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 83.676 Early 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.