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HB 107 2026
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to termination of a rental agreement 2
by a victim of domestic violence, dating violence, 3
sexual violence, or stalking; creating s. 83.676, 4
F.S.; defining terms; prohibiting a landlord from 5
terminating a rental agreement or evicting a tenant 6
because the tenant or the tenant's minor child is a 7
victim of actual or threatened domestic violence, 8
dating violence, sexual violence, or stalking; 9
specifying that a rental agreement may not contain 10
certain provisions; authorizing a victim of such 11
actual or threatened violence or stalking to terminate 12
a rental agreement under certain circumstances; 13
requiring certain documentation and written notice to 14
landlord; providing for liability for rent for both 15
the tenant and the perpetrator, if applicable; 16
specifying that a tenant does not forfeit certain 17
money paid to the landlord for terminating the rental 18
agreement under certain circumstances; requiring a 19
landlord to change the locks of the dwelling unit 20
within a specified time period under certain 21
circumstances; authorizing the tenant to change the 22
locks of the dwelling unit under certain 23
circumstances; providing that certain information 24
provided to a landlord from a tenant or a prospective 25
HB 107 2026
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
tenant is confidential; prohibiting certain actions by 26
a landlord under certain circumstances; authorizing 27
filing of a civil action and an award of damages, 28
fees, and costs under certain circumstances; 29
prohibiting the waiver of certain provisions; 30
providing an effective date. 31
32
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 33
34
Section 1. Section 83.676, Florida Statutes, is created to 35
read: 36
83.676 Early termination of rental agreement by a victim 37
of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual violence, or 38
stalking; lock changing.— 39
(1) As used in this section, the term: 40
(a) "Dating violence" has the same meaning as in s. 41
784.046(1)(d). 42
(b) "Domestic violence" has the same meaning as in s. 43
741.28. 44
(c) "Sexual violence" has the same meaning as in s. 45
784.046(1)(c). 46
(d) "Stalking," as described in s. 784.048(2), means 47
willfully, maliciously, and repeatedly following, harassing, or 48
cyberstalking another person. 49
(2) A landlord may not terminate a rental agreement or 50
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evict a tenant for an incident involving actual or threatened 51
domestic violence, dating violence, sexual violence, or stalking 52
if the tenant or the tenant's minor child is the victim of such 53
actual or threatened violence or stalking. A rental agreement 54
may not include a provision deeming that early termination of a 55
rental agreement because of an incident involving actual or 56
threatened domestic violence, dating violence, sexual violence, 57
or stalking, in which the tenant or the tenant's minor child is 58
a victim and not the perpetrator, is a breach of the rental 59
agreement. 60
(3)(a) If a tenant or a tenant's minor child is a victim 61
of actual or threatened domestic violence, dating violence, 62
sexual violence, or stalking during the term of a rental 63
agreement, the tenant may, without penalty, terminate the rental 64
agreement at any time by providing the landlord with written 65
notice of the tenant's intent to terminate the rental agreement 66
and to vacate the premises because of such incident. The 67
termination of the rental agreement is effective immediately 68
upon delivery of the written notice and documentation specified 69
in paragraph (b), if applicable, to the landlord. 70
(b) Unless the landlord notifies the tenant that 71
documentation is not needed, a notice of termination from the 72
tenant required under paragraph (a) must be accompanied by 73
documentation verifying the tenant's or the tenant's minor 74
child's status as a victim of actual or threatened domestic 75
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violence, dating violence, sexual violence, or stalking and may 76
include: 77
1. A copy of an injunction for protection against domestic 78
violence, dating violence, sexual violence, or stalking issued 79
to the tenant as the victim or as parent of a minor victim; 80
2. A copy of an order of no contact or a criminal 81
conviction entered by a court in a criminal case in which the 82
defendant was charged with a crime relating to domestic 83
violence, dating violence, sexual violence, or stalking against 84
the tenant or the tenant's minor child; 85
3. A written verification from a domestic violence center 86
certified under chapter 39 or a rape crisis center as defined in 87
s. 794.055(2) which states that the tenant or the tenant's minor 88
child is a victim of actual or threatened domestic violence, 89
dating violence, sexual violence, or stalking; or 90
4. A copy of a law enforcement report documenting an 91
incident of actual or threatened domestic violence, dating 92
violence, sexual violence, or stalking against the tenant or the 93
tenant's minor child. 94
(c) A notice of termination from the tenant required under 95
paragraph (a) must be provided by certified mail or hand 96
delivery to the landlord, a person authorized to receive notices 97
on behalf of the landlord under s. 83.50, a resident manager, or 98
the person or entity that collects the rent on behalf of the 99
landlord. 100
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(d) If a rental agreement with a specific duration is 101
terminated by a tenant under this subsection less than 30 days 102
before the end of the rental agreement, the tenant is liable for 103
the rent for the remaining period of the rental agreement. If a 104
rental agreement with a specific duration is terminated by a 105
tenant under this subsection 30 or more days before the end of 106
the rental agreement, the tenant is liable for prorated rent for 107
a period of 30 days immediately following delivery of the notice 108
of termination. After compliance with this paragraph, the tenant 109
is released from any further obligation to pay rent, 110
concessions, damages, fees, or penalties, and the landlord is 111
not entitled to the remedies provided in s. 83.595. 112
(e) If a rental agreement is terminated by a tenant under 113
this subsection, the landlord must comply with s. 83.49(3). A 114
tenant who terminates a rental agreement under this subsection 115
does not forfeit any deposit money or advance rent paid to the 116
landlord. 117
(f) This subsection does not affect a tenant's liability 118
for unpaid rent or other amounts owed to the landlord before the 119
termination of the rental agreement under this subsection. 120
(g) If the perpetrator of actual or threatened domestic 121
violence, dating violence, sexual violence, or stalking is also 122
a tenant under the same rental agreement as the tenant who is a 123
victim, or whose minor child is a victim, of such actual or 124
threatened violence or stalking, neither the perpetrator's 125
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liability for rent nor his or her other obligations under the 126
rental agreement are terminated under this subsection, and the 127
landlord is entitled to the rights and remedies provided by this 128
part against the perpetrator. 129
(4)(a) A tenant or a tenant's minor child who is a victim 130
of actual or threatened domestic violence, dating violence, 131
sexual violence, or stalking and who wishes to remain in the 132
dwelling unit may make a written request to the landlord 133
accompanied by any one of the documents listed in paragraph 134
(3)(b), and the landlord shall, within 24 hours after receipt of 135
the request, change the locks of the tenant's dwelling unit and 136
provide the tenant with a key to the new locks. 137
(b) If the landlord fails to change the locks within 24 138
hours, the tenant may change the locks without the landlord's 139
permission, notwithstanding any contrary provision in the rental 140
agreement or other applicable rules or regulations imposed by 141
the landlord, if all of the following conditions have been met: 142
1. The locks are changed in like manner as if the landlord 143
had changed the locks, with locks of similar or better quality 144
than the original locks. 145
2. The landlord is notified within 24 hours after the 146
changing of the locks. 147
3. The landlord is provided a key to the new locks within 148
a reasonable time. 149
(c) If the locks are changed under this subsection, the 150
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landlord is not liable to any person who does not have access to 151
the dwelling unit. 152
(5) A landlord may not refuse to enter into a rental 153
agreement for a dwelling unit, refuse to negotiate for the 154
rental of a dwelling unit, make a dwelling unit unavailable, or 155
retaliate in the rental of a dwelling unit because: 156
(a) The tenant, prospective tenant, or minor child of the 157
tenant or prospective tenant is a victim of actual or threatened 158
domestic violence, dating violence, sexual violence, or 159
stalking; or 160
(b) The tenant or prospective tenant has previously 161
terminated a rental agreement because of an incident involving 162
actual or threatened domestic violence, dating violence, sexual 163
violence, or stalking in which the tenant, prospective tenant, 164
or minor child of the tenant or prospective tenant was a victim. 165
166
However, the landlord may refuse to enter into a rental 167
agreement, negotiate for the rental of a dwelling unit, or make 168
a dwelling unit unavailable if the tenant or prospective tenant 169
fails to comply with the landlord's request for documentation of 170
an incident of actual or threatened domestic violence, dating 171
violence, sexual violence, or stalking that occurred before 172
termination of a prior rental agreement. A landlord's request 173
for documentation is satisfied upon the tenant's or prospective 174
tenant's provision of any one of the documents listed in 175
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paragraph (3)(b). 176
(6) All information provided to a landlord under 177
subsections (3), (4), and (5), including the fact that a tenant, 178
prospective tenant, or a tenant's or prospective tenant's minor 179
child is a victim of actual or threatened domestic violence, 180
dating violence, sexual violence, or stalking, and including the 181
tenant's forwarding address, is confidential. The landlord may 182
not enter such information into any shared database or provide 183
the information to any other person or entity, except to the 184
extent such disclosure is: 185
(a) Made to a person specified in paragraph (3)(c) solely 186
for a legitimate business purpose; 187
(b) Requested, or consented to, in writing by the tenant 188
or the tenant's legal guardian; 189
(c) Required for use in a judicial proceeding; or 190
(d) Otherwise required by law. 191
(7) A tenant or prospective tenant, on his or her own 192
behalf or on behalf of his or her minor child, may file a civil 193
action against a landlord for a violation of this section. A 194
landlord who violates subsection (5) or subsection (6) is 195
civilly liable to the victim for $1,000 for punitive damages, 196
actual and consequential damages, and court costs, including 197
reasonable attorney fees, unless the landlord can show that this 198
was the landlord's first violation and the violation was not 199
committed in bad faith. Subsequent or repeated violations that 200
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are not contemporaneous with the initial violation are subject 201
to separate awards of damages. 202
(8) The provisions of this section may not be waived or 203
modified by a rental agreement. 204
Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026. 205