Legal Ways to Break a Lease in Florida
Many states allow tenants who are victims of domestic violence to immediately terminate a lease without penalty. This is not the case in Florida. A bill was proposed but died in the Florida Legislature in 2017.6 You don`t need to hire a lawyer if you want to break a lease in Florida. As mentioned above, if you are on active military service, you can notify your landlord while being protected from legal consequences. You can also use the early termination clause to prematurely terminate a lease against payment of a penalty. We covered some legitimate reasons to break a lease in Florida. However, there are many situations that are considered insufficient to release a tenant from their legal obligations, such as: Prior to the Florida 83,595 amendments, Florida`s law was clear. She found that if a tenant decided to break a lease by moving before the lease expired, the landlord had to accept the tenant`s choice. Although the tenant had vacated, he was nevertheless obliged to continue to pay for the monthly rental unit at the end of the rental period. In most states, landlords have a duty to mitigate damages when a tenant terminates a lease. Mitigation means taking steps to reduce your losses.
In practice, this means that the landlord should find a new tenant as soon as possible, rather than relying on you to pay all the remaining rent if you move out before the lease expires. There are many reasons why a landlord can evict a tenant. If you don`t pay your rent, commit an illegal act, or violate the terms of your lease, they have the right to evict you in writing. If you have not paid your rent, the landlord must give you 3 days to pay or evict. In the event of a breach of the lease, you may receive a “7-day notice of healing”, which means that you must correct the breach. If you don`t, the landlord can proceed with eviction requests. In extreme circumstances, landlords may issue “7-day unconditional terminations” in which the tenant does not have the opportunity to remedy the situation. The tenant must leave within 7 days or the landlord will file a complaint for eviction. You can see more Florida tenant rights here if you break the lease. Again, provide a detailed and accurate explanation of why you choose to break the lease to increase the chances that the landlord will reduce your termination fee.
If you break your lease and have to move without legal justification, the best solution is to clarify something with the landlord. They may be willing to let you out of trouble in exchange for losing your security payment or paying 2 months` rent to break the lease instead of the full rent owing. You are always free to negotiate, and there could be a lot of money at stake if you have several months` rent on the lease. Look carefully at your lease in Florida, there may be useful information there. Check if there is an early termination clause. If one of them is listed in your lease, you may not be on the hook as much as you thought. Otherwise, there could be wording showing that your landlord didn`t provide something, and this can be used as a justified result. For example, if the lease requires you to give 30 days` written notice, it`s not enough to call your landlord and tell them you`ve lost your job and are moving. The landlord could reasonably say that you did not properly terminate the lease and therefore you still have to pay the rent. It should be noted that most states require landlords to mitigate losses by finding a new tenant quickly.
However, this is not the case in Florida. Landlords are not required to mitigate damage – they may choose to wait to re-rent the property, allowing you to stay hooked for the remainder of the lease. Loss mitigation or not, there are still things you can try to avoid a big financial hit. If none of the above reasons are feasible and you end up breaking the lease, the question “What happens if you break a lease?” can be answered in the following points: There are only four situations where breaking a lease in Florida is justified. These situations include: If you`re tied to a lease that no longer serves you, you`re probably wondering, “How can I break my lease in Florida without penalty?” As a general rule, this is only possible if there is a legitimate reason to break your lease, such as: Active military service, violations of tenants` rights or violations of health and safety: If you decide to terminate the lease early, there are some important rules and regulations that must be followed and followed. If you follow all this, it will be quite easy for you to break the lease, regardless of the type of house you live in. The requirements for breaking a lease are listed below: · The tenant moves in with a partner or moves after a separation; For anyone who wants to learn how to break a Florida lease the right way — without penalties or legal upheaval — read on. This article explains how to cancel your lease without breaking Florida law. According to Florida law, the owner must provide notice 12 hours before the day of the visit. It would also be considered constructively permitted if the landlord repeatedly tries to violate your rights as a tenant by changing locks, removing doors or windows, or cutting off supply. It is also illegal for a landlord to change the locks on the rental unit where you live without notice. If your home is dangerous or dangerous, you can terminate your lease without penalty.
According to Title VI of the Florida Act, Chapter 83.52, your landlord must maintain a dwelling. What does that mean? Florida health and safety regulations determine what is considered habitable housing, and if your living space is deemed uninhabitable, you can be “constructively evicted” to Florida. Once this decision is made, you are no longer responsible for paying rent and can move without penalty. However, Florida tenancy laws require that you first send your landlord a 7-day written notice outlining the repairs required in accordance with Title VI of Florida Law, Chapter 83.60. Here are some examples of health and safety measures Florida landlords must provide: However, under the new law, when signing the lease, the landlord can offer the tenant the opportunity to agree on a fee for breach of lease/early termination. Provided that the fee does not exceed double the required monthly rent and that the tenant cancels at least 60 days in advance. And, of course, all of this has to be provided for in the Florida lease. · Penalties and fines: Your landlord can take legal action if you break the lease without following the established procedure. If the courts agree with your landlord, you could be fined and penalized. According to Florida Law 83.57, you must also give your landlord sufficient notice.
The conditions for terminating leases depend on the terms of the lease. A weekly lease requires a notice period of at least seven days, a monthly lease requires a notice period of at least fifteen days, a quarterly lease requires a notice period of at least thirty days, and an annual lease requires a notice period of at least sixty days. If you vacate the property before that date (and stop paying rent), you have broken the lease. The landlord can come after you for the rest of the rent you owe. If your landlord makes the repairs and repairs the damage, you won`t be able to break your lease without being subject to penalties. However, if your landlord does not remedy the violations within seven days, you may be entitled to implied eviction. You must take legal action against the owner. The court will judge your claims and if it finds that the landlord is not complying with state laws, you can legally terminate the lease. Early termination fees are legally called lump sum or predefined damages.
This helps the owner cover their losses for two months after the breach of contract. Before signing the lease, the landlord can offer this option to the tenant. However, Florida laws allow tenants to decline this offer without negatively impacting their rental license. However, homeowners in Florida are not obligated to mitigate the damage. You can choose to re-rent the premises, in which case you are responsible for the rent from the day you move until the day the new tenants move in.