Florida’s residential landlord-tenant statute sets out what a landlord must maintain and provides a written notice a tenant may give when those obligations are not met. The Florida Bar’s Supreme Court-approved forms include two versions of that notice, one stating the tenant’s intent to terminate the rental agreement and one stating the intent to withhold rent. This article quotes the statutes and both forms directly, and the numbered notes at the end link to each original.
This article is one of a series on Florida residential tenancies. The tenant’s side of an eviction case is covered in Responding to an Eviction in Florida: What the County Packets Say, and landlord notices are covered in The Florida 3-Day Notice and The Florida 7-Day Notice.
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.
The landlord’s maintenance obligations in section 83.51
Section 83.51(1) of the 2026 Florida Statutes provides that “The landlord at all times during the tenancy shall” either “Comply with the requirements of applicable building, housing, and health codes” or, “Where there are no applicable building, housing, or health codes, maintain the roofs, windows, doors, floors, steps, porches, exterior walls, foundations, and all other structural components in good repair and capable of resisting normal forces and loads and the plumbing in reasonable working condition.”¹ The same subsection states that “The landlord’s obligations under this subsection may be altered or modified in writing with respect to a single-family home or duplex.”¹
Section 83.51(2)(a) adds that, “Unless otherwise agreed in writing,” the landlord “of a dwelling unit other than a single-family home or duplex shall, at all times during the tenancy, make reasonable provisions for” five things:¹
- “The extermination of rats, mice, roaches, ants, wood-destroying organisms, and bedbugs.”
- “Locks and keys.”
- “The clean and safe condition of common areas.”
- “Garbage removal and outside receptacles therefor.”
- “Functioning facilities for heat during winter, running water, and hot water.”¹
Two other provisions of the section bear on repair disputes. Section 83.51(2)(c) states that “Nothing in this part authorizes the tenant to raise a noncompliance by the landlord with this subsection as a defense to an action for possession under s. 83.59.” Section 83.51(4) provides that “The landlord is not responsible to the tenant under this section for conditions created or caused by the negligent or wrongful act or omission of the tenant, a member of the tenant’s family, or other person on the premises with the tenant’s consent.”¹
The tenant’s 7-day notice in section 83.56(1)
Section 83.56(1) provides that “If the landlord materially fails to comply with s. 83.51(1) or material provisions of the rental agreement within 7 days after delivery of written notice by the tenant specifying the noncompliance and indicating the intention of the tenant to terminate the rental agreement by reason thereof, the tenant may terminate the rental agreement.”²
The same subsection addresses failures “due to causes beyond the control of the landlord” where “the landlord has made and continues to make every reasonable effort to correct the failure to comply.” In that situation, “the rental agreement may be terminated or altered by the parties, as follows”:²
- “If the landlord’s failure to comply renders the dwelling unit untenantable and the tenant vacates, the tenant shall not be liable for rent during the period the dwelling unit remains uninhabitable.”
- “If the landlord’s failure to comply does not render the dwelling unit untenantable and the tenant remains in occupancy, the rent for the period of noncompliance shall be reduced by an amount in proportion to the loss of rental value caused by the noncompliance.”²
Section 83.56(4) provides that notices under subsections (1) through (3) are delivered “by mailing, delivering a true copy thereof, e-mailing in accordance with s. 83.505, or, if the tenant is absent from the premises, by leaving a copy thereof at the residence,” and that “The notice requirements of subsections (1)-(3) may not be waived in the rental agreement.”²
Form 3: notice of termination
The Florida Bar’s list of landlord-tenant forms “approved by the Florida Supreme Court” includes “Form 3: Notice From Tenant To Landlord — Termination For Failure Of Landlord To Maintain Premises As Required By Florida Statute 83.51(1) Or Material Provisions Of The Rental Agreement.”³ The Washington County Clerk of Court reprints it in its landlord-tenant packet, with instructions that begin:⁴
Tenant should carefully review Sections 83.51(1) and 83.51(2) Florida Statutes and the rental agreement and should ensure that the violations by the Landlord alleged by the Tenant in the notice do, in fact, exist. The Tenant’s right to terminate the rental agreement exists only after giving the notice and if the Landlord materially fails to maintain the premises as required by section 83.51 or material provision of the rental agreement.⁴
The notice itself is addressed to the “Landlord’s Name (or Landlord’s authorized representative, resident manager, or the person who collects the rent from the Landlord),” carries the reference line “Re: Seven Day Notice of Noncompliance to Landlord,” and reads:⁴
This is to inform you that you are not maintaining my dwelling unit as required by Florida Statute 83.51(1) and our rental agreement. If you do not complete the following repairs, non-compliance, violations, or default in the next seven days, I intend to terminate the rental agreement, move out, and hold you responsible for any damages resulting from the termination:⁴
A blank follows for the tenant to “[list Landlord’s violations, non-compliance, or default],” along with the tenant’s name, address and unit number, and phone number.⁴
Form 4: notice of withholding rent, and the court registry
The Bar’s approved set also includes “Form 4: Notice From Tenant To Landlord — Withholding Rent For Failure Of Landlord To Maintain Premises As Required By Florida Statute 83.51(1) Or Material Provisions Of The Rental Agreement.”³ Its notice reads:
This is to inform you that you are not maintaining my dwelling unit as required by Florida Statute 83.51(1) or material provisions of our rental agreement. If you do not complete the following repairs, noncompliance, violation or default, within seven days I intend to withhold all future rental payment and/or terminate the rental agreement:⁴
A blank follows to “[list non-compliance violations or default],” and the notice closes, “This letter is sent to you pursuant to Florida Statute 83.56.”⁴
Form 4’s instructions, as reprinted in the Washington County packet, begin, “A Tenant cannot withhold rent from the Landlord without sending notice and allowing the Landlord time to cure the non-compliance, violation, or default of its obligations. Failure to send the required notice to the Landlord has significant impact on a Tenant’s rights under the rental agreement and Florida Statutes.”⁴ They continue with a warning about court proceedings:
In any legal proceeding, however, the Tenant will have to pay all past due rent, and rent as it comes due during the legal proceedings, into the registry of the Court. The Tenant should, therefore, deposit all rent as it comes due in a separate bank account until the Tenant’s disputes with the Landlord have been resolved.⁴
The statute on court proceedings, section 83.60, addresses the same point. Section 83.60(1) provides that a material noncompliance with section 83.51(1) by the landlord “is a complete defense to an action for possession based upon nonpayment of rent,” and that the court or jury “shall determine the amount, if any, by which the rent is to be reduced to reflect the diminution in value of the dwelling unit during the period of noncompliance with s. 83.51(1).”⁵ Section 83.60(2) then provides that “if the tenant interposes any defense other than payment,” the tenant “shall pay into the registry of the court the accrued rent as alleged in the complaint or as determined by the court and the rent that accrues during the pendency of the proceeding, when due.” It continues:⁵
Failure of the tenant to pay the rent into the registry of the court or to file a motion to determine the amount of rent to be paid into the registry within 5 days, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays, after the date of service of process constitutes an absolute waiver of the tenant’s defenses other than payment, and the landlord is entitled to an immediate default judgment for removal of the tenant with a writ of possession to issue without further notice or hearing thereon.⁵
The eviction summons, the tenant’s Answer form, and the registry deposit are covered in detail in Responding to an Eviction in Florida: What the County Packets Say.
What county clerks say
The Pasco County Clerk & Comptroller’s landlord-tenant instructions state that “Before you can start a lawsuit to end a residential lease or withhold rental payments, you must first give proper written notice,” and that “The form of the notice will depend on the landlord or tenant’s reason for terminating the lease or withholding rent.”⁶ The Duval County Clerk of Courts’ Tenant Rights packet describes the registry process for a rent dispute: “If you and the landlord do not agree on the amount of rent owed, give the Clerk of the Court the money you say you owe. You must also file the above-mentioned motion and the judge will decide what amount should be given to the Clerk of the Court by way of a hearing and/or an order.”⁷ The Washington County packet notes that “Information or forms provided by the Clerk of Court should be considered as basic information only and may not be applicable to every situation.”⁴
Need help completing the forms?
Form America LLC, the publisher of this site, offers flat-rate form completion and filing instructions for landlord-tenant forms in all 67 Florida counties. To request help with Form 3, Form 4, or the other approved landlord-tenant forms, use the contact form at LandlordTenantForms.com. Because these forms are approved by the Supreme Court of Florida, Rule 10-2.2 of the Rules Regulating The Florida Bar allows a nonlawyer to ask you the factual questions needed to fill in the blanks and to tell you how to deliver the notice.⁸ Form America cannot tell you whether your landlord is out of compliance, which notice to send, how to describe the problem, or whether to withhold rent. Those decisions are yours, and you and the preparer sign the disclosure that rule requires before any work begins. For questions about your rights, The Florida Bar Lawyer Referral Service can be reached at 800-342-8011.
Notes
- The Florida Senate, 2026 Florida Statutes, Section 83.51, Landlord’s obligation to maintain premises
- The Florida Senate, 2025 Florida Statutes, Section 83.56, Termination of rental agreement
- The Florida Bar, Landlord Tenant Forms
- Washington County Clerk of Court, Landlord/Tenant Packet (2021)
- The Florida Senate, 2026 Florida Statutes, Section 83.60, Defenses to action for rent or possession; procedure
- Pasco County Clerk & Comptroller, Landlord and Tenant Information and Instructions
- 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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