deeming an incident involving actual or
68 threatened domestic violence, dating violence, sexual violence,
69 or stalking, in which the tenant involved is a victim and not a
70 perpetrator, to be a breach of the rental agreement. A landlord
71 may not deem such incidents of actual or threatened violence or
72 stalking as grounds for terminating the rental agreement or
73 evicting the victim.
74 (4)(a) If a tenant or a tenant’s minor child is a victim of
75 actual or threatened domestic violence, dating violence, sexual
76 violence, or stalking during the term of a rental agreement, the
77 tenant may, without penalty, terminate the rental agreement at
78 any time by providing the landlord with written notice of the
79 tenant’s intent to terminate the rental agreement and to vacate
80 the premises because of an incident of actual or threatened
81 domestic violence, dating violence, sexual violence, or
82 stalking. The termination of the rental agreement is effective
83 immediately upon delivery of written notice to the landlord.
84 (b) Unless the landlord notifies the tenant that
85 documentation is not needed, a notice of termination from the
86 tenant pursuant to paragraph (a) must be accompanied by
87 documentation verifying the tenant’s or his or her minor child’s
88 status as a victim of actual or threatened domestic violence,
89 dating violence, sexual violence, or stalking and may include:
90 1. A copy of an injunction for protection against domestic
91 violence, dating violence, sexual violence, or stalking issued
92 to the tenant as victim or as parent or legal guardian of a
93 minor victim;
94 2. A copy of an order of no contact or a criminal
95 conviction entered by a court in a criminal case in which the
96 defendant was charged with a crime relating to domestic
97 violence, dating violence, sexual violence, or stalking against
98 the tenant or the tenant’s minor child;
99 3. A written certification from a domestic violence center
100 certified under chapter 39 or a rape crisis center as defined in
101 s. 794.055 which states that the tenant or the tenant’s minor
102 child is a victim of actual or threatened domestic violence,
103 dating violence, sexual violence, or stalking; or
104 4. A copy of a law enforcement report documenting an
105 incident of actual or threatened domestic violence, dating
106 violence, sexual violence, or stalking against the tenant or the
107 tenant’s minor child.
108 (c) A notice of termination from the tenant pursuant to
109 this subsection shall be mailed or delivered to the landlord, a
110 person authorized to receive notices and demands in the
111 landlord’s behalf pursuant to s. 83.50, a resident manager, or
112 the person or entity that collects the rent on behalf of the
113 landlord.
114 (d) If a rental agreement with a specific duration is
115 terminated by a tenant pursuant to this subsection less than 30
116 days before the end of the rental agreement, the tenant is
117 liable for the rent for the remaining period of the rental
118 agreement. If a rental agreement with a specific duration is
119 terminated by a tenant pursuant to this subsection more than 30
120 days before the end of the rental agreement, the tenant is
121 liable for prorated rent for a period of 30 days immediately
122 following delivery of the notice of termination. The tenant is
123 released from any further obligation to pay rent, concessions,
124 damages, fees, or penalties, and the landlord is not entitled to
125 the remedies provided in s. 83.595.
126 (e) If a rental agreement is terminated by a tenant
127 pursuant to this subsection, the landlord must comply with s.
128 83.49(3). A tenant who terminates a rental agreement may not, by
129 reason of such termination, be deemed to have forfeited any
130 deposit money or advance rent paid to the landlord.
131 (f) This subsection does not affect a tenant’s liability
132 for unpaid rent or other amounts owed to the landlord before the
133 termination of the rental agreement pursuant to this subsection.
134 (g) If the perpetrator of actual or threatened domestic
135 violence, dating violence, sexual violence, or stalking is also
136 a tenant in the victim’s dwelling unit, neither the
137 perpetrator’s liability for rent nor his or her other
138 obligations under the rental agreement are terminated by
139 operation of this subsection, and the landlord is entitled to
140 the rights and remedies provided by this part against the
141 perpetrator.
142 (5)(a) A tenant or a tenant’s minor child who is a victim
143 of actual or threatened domestic violence, dating violence,
144 sexual violence, or stalking and who wishes to remain in the
145 dwelling may make a written request to the landlord accompanied
146 by any one of the documents listed in paragraph (4)(b), and the
147 landlord shall, within 24 hours after receipt of the request,
148 change the locks of the tenant’s dwelling unit and provide the
149 tenant with a key to the new locks.
150 (b) If the landlord fails to change the locks within 24
151 hours, the tenant may change the locks without the landlord’s
152 permission, notwithstanding any contrary provision in the rental
153 agreement or other applicable rules or regulations imposed by
154 the landlord, if all of the following conditions have been met:
155 1. The locks are changed in like manner as if the landlord
156 had changed the locks, with locks of similar or better quality
157 than the original locks.
158 2. The landlord is notified within 24 hours after the
159 changing of the locks.
160 3. The landlord is provided a key to the new locks within a
161 reasonable time.
162 (c) If the locks are changed pursuant to this subsection,
163 the landlord is not liable to any person who does not have
164 access to the dwelling unit.
165 (6) A landlord may not refuse to enter into a rental
166 agreement for a dwelling unit, refuse to negotiate for the
167 rental of a dwelling unit, make a dwelling unit unavailable, or
168 retaliate in the rental of a dwelling unit solely because:
169 (a) The tenant, prospective tenant, or minor child of the
170 tenant or prospective tenant is a victim of actual or threatened
171 domestic violence, dating violence, sexual violence, or
172 stalking; or
173 (b) The tenant or prospective tenant has previously
174 terminated a rental agreement because of an incident involving
175 actual or threatened domestic violence, dating violence, sexual
176 violence, or stalking in which the tenant, prospective tenant,
177 or minor child of the tenant or prospective tenant was a victim.
178 However, the landlord may refuse to enter into a rental
179 agreement or negotiate for the rental of a dwelling unit if the
180 tenant or prospective tenant fails to comply with the landlord’s
181 request for documentation of an incident of actual or threatened
182 domestic violence, dating violence, sexual violence, or stalking
183 which occurred before termination of a prior rental agreement. A
184 landlord’s request for documentation shall be satisfied upon the
185 tenant’s or prospective tenant’s provision of any one of the
186 documents listed in paragraph (4)(b).
187 (7) The landlord shall treat as confidential all
188 information provided to a landlord pursuant to subsections (4),
189 (5), and (6), including the fact that a tenant or a tenant’s
190 minor child is a victim of actual or threatened domestic
191 violence, dating violence, sexual violence, or stalking and
192 including the tenant’s forwarding address. The landlord may not
193 enter such information into any shared database or provide the
194 information to any other person or entity, except to the extent
195 such disclosure is:
196 (a) Made to an agent or employee of the landlord solely for
197 a legitimate business purpose;
198 (b) Requested, or consented to, in writing by the tenant or
199 the tenant’s legal guardian;
200 (c) Required for use in a judicial proceeding; or
201 (d) Otherwise required by law.
202 (8) A tenant, on his or her own behalf or on behalf of his
203 or her minor child, may file a civil action against a landlord
204 for a violation of this section. A landlord who violates
205 subsection (6) or subsection (7) is civilly liable to the victim
206 for $1,000 for punitive damages, actual and consequential
207 damages, and court costs, including reasonable attorney fees,
208 unless the landlord can show that the violation was its first
209 and the violation was not committed in bad faith. Subsequent or
210 repeated violations that are not contemporaneous with the
211 initial violation are subject to separate awards of damages.
212 (9) The provisions of this section may not be waived or
213 modified by a rental agreement.
214 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2020.