Section 83.67 of the Florida Statutes, titled “Prohibited practices,” addresses landlords who shut off a tenant’s utilities, change the locks, or remove a tenant’s belongings outside the court process. This article quotes the current text of that section, which was last amended in 2007, along with county clerk and Florida Bar materials on how a lawful removal takes place, and the numbered notes at the end link to each original.
This article is part of a series on Florida residential tenancies. The court process for removing a tenant is covered in DIY Landlord Evictions in Florida, and the tenant’s side of that process in Responding to an Eviction in Florida: What the County Packets Say.
The information that follows is taken directly from Florida statutes, county clerk materials, and Florida Bar publications. It is provided for educational purposes only and does not represent legal advice or the legal opinions of the author.
What section 83.67 prohibits
Utility shutoffs. Section 83.67(1) provides that “A landlord of any dwelling unit governed by this part shall not cause, directly or indirectly, the termination or interruption of any utility service furnished the tenant, including, but not limited to, water, heat, light, electricity, gas, elevator, garbage collection, or refrigeration, whether or not the utility service is under the control of, or payment is made by, the landlord.”¹
Lockouts. Section 83.67(2) provides that “A landlord of any dwelling unit governed by this part shall not prevent the tenant from gaining reasonable access to the dwelling unit by any means, including, but not limited to, changing the locks or using any bootlock or similar device.”¹
Removing doors, windows, or belongings. Section 83.67(5) provides that a landlord “shall not remove the outside doors, locks, roof, walls, or windows of the unit except for purposes of maintenance, repair, or replacement; and the landlord shall not remove the tenant’s personal property from the dwelling unit unless such action is taken after surrender, abandonment, recovery of possession of the dwelling unit due to the death of the last remaining tenant in accordance with s. 83.59(3)(d), or a lawful eviction.”¹ The same subsection states that “For the purposes of this section, abandonment shall be as set forth in s. 83.59(3)(c).”¹
Section 83.67 also contains two provisions unrelated to lockouts. Subsection (3) prohibits a landlord from discriminating “against a servicemember in offering a dwelling unit for rent or in any of the terms of the rental agreement,” and subsection (4) addresses a tenant’s display of a United States flag.¹
Damages and remedies in the statute
Section 83.67(6) provides that “A landlord who violates any provision of this section shall be liable to the tenant for actual and consequential damages or 3 months’ rent, whichever is greater, and costs, including attorney’s fees.” It adds that “Subsequent or repeated violations that are not contemporaneous with the initial violation shall be subject to separate awards of damages.”¹
Section 83.67(7) states that “A violation of this section constitutes irreparable harm for the purposes of injunctive relief.” Section 83.67(8) provides that “The remedies provided by this section are not exclusive and do not preclude the tenant from pursuing any other remedy at law or equity that the tenant may have.”¹
How official sources describe a lawful removal
Section 83.67(5) names “a lawful eviction” among the circumstances in which a landlord may remove a tenant’s personal property.¹ The Supreme Court-approved landlord-tenant forms published by The Florida Bar include “Form 11: Writ Of Possession,” which is issued after a final judgment of eviction.² The instructions for that form, as reprinted in the Washington County Clerk of Court’s landlord-tenant packet, read:
This document should be delivered to the Clerk of the Court after the Court enters the final judgment evicting the Tenant. The Clerk will sign this Writ. After the Clerk signs this Writ, it must be delivered to the Sheriff to be served upon the Tenant and who, if necessary, will forcibly evict the Tenant after 24 hours from the time of service.³
The instructions continue, “If requested by the Landlord to do so, the Sheriff shall stand by to keep the peace while the Landlord changes the locks and removes personal property from the premises.”³ The writ itself, as approved, commands the sheriff “to remove all persons from the following described property” and “to put” the landlord “in possession of it.”³
The approved residential leases restate section 83.67’s prohibitions in plain terms. The multifamily lease, as approved by the Supreme Court of Florida in 2010, states that the “Landlord cannot cause, directly or indirectly, the termination or unreasonable interruption of any utility service furnished to Tenant” and that the “Landlord cannot prevent Tenant’s access to the Premises by any means, including, but not limited to, changing the locks or using any bootlock or similar device.”⁴
What a county clerk publishes for tenants
The Duval County Clerk of Courts’ Tenant Rights packet addresses lockouts and shutoffs directly. Citing section 83.67, it states that “Florida Law does not allow a landlord to force a tenant out by” shutting off utilities, changing the locks, removing doors, locks, roof, walls, or windows except for maintenance, or removing the tenant’s personal property except in the circumstances the statute lists, including “lawful eviction.”⁵ The same packet describes the court process, stating that “If you do not respond and a judgment is entered against you, the clerk of the county court may issue a ‘Writ of Possession’ to the sheriff who will notify you that eviction will take place in 24 hours.”⁵
For landlords: the approved forms for a lawful eviction
The court process described above runs on forms The Florida Bar lists as “approved by the Florida Supreme Court,” including the 3-day notice (Form 1), the 7-day notice (Form 2), the eviction complaints (Forms 5, 5a, and 6), the default and judgment forms, and the writ of possession (Form 11).² Form America LLC, the publisher of this site, offers flat-rate completion of those approved forms, with filing instructions, for rental properties in all 67 Florida counties. To request help, use the contact form at LandlordTenantForms.com. Under Rule 10-2.2 of the Rules Regulating The Florida Bar, a nonlawyer may ask the factual questions needed to complete an approved form and explain how to file it, but may not give legal advice.⁶ Form America cannot tell you whether you have grounds for eviction or which notice applies, and you and the preparer sign the disclosure that rule requires before any work begins. For questions about your rights, landlords and tenants can reach The Florida Bar Lawyer Referral Service at 800-342-8011.
Notes
- The Florida Senate, Florida Statutes, Section 83.67, Prohibited practices
- The Florida Bar, Landlord Tenant Forms
- Washington County Clerk of Court, Landlord/Tenant Packet (2021)
- Supreme Court of Florida, In re: Revisions to Simplified Forms Pursuant to Rule 10-2.1(a) of the Rules Regulating the Florida Bar, No. SC09-250 (April 15, 2010)
- Duval County Clerk of Courts, Tenant Rights packet (updated 8/2024)
- The Florida Bar, Rules Regulating The Florida Bar, Chapter 10 (June 30, 2026)
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