Florida Senate - 2023 SB 494
By Senator DiCeglie
18-00249-23 2023494__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to fees in lieu of security deposits;
3 creating s. 83.491, F.S.; authorizing a landlord to
4 offer a tenant the option to pay a fee in lieu of a
5 security deposit; requiring the landlord to notify the
6 tenant of certain unpaid fees and costs within a
7 specified time after the conclusion of the tenancy;
8 prohibiting the landlord from filing an insurance
9 claim within a specified period of time; providing
10 requirements for the landlord and insurer if an
11 insurance claim to recover certain losses is filed;
12 prohibiting the landlord from accepting certain
13 payments; requiring the landlord to provide certain
14 written notice to the tenant; requiring a written
15 agreement signed by the landlord, or the landlord’s
16 agent, and the tenant if the tenant decides to pay a
17 fee in lieu of the security deposit; prohibiting the
18 written agreement from contradicting specified laws;
19 requiring that the written agreement contain certain
20 information; requiring a specified disclosure in the
21 written agreement; providing options for paying the
22 fee; specifying that certain fees, insurance products,
23 and surety bonds are not security deposits; specifying
24 that landlords have exclusive discretion as to whether
25 to offer tenants the option to pay a fee in lieu of a
26 security deposit; prohibiting a landlord from
27 approving or denying an application for occupancy
28 based on a prospective tenant’s choice to pay a fee in
29 lieu of a security deposit; requiring that landlords
30 that offer a tenant the fee option offer it to all new
31 tenants renting a dwelling unit on the same premises;
32 providing an exception; providing construction;
33 providing applicability; providing an effective date.
34
35 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
36
37 Section 1. Section 83.491, Florida Statutes, is created to
38 read:
39 83.491 Fee in lieu of security deposit.—
40 (1) If a rental agreement requires a security deposit, a
41 landlord may offer a tenant the option to pay a fee in lieu of a
42 security deposit.
43 (2)(a) If a tenant agrees to pay a fee in lieu of a
44 security deposit, the landlord must notify the tenant within 30
45 days after the conclusion of the tenancy if there are any costs
46 or fees due resulting from unpaid rent, fees, or other
47 obligations under the rental agreement, including, but not
48 limited to, costs required for repairing damage to the premises
49 beyond normal wear and tear.
50 (b) A landlord may not submit a claim to an insurer to
51 recover the landlord’s losses associated with unpaid rent, fees,
52 or other obligations under the rental agreement, including, but
53 not limited to, costs required for repairing damage to the
54 premises beyond normal wear and tear, until at least 15 days
55 after providing the tenant with the required notice under
56 paragraph (a).
57 1. The landlord must include an itemized list of any unpaid
58 amounts and the dates such amounts were due, documentation
59 supporting any itemized damages and costs of repairs, and a copy
60 of any written objection or report of any communication of
61 objection by the tenant when the landlord submits a claim to an
62 insurer.
63 2. If an insurer pays a claim that was submitted under this
64 subsection to a landlord and the insurer has subrogation rights,
65 the insurer may, within 1 year after the tenancy that was the
66 subject of the claim ends, seek reimbursement from the tenant
67 for the amounts paid to the landlord. If the insurer seeks
68 reimbursement from the tenant, the following apply:
69 a. The insurer must provide the tenant with all
70 documentation for losses which the landlord provided to the
71 insurer in support of the landlord’s claim and a copy of the
72 settlement statement documenting the insurer’s payment of the
73 landlord’s claim.
74 b. The tenant retains any defenses against the insurer
75 which the insurer would otherwise have against the landlord.
76 3. A landlord may not accept payment from both a tenant and
77 an insurer for amounts associated with the same rent, fees, or
78 damages.
79 (3) If a landlord offers a tenant the option to pay a fee
80 in lieu of a security deposit, the landlord must notify the
81 tenant in writing of all of the following:
82 (a) That the tenant has the option to pay a security
83 deposit instead of the fee.
84 (b) That the tenant may, at any time, terminate the
85 agreement to pay the fee in lieu of the security deposit and
86 instead pay a security deposit as listed in a rental agreement
87 between landlord and tenant or, if a security deposit was not
88 agreed upon in a rental agreement between the landlord and
89 tenant, in the amount that is otherwise offered to new tenants
90 for a substantially similar dwelling unit on the date that the
91 tenant terminates the agreement.
92 (c) Whether any additional charges apply for the options
93 provided in paragraphs (a) and (b).
94 (d) The amount of the payments required for each option the
95 landlord offers.
96 (e) That the fee is nonrefundable, if applicable.
97 (f) That the fee is only for securing occupancy without
98 paying a required security deposit.
99 (g) That the fee payment does not limit or change the
100 tenant’s obligation to pay rent and fees, if any, under the
101 rental agreement or limit or change the tenant’s obligation to
102 pay the costs of repairing damage to the premises beyond normal
103 wear and tear.
104 (h) That if the landlord uses any portion of the fee to
105 purchase insurance, the tenant is not insured and is not a
106 beneficiary of the landlord’s insurance coverage, and that the
107 insurance does not limit or change the tenant’s obligations to
108 pay rent and fees under the rental agreement or change the
109 tenant’s obligation to pay the costs of repairing damage to the
110 premises beyond normal wear and tear.
111 (4)(a) If a tenant decides to pay a fee in lieu of a
112 security deposit, a written agreement to collect the fee must be
113 signed by the landlord, or the landlord’s agent, and the tenant.
114 The written agreement may not contain any clause that
115 contradicts s. 83.45 or s. 83.47. The written agreement must, at
116 a minimum, specify all of the following:
117 1. The amount of the fee.
118 2. How and when the fee is to be collected.
119 3. The process and timeframe during which a tenant must pay
120 the security deposit specified in the rental agreement if the
121 tenant defaults on paying the fee, and that such default will
122 not adversely affect the tenant’s credit rating if the security
123 deposit is timely paid.
124 4. That the written agreement may be terminated at any time
125 as long as the tenant pays the amount of the security deposit
126 specified in the rental agreement.
127 5. If the tenant pays the amount of the security deposit
128 specified in the rental agreement, then the tenant’s default on
129 paying the fee or termination of the written agreement may not
130 adversely impact the tenant’s credit report.
131 (b) The written agreement specified under paragraph (a)
132 must also include a disclosure in substantially the following
133 form:
134
135 FEE IN LIEU OF SECURITY DEPOSIT
136
137 THIS AGREEMENT HAS BEEN ENTERED INTO VOLUNTARILY BY
138 BOTH PARTIES, AND THE TENANT AGREES TO PAY THE
139 LANDLORD A FEE IN LIEU OF A SECURITY DEPOSIT AS
140 AUTHORIZED UNDER SECTION 83.491, FLORIDA STATUTES.
141 THIS FEE IS NOT A SECURITY DEPOSIT, AND PAYMENT OF THE
142 FEE DOES NOT ABSOLVE THE TENANT OF ANY OBLIGATIONS
143 UNDER THE RENTAL AGREEMENT, INCLUDING THE OBLIGATION
144 TO PAY RENT AS IT BECOMES DUE AND ANY COSTS AND
145 DAMAGES BEYOND NORMAL WEAR AND TEAR WHICH THE TENANT
146 OR HIS OR HER GUESTS MAY CAUSE. IF THE LANDLORD USES
147 ANY PORTION OF THE TENANT’S FEE TO PURCHASE INSURANCE,
148 THE TENANT IS NOT INSURED AND IS NOT A BENEFICIARY OF
149 SUCH COVERAGE. SUCH INSURANCE DOES NOT LIMIT OR CHANGE
150 THE TENANT’S OBLIGATION TO PAY RENT AND FEES, IF ANY,
151 UNDER THE RENTAL AGREEMENT OR TO PAY THE COSTS AND
152 DAMAGES BEYOND NORMAL WEAR AND TEAR WHICH THE TENANT
153 OR HIS OR HER GUESTS MAY CAUSE. THE TENANT MAY
154 TERMINATE THIS AGREEMENT AT ANY TIME AND STOP PAYING
155 THE FEE AND INSTEAD PAY A SECURITY DEPOSIT AS PROVIDED
156 IN SECTION 83.491, FLORIDA STATUTES.
157
158 THIS DISCLOSURE IS BASIC. PLEASE REFER TO PART II OF
159 CHAPTER 83, FLORIDA STATUTES, TO DETERMINE YOUR LEGAL
160 RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS.
161
162 (5) A fee in lieu of a security deposit may be:
163 (a) A recurring monthly fee, payable on the same date that
164 the rent payment is due under the rental agreement; or
165 (b) Payable upon a schedule that the landlord and tenant
166 choose and as specified in the written agreement.
167 (6) A fee collected under this section, or an insurance
168 product or a surety bond accepted, by a landlord in lieu of a
169 security deposit is not a security deposit as defined in s.
170 83.43(12).
171 (7) A landlord has exclusive discretion as to whether to
172 offer tenants the option to pay a fee in lieu of a security
173 deposit and is not required to offer such fee option to tenants.
174 However, if a landlord offers a tenant an option to pay a fee in
175 lieu of a security deposit, the landlord may not use a
176 prospective tenant’s choice to pay, or offer to pay, a fee in
177 lieu of a security deposit as criteria in the determination to
178 approve or deny an application for occupancy, and the landlord
179 must also offer all new tenants renting a dwelling unit on the
180 same premises the option to pay a fee in lieu of a security
181 deposit, unless the landlord chooses to prospectively terminate
182 the fee option for all new rental agreements.
183 (8)(a) This section does not:
184 1. Require a fee collected in lieu of a security deposit to
185 be used to purchase an insurance product or a surety bond; or
186 2. Prohibit a tenant from being offered or sold an
187 insurance product or a surety bond to present to the landlord in
188 lieu of a security deposit if the offer or sale of such
189 insurance product or surety bond complies with the laws of this
190 state.
191 (b) Acceptance by a landlord of an insurance product or a
192 surety bond that is purchased or procured by a tenant, a
193 landlord, or an agent of the landlord may not be considered an
194 offer on the part of the landlord to allow a tenant to pay a fee
195 in lieu of a security deposit for the purposes of subsection
196 (7).
197 (9) This section applies to rental agreements entered into
198 or renewed on or after July 1, 2023.
199 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2023.