When the landlord will not repair
Almost every remedy a Florida tenant has begins with 7 days’ written notice† in writing, specifying what is wrong. Without it, the complaint is real but the remedy is not available — and simply stopping the rent is the way tenants with a genuine grievance end up evicted anyway.
You cannot simply stop paying. If it goes to court, a tenant raising the landlord’s failure to repair as a defence in an eviction must pay the rent into the court registry — the defence is otherwise waived†. Tenants who withheld rent because the landlord was plainly in the wrong, and then arrived at the hearing without the money, lose on that point alone. The rent is not forgiven by the landlord’s failure — it is redirected.
What the landlord must actually maintain
The duty is that the landlord must comply with applicable building, housing and health codes, and where none apply, keep roofs, windows, doors, floors, steps, porches, exterior walls, foundations and all structural components in good repair and capable of resisting normal forces†, and separately that plumbing must be maintained in reasonable working condition†. In a building of more than two units the landlord must also supply extermination, locks and keys, clean common areas, refuse removal, running water and functioning heat†.
in a single-family home or duplex the landlord is not required to provide extermination or refuse removal unless the lease says so, and the tenant is responsible for smoke detector batteries†. That single distinction accounts for a large share of arguments in Florida rentals, because tenants apply apartment rules to a rented house.
The notice, and how to write one that works
- Put it in writing. A phone call, however many times repeated, is not the notice the statute requires.
- Say specifically what is wrong. "The air conditioning has not cooled below 82°F since 14 June" rather than "the AC is broken".
- State that you are giving seven days’ notice under Florida law and what you intend to do if it is not remedied.
- Deliver it so you can prove it. Hand delivery with a witness, or post to the address in the lease. Keep a copy and a record of when.
- Photograph everything, dated. The repair, when it started, what it damaged.
The seven days exclude nothing special — they simply run. If the landlord fixes it inside the window, the notice has done its job even though it produced no remedy. That is the ordinary outcome and it is a good one.
What you can do after the seven days
- Terminate the tenancy and leave, if the failure is material. This ends the lease rather than merely pausing it.
- Withhold rent — but expect to pay it into the court registry if the landlord files, and be prepared to prove both the notice and the defect.
- Raise it as a defence to a non-payment eviction, which is where the registry rule bites.
- Complain to the local code enforcement office, which is separate from anything in the lease and produces an independent record.
What Florida does not give tenants is a general "repair and deduct" right of the kind some states have. Paying a contractor yourself and subtracting it from the rent is not a statutory remedy here, and a landlord can treat the shortfall as non-payment.
What the landlord may not do
a landlord may not shut off utilities, change the locks, or remove doors, roof, windows or the tenant’s belongings to force a tenant out†. This is the self-help eviction, and it is unlawful regardless of how much rent is owed. Where it happens, a tenant may recover actual damages or three months’ rent, whichever is greater, plus costs and fees† — which is one of the few places in landlord and tenant law where the number attached to a wrong is genuinely large.
Entry is also regulated. For repairs a landlord must give 24 hours’ notice† and enter between 7:30 a.m. and 8:00 p.m.†, except in an emergency or where the tenant is absent for an extended period. And it is a defence to eviction that the landlord acted in retaliation for a code complaint, a repair demand or organising with other tenants†.
Mould, specifically
Mould is the most common serious complaint in Florida rentals and the least well handled, because there is no state exposure standard to point at. Treat it as a water problem instead: mould is a symptom, and the leak, the failed condensate line or the unconditioned humidity is the defect the landlord must repair. Note also that Florida issues two separate licences — mold assessor and mold remediator — and the assessor may not remediate what they assessed†, so a landlord sending one company to both assess and remediate has a conflict worth naming in writing.
If you are the landlord reading this
Fix it inside the seven days. Almost every expensive landlord and tenant dispute in Florida is a cheap repair that was ignored until the tenant found the statute. A non-payment case begins with 3 days, excluding weekends and legal holidays† and is straightforward — unless a documented unrepaired defect is sitting in the file, at which point it stops being straightforward.
Related
Common questions
Can I withhold rent in Florida if the landlord will not repair?
Only after giving seven days’ written notice specifying the defect — and if the landlord files for eviction you must pay the rent into the court registry to keep the defence. Withholding without doing either is how tenants with genuine complaints get evicted.
Does Florida have a repair and deduct law?
No. Paying a contractor yourself and subtracting the cost from the rent is not a statutory remedy in Florida, and the landlord can treat the shortfall as non-payment.
What must a Florida landlord repair?
Applicable building, housing and health codes; and where none apply, roofs, windows, doors, floors, steps, porches, exterior walls, foundations and structural components in good repair, plus plumbing in reasonable working condition.
Does my landlord have to provide pest control in a rented house?
Not necessarily. In a single-family home or duplex the landlord is not required to provide extermination or refuse removal unless the lease says so — a carve-out that does not apply to apartment buildings.
Can a Florida landlord change the locks or shut off the power?
No. Shutting off utilities, changing locks or removing doors or belongings to force a tenant out is unlawful however much rent is owed, and the tenant may recover actual damages or three months’ rent, whichever is greater, plus costs.
How much notice must a landlord give before entering?
Twenty-four hours for repairs, and entry must be between 7:30 a.m. and 8:00 p.m., except in an emergency or where the tenant is absent for an extended period.
Residential landlord and tenant duties sit in Part II of Chapter 83 of the Florida Statutes — §83.51 for maintenance, §83.53 for entry, §83.56 for notice, §83.60 for the rent registry rule, §83.64 for retaliation and §83.67 for prohibited practices. This is general information, not legal advice for your tenancy.