Florida Senate - 2026                                     SB 142
       
       
        
       By Senator Bracy Davis
       
       
       
       
       
       15-00387-26                                            2026142__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to termination of a rental agreement
    3         by a victim of domestic violence, dating violence,
    4         sexual violence, or stalking; creating s. 83.676,
    5         F.S.; defining terms; prohibiting a landlord from
    6         terminating a rental agreement or evicting a tenant
    7         because the tenant or the tenant’s minor child is a
    8         victim of actual or threatened domestic violence,
    9         dating violence, sexual violence, or stalking;
   10         specifying that a rental agreement may not contain
   11         certain provisions; authorizing a victim of such
   12         actual or threatened violence or stalking to terminate
   13         a rental agreement under certain circumstances;
   14         requiring certain documentation and written notice to
   15         be provided to the landlord; providing for liability
   16         for rent for both the tenant and the perpetrator, if
   17         applicable; specifying that a tenant does not forfeit
   18         certain money paid to the landlord for terminating the
   19         rental agreement under certain circumstances;
   20         requiring a landlord to change the locks of the
   21         dwelling unit within a specified time period under
   22         certain circumstances; authorizing the tenant to
   23         change the locks of the dwelling unit under certain
   24         circumstances; providing that certain information
   25         provided to a landlord from a tenant or a prospective
   26         tenant is confidential; prohibiting certain actions by
   27         a landlord under certain circumstances; authorizing
   28         filing of a civil action and an award of damages,
   29         fees, and costs under certain circumstances;
   30         prohibiting the waiver of certain provisions;
   31         providing an effective date.
   32          
   33  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   34  
   35         Section 1. Section 83.676, Florida Statutes, is created to
   36  read:
   37         83.676Early termination of rental agreement by a victim of
   38  domestic violence, dating violence, sexual violence, or
   39  stalking; lock changing.—
   40         (1)As used in this section, the term:
   41         (a)“Dating violence” has the same meaning as in s.
   42  784.046(1)(d).
   43         (b)“Domestic violence” has the same meaning as in s.
   44  741.28.
   45         (c)“Sexual violence” has the same meaning as in s.
   46  784.046(1)(c).
   47         (d)“Stalking,” as described in s. 784.048(2), means
   48  willfully, maliciously, and repeatedly following, harassing, or
   49  cyberstalking another person.
   50         (2)A landlord may not terminate a rental agreement or
   51  evict a tenant for an incident involving actual or threatened
   52  domestic violence, dating violence, sexual violence, or stalking
   53  if the tenant or the tenant’s minor child is the victim of such
   54  actual or threatened violence or stalking. A rental agreement
   55  may not include a provision deeming that early termination of a
   56  rental agreement because of an incident involving actual or
   57  threatened domestic violence, dating violence, sexual violence,
   58  or stalking, in which the tenant or the tenant’s minor child is
   59  a victim and not the perpetrator, is a breach of the rental
   60  agreement.
   61         (3)(a)If a tenant or a tenant’s minor child is a victim of
   62  actual or threatened domestic violence, dating violence, sexual
   63  violence, or stalking during the term of a rental agreement, the
   64  tenant may, without penalty, terminate the rental agreement at
   65  any time by providing the landlord with written notice of the
   66  tenant’s intent to terminate the rental agreement and to vacate
   67  the premises because of such incident. The termination of the
   68  rental agreement is effective immediately upon delivery of the
   69  written notice and documentation specified in paragraph (b), if
   70  applicable, to the landlord.
   71         (b)Unless the landlord notifies the tenant that
   72  documentation is not needed, a notice of termination from the
   73  tenant required under paragraph (a) must be accompanied by
   74  documentation verifying the tenant’s or the tenant’s minor
   75  child’s status as a victim of actual or threatened domestic
   76  violence, dating violence, sexual violence, or stalking and may
   77  include:
   78         1.A copy of an injunction for protection against domestic
   79  violence, dating violence, sexual violence, or stalking issued
   80  to the tenant as the victim or as parent of a minor victim;
   81         2.A copy of an order of no contact or a criminal
   82  conviction entered by a court in a criminal case in which the
   83  defendant was charged with a crime relating to domestic
   84  violence, dating violence, sexual violence, or stalking against
   85  the tenant or the tenant’s minor child;
   86         3.A written verification from a domestic violence center
   87  certified under chapter 39 or a rape crisis center as defined in
   88  s. 794.055(2) which states that the tenant or the tenant’s minor
   89  child is a victim of actual or threatened domestic violence,
   90  dating violence, sexual violence, or stalking; or
   91         4.A copy of a law enforcement report documenting an
   92  incident of actual or threatened domestic violence, dating
   93  violence, sexual violence, or stalking against the tenant or the
   94  tenant’s minor child.
   95         (c)A notice of termination from the tenant required under
   96  paragraph (a) must be provided by certified mail or hand
   97  delivery to the landlord, a person authorized to receive notices
   98  on behalf of the landlord under s. 83.50, a resident manager, or
   99  the person or entity that collects the rent on behalf of the
  100  landlord.
  101         (d)If a rental agreement with a specific duration is
  102  terminated by a tenant under this subsection less than 30 days
  103  before the end of the rental agreement, the tenant is liable for
  104  the rent for the remaining period of the rental agreement. If a
  105  rental agreement with a specific duration is terminated by a
  106  tenant under this subsection 30 or more days before the end of
  107  the rental agreement, the tenant is liable for prorated rent for
  108  a period of 30 days immediately following delivery of the notice
  109  of termination. After compliance with this paragraph, the tenant
  110  is released from any further obligation to pay rent,
  111  concessions, damages, fees, or penalties, and the landlord is
  112  not entitled to the remedies provided in s. 83.595.
  113         (e)If a rental agreement is terminated by a tenant under
  114  this subsection, the landlord must comply with s. 83.49(3). A
  115  tenant who terminates a rental agreement under this subsection
  116  does not forfeit any deposit money or advance rent paid to the
  117  landlord.
  118         (f)This subsection does not affect a tenant’s liability
  119  for unpaid rent or other amounts owed to the landlord before the
  120  termination of the rental agreement under this subsection.
  121         (g)If the perpetrator of actual or threatened domestic
  122  violence, dating violence, sexual violence, or stalking is also
  123  a tenant under the same rental agreement as the tenant who is a
  124  victim, or whose minor child is a victim, of such actual or
  125  threatened violence or stalking, neither the perpetrator’s
  126  liability for rent nor his or her other obligations under the
  127  rental agreement are terminated under this subsection, and the
  128  landlord is entitled to the rights and remedies provided by this
  129  part against the perpetrator.
  130         (4)(a)A tenant or a tenant’s minor child who is a victim
  131  of actual or threatened domestic violence, dating violence,
  132  sexual violence, or stalking and who wishes to remain in the
  133  dwelling unit may make a written request to the landlord
  134  accompanied by any one of the documents listed in paragraph
  135  (3)(b), and the landlord shall, within 24 hours after receipt of
  136  the request, change the locks of the tenant’s dwelling unit and
  137  provide the tenant with a key to the new locks.
  138         (b)If the landlord fails to change the locks within 24
  139  hours, the tenant may change the locks without the landlord’s
  140  permission, notwithstanding any contrary provision in the rental
  141  agreement or other applicable rules or regulations imposed by
  142  the landlord, if all of the following conditions have been met:
  143         1.The locks are changed in like manner as if the landlord
  144  had changed the locks, with locks of similar or better quality
  145  than the original locks.
  146         2.The landlord is notified within 24 hours after the
  147  changing of the locks.
  148         3.The landlord is provided a key to the new locks within a
  149  reasonable time.
  150         (c)If the locks are changed under this subsection, the
  151  landlord is not liable to any person who does not have access to
  152  the dwelling unit.
  153         (5)A landlord may not refuse to enter into a rental
  154  agreement for a dwelling unit, refuse to negotiate for the
  155  rental of a dwelling unit, make a dwelling unit unavailable, or
  156  retaliate in the rental of a dwelling unit because:
  157         (a)The tenant, prospective tenant, or minor child of the
  158  tenant or prospective tenant is a victim of actual or threatened
  159  domestic violence, dating violence, sexual violence, or
  160  stalking; or
  161         (b)The tenant or prospective tenant has previously
  162  terminated a rental agreement because of an incident involving
  163  actual or threatened domestic violence, dating violence, sexual
  164  violence, or stalking in which the tenant, prospective tenant,
  165  or minor child of the tenant or prospective tenant was a victim.
  166  
  167  However, the landlord may refuse to enter into a rental
  168  agreement, negotiate for the rental of a dwelling unit, or make
  169  a dwelling unit unavailable if the tenant or prospective tenant
  170  fails to comply with the landlord’s request for documentation of
  171  an incident of actual or threatened domestic violence, dating
  172  violence, sexual violence, or stalking that occurred before
  173  termination of a prior rental agreement. A landlord’s request
  174  for documentation is satisfied upon the tenant’s or prospective
  175  tenant’s provision of any one of the documents listed in
  176  paragraph (3)(b).
  177         (6)All information provided to a landlord under
  178  subsections (3), (4), and (5), including the fact that a tenant,
  179  prospective tenant, or a tenant’s or prospective tenant’s minor
  180  child is a victim of actual or threatened domestic violence,
  181  dating violence, sexual violence, or stalking, and including the
  182  tenant’s forwarding address, is confidential. The landlord may
  183  not enter such information into any shared database or provide
  184  the information to any other person or entity, except to the
  185  extent such disclosure is:
  186         (a)Made to a person specified in paragraph (3)(c) solely
  187  for a legitimate business purpose;
  188         (b)Requested, or consented to, in writing by the tenant or
  189  the tenant’s legal guardian;
  190         (c)Required for use in a judicial proceeding; or
  191         (d)Otherwise required by law.
  192         (7)A tenant or prospective tenant, on his or her own
  193  behalf or on behalf of his or her minor child, may file a civil
  194  action against a landlord for a violation of this section. A
  195  landlord who violates subsection (5) or subsection (6) is
  196  civilly liable to the victim for $1,000 for punitive damages,
  197  actual and consequential damages, and court costs, including
  198  reasonable attorney fees, unless the landlord can show that this
  199  was the landlord’s first violation and the violation was not
  200  committed in bad faith. Subsequent or repeated violations that
  201  are not contemporaneous with the initial violation are subject
  202  to separate awards of damages.
  203         (8)The provisions of this section may not be waived or
  204  modified by a rental agreement.
  205         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026.