Florida Senate - 2026 SB 1626
By Senator Bracy Davis
15-01267-26 20261626__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to rent reporting to credit reporting
3 agencies; creating s. 83.684, F.S.; defining the terms
4 “credit reporting agency” and “rent reporting
5 service”; authorizing a landlord to report a tenant’s
6 rent payment history to credit reporting agencies
7 under certain circumstances; requiring a landlord to
8 obtain written consent from a tenant to report rent
9 payments; providing requirements for such written
10 consent; requiring a landlord to inform a tenant that
11 he or she is authorized to opt out of rent reporting
12 at any time without penalty; requiring a landlord to
13 provide written notice under certain circumstances;
14 providing notice requirements; authorizing a landlord
15 to charge a specified fee for providing rent reporting
16 services; providing an exception; prohibiting a
17 landlord from taking certain actions; authorizing a
18 landlord to stop reporting a tenant’s rental payments
19 under certain circumstances; prohibiting a tenant from
20 participating in rent reporting for a specified amount
21 of time under certain circumstances; prohibiting a
22 landlord from taking retaliatory actions if a tenant
23 refuses, declines, or opts out of rent reporting;
24 providing applicability; providing an effective date.
25
26 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
27
28 Section 1. Section 83.684, Florida Statutes, is created to
29 read:
30 83.684 Rent reporting.—
31 (1) As used in this section, the term:
32 (a) “Credit reporting agency” means an agency that, for
33 monetary fees or dues or on a cooperative nonprofit basis,
34 regularly engages, in whole or in part, in the practice of
35 assembling or evaluating consumer credit information or other
36 information on consumers for the purpose of furnishing consumer
37 reports to third parties and that uses any means or facility of
38 interstate commerce for the purpose of preparing or furnishing
39 consumer reports. The term includes agencies such as Equifax,
40 Experian, and TransUnion.
41 (b) “Rent reporting service” means a third-party service
42 that collects, verifies, and reports rent payment information to
43 a credit reporting agency.
44 (2) A landlord may report a tenant’s rent payment history
45 to one or more credit reporting agencies. Rent reporting must be
46 conducted through a rent reporting service, or the landlord may
47 report directly to one or more credit reporting agencies if the
48 landlord complies with all applicable state and federal
49 regulations.
50 (3)(a) A landlord must obtain written consent to report
51 rent payments from a tenant when a rental agreement is executed
52 or renewed.
53 (b) The written consent must clearly outline the potential
54 benefits and risks associated with rent reporting, including the
55 possibility of negative reporting if rent payments are not made
56 on time.
57 (c) A landlord shall inform a tenant that his or her
58 consent for rent reporting is voluntary and that the tenant may
59 opt out of rent reporting at any time without penalty by mailing
60 or delivering to the landlord a true copy of a written notice to
61 opt out.
62 (d) A landlord must, in accordance with s. 83.56(4),
63 provide a tenant with at least 30 days’ written notice if the
64 landlord decides to start or stop reporting rent payments.
65 (4)(a) If a landlord elects to engage in rent reporting,
66 the landlord may require the tenant to pay to the landlord a fee
67 for such service. The fee may not exceed the lesser of the
68 actual cost to the landlord to provide rent reporting services
69 or $10 per month. If the landlord does not incur actual expenses
70 relating to rent reporting, the landlord may not charge the
71 tenant a fee under this subsection.
72 (b) A landlord may not do any of the following:
73 1. Report the payment or nonpayment of the fee to a credit
74 reporting agency.
75 2. Terminate a tenant’s rental agreement because the tenant
76 did not pay the fee.
77 3. Deduct the amount of the fee from the tenant’s deposit
78 money or rent.
79 (c) If the fee is unpaid for 30 days or more, the landlord
80 may stop reporting the tenant’s rental payments to the credit
81 reporting agency or rent reporting service.
82 (5) If a tenant opts out of rent reporting or the tenant
83 fails to pay a fee for rent reporting services under subsection
84 (4), the tenant may not elect to again participate in rent
85 reporting for at least 6 months after the date on which the
86 landlord received the written request to opt out or the date on
87 which the fee under subsection (4) first becomes due.
88 (6) A landlord may not terminate a tenant’s rental
89 agreement, increase a tenant’s rent, or engage in any other form
90 of retaliation solely because a tenant refuses, declines, or
91 opts out of participating in rent reporting.
92 (7) This section does not apply to a landlord of a
93 residential building that contains 15 or fewer dwelling units
94 unless both of the following apply:
95 (a) The landlord owns more than one residential building,
96 regardless of the number of dwelling units in each building.
97 (b) The landlord is:
98 1. A real estate investment trust;
99 2. A corporation; or
100 3. A limited liability company in which at least one member
101 is a corporation.
102 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026.