State Specific Question About: FLORIDA (FL)

Florida legislators are making it easier to evict tenants under a bill now heading to Gov. Rick Scott.

The bill comes at a time when more and more people in the state have become renters due to the foreclosure crisis that has troubled the state for years.

Under the bill a tenant could pay partial rent and still be evicted within days if they fail to turn over the rest of the money. The measure (HB 77) would also allow a landlord to evict a tenant if a person if breaks rules twice in one year. Those rules can include parking in the wrong spot or having an unauthorized pet.

Sen. Kelli Stargel, R-Lakeland, maintained that the legislation did not include any major changes, but instead was intended to clarify the rights of both tenants and landlords.

"I think it's just much more clear and concise what's expected of both parties," Stargel said.

But Alice Vickers with the Florida Consumer Action Network sharply disagreed about the impact of the bill. She called it the "largest erosion in protections for residential tenants that Florida has seen in many years."

"Though there was no doubt before, it is abundantly clear that Florida is a landlord state," Vickers said.

The Florida House voted 92-25 in favor of the bill on Thursday. The Florida Senate approved it last week by a 27-10 margin.

Stargel, one of the main sponsors of the bill, is an investment property manager. Court records show Stargel has been forced to evict people who rent property she owns. She has said it's not a conflict of interest because the bill does not just apply to her but to all landlords and tenants.

It has not been signed yet. We will see what happens. Need to see how it is writen.

This just clears up the rules on partial payment. In the past a partial rent payment could stop or slow down an eviction. Now it appears the process can continue even if some money is paid. Now the problem will still be the same as always, getting the judges to follow the law. There have been too many instances where tenants got hearings from the judge even though they paid NO money to the court.

Stay in the business long enough and you will learn there is the law by the book and the law by the judge, there are not the same. I now use an attorney for all evictions as they can remind the judge of the written law if they stray. I tried this on my own once and we won't go there again.