HB 619 2025
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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.; providing definitions; prohibiting a landlord 5
from evicting a tenant or terminating a rental 6
agreement because the tenant or the tenant's minor 7
child is a victim of actual or threatened domestic 8
violence, dating violence, sexual violence, or 9
stalking; specifying that a rental agreement may not 10
contain certain provisions; authorizing a victim of 11
such actual or threatened violence or stalking to 12
terminate a rental agreement under certain 13
circumstances; requiring certain documentation and 14
written notice to landlord; providing for liability 15
for rent for both the tenant and the perpetrator, if 16
applicable; specifying that a tenant does not forfeit 17
certain money paid to the landlord for terminating the 18
rental agreement under certain circumstances; 19
requiring a landlord to change the locks of the 20
dwelling unit within a specified time period under 21
certain circumstances; authorizing the tenant to 22
change the locks of the dwelling unit under certain 23
circumstances; prohibiting certain actions by a 24
landlord under certain circumstances; authorizing 25
HB 619 2025
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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
filing of a civil action and an award of damages, 26
fees, and costs under certain circumstances; 27
prohibiting the waiver of certain provisions; 28
providing an effective date. 29
30
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 31
32
Section 1. Section 83.676, Florida Statutes, is created to 33
read: 34
83.676 Early terminati on of rental agreement by a victim 35
of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual violence, or 36
stalking; lock changing. — 37
(1) As used in this section, the term: 38
(a) "Dating violence" has the same meaning as in s. 39
784.046(1)(d). 40
(b) "Domestic violence" has the same meaning as in s. 41
741.28. 42
(c) "Sexual violence" has the same meaning as in s. 43
784.046(1)(c). 44
(d) "Stalking," as described in s. 784.048(2), means 45
willfully, maliciously, and repeatedly following, harassing, or 46
cyberstalking another person. 47
(2) A landlord may not terminate a rental agreement or 48
evict a tenant for an incident involving actual or threatened 49
domestic violence, dating violence, sexual violence, or stalking 50
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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
if the tenant or the tenant's minor child is the victim of such 51
actual or threatened violence or stalking. A rental agreement 52
may not include a provision deeming that early termination of a 53
rental agreement because of an incident involving actual or 54
threatened domestic violence, dating violence, sexual violence, 55
or stalking, in which the tenant or the tenant's minor child is 56
a victim and not the perpetrator, is a breach of the rental 57
agreement. 58
(3)(a) If a tenant or a tenant's minor child is a victim 59
of actual or threatened domestic violence, dating violence, 60
sexual violence, or stalking during the term of a rental 61
agreement, the tenant may, without penalty, terminate the rental 62
agreement at any time by providing the landlord with written 63
notice of the tenant's intent to terminate the rental agreement 64
and to vacate the premise s because of such incident. The 65
termination of the rental agreement is effective immediately 66
upon delivery of the written notice and documentation specified 67
in paragraph (b), if applicable, to the landlord. 68
(b) Unless the landlord notifies the tenant tha t 69
documentation is not needed, a notice of termination from the 70
tenant required under paragraph (a) must be accompanied by 71
documentation verifying the tenant's or the tenant's minor 72
child's status as a victim of actual or threatened domestic 73
violence, dating violence, sexual violence, or stalking and may 74
include: 75
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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
1. A copy of an injunction for protection against domestic 76
violence, dating violence, sexual violence, or stalking issued 77
to the tenant as the victim or as parent of a minor victim; 78
2. A copy of an order of no contact or a criminal 79
conviction entered by a court in a criminal case in which the 80
defendant was charged with a crime relating to domestic 81
violence, dating violence, sexual violence, or stalking against 82
the tenant or the tenant's minor ch ild; 83
3. A written verification from a domestic violence center 84
certified under chapter 39 or a rape crisis center as defined in 85
s. 794.055(2) which states that the tenant or the tenant's minor 86
child is a victim of actual or threatened domestic violence, 87
dating violence, sexual violence, or stalking; or 88
4. A copy of a law enforcement report documenting an 89
incident of actual or threatened domestic violence, dating 90
violence, sexual violence, or stalking against the tenant or the 91
tenant's minor child. 92
(c) A notice of termination from the tenant required under 93
paragraph (a) must be provided by certified mail or hand 94
delivery to the landlord, a person authorized to receive notices 95
on behalf of the landlord under s. 83.50, a resident manager, or 96
the person or entity that collects the rent on behalf of the 97
landlord. 98
(d) If a rental agreement with a specific duration is 99
terminated by a tenant under this subsection less than 30 days 100
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before the end of the rental agreement, the tenant is liable for 101
the rent for the remaining period of the rental agreement. If a 102
rental agreement with a specific duration is terminated by a 103
tenant under this subsection 30 or more days before the end of 104
the rental agreement, the tenant is liable for prorated rent for 105
a period of 30 days immediately following delivery of the notice 106
of termination. After compliance with this paragraph, the tenant 107
is released from any further obligation to pay rent, 108
concessions, damages, fees, or penalties, and the landlord is 109
not entitled to the remedies provided in s. 83.595. 110
(e) If a rental agreement is terminated by a tenant under 111
this subsection, the landlord must comply with s. 83.49(3). A 112
tenant who terminates a rental agreement under this subsection 113
does not forfeit any deposit money or advance r ent paid to the 114
landlord. 115
(f) This subsection does not affect a tenant's liability 116
for unpaid rent or other amounts owed to the landlord before the 117
termination of the rental agreement under this subsection. 118
(g) If the perpetrator of actual or threatene d domestic 119
violence, dating violence, sexual violence, or stalking is also 120
a tenant under the same rental agreement as the tenant who is a 121
victim, or whose minor child is a victim, of such actual or 122
threatened violence or stalking, neither the perpetrator' s 123
liability for rent nor his or her other obligations under the 124
rental agreement are terminated under this subsection, and the 125
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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
landlord is entitled to the rights and remedies provided by this 126
part against the perpetrator. 127
(4)(a) A tenant or a tenant's mi nor child who is a victim 128
of actual or threatened domestic violence, dating violence, 129
sexual violence, or stalking and who wishes to remain in the 130
dwelling unit may make a written request to the landlord 131
accompanied by any one of the documents listed in pa ragraph 132
(3)(b), and the landlord shall, within 24 hours after receipt of 133
the request, change the locks of the tenant's dwelling unit and 134
provide the tenant with a key to the new locks. 135
(b) If the landlord fails to change the locks within 24 136
hours, the tenant may change the locks without the landlord's 137
permission, notwithstanding any contrary provision in the rental 138
agreement or other applicable rules or regulations imposed by 139
the landlord, if all of the following conditions have been met: 140
1. The locks are changed in like manner as if the landlord 141
had changed the locks, with locks of similar or better quality 142
than the original locks. 143
2. The landlord is notified within 24 hours after the 144
changing of the locks. 145
3. The landlord is provided a key to the n ew locks within 146
a reasonable time. 147
(c) If the locks are changed under this subsection, the 148
landlord is not liable to any person who does not have access to 149
the dwelling unit. 150
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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
(5) A landlord may not refuse to enter into a rental 151
agreement for a dwelling unit, refuse to negotiate for the 152
rental of a dwelling unit, make a dwelling unit unavailable, or 153
retaliate in the rental of a dwelling unit because: 154
(a) The tenant, prospective tenant, or minor child of the 155
tenant or prospective tenant is a victim of a ctual or threatened 156
domestic violence, dating violence, sexual violence, or 157
stalking; or 158
(b) The tenant or prospective tenant has previously 159
terminated a rental agreement because of an incident involving 160
actual or threatened domestic violence, dating vio lence, sexual 161
violence, or stalking in which the tenant, prospective tenant, 162
or minor child of the tenant or prospective tenant was a victim. 163
164
However, the landlord may refuse to enter into a rental 165
agreement, negotiate for the rental of a dwelling unit, o r make 166
a dwelling unit available if the tenant or prospective tenant 167
fails to comply with the landlord's request for documentation of 168
an incident of actual or threatened domestic violence, dating 169
violence, sexual violence, or stalking that occurred before 170
termination of a prior rental agreement. A landlord's request 171
for documentation is satisfied upon the tenant's or prospective 172
tenant's provision of any one of the documents listed in 173
paragraph (3)(b). 174
(6) All information provided to a landlord under 175
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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
subsections (3), (4), and (5), including the fact that a tenant, 176
prospective tenant, or a tenant's or prospective tenant's minor 177
child is a victim of actual or threatened domestic violence, 178
dating violence, sexual violence, or stalking, and including the 179
tenant's forwarding address, is confidential. The landlord may 180
not enter such information into any shared database or provide 181
the information to any other person or entity, except to the 182
extent such disclosure is: 183
(a) Made to a person specified in paragraph ( 3)(c) solely 184
for a legitimate business purpose; 185
(b) Requested, or consented to, in writing by the tenant 186
or the tenant's legal guardian; 187
(c) Required for use in a judicial proceeding; or 188
(d) Otherwise required by law. 189
(7) A tenant or prospective te nant, on his or her own 190
behalf or on behalf of his or her minor child, may file a civil 191
action against a landlord for a violation of this section. A 192
landlord who violates subsection (5) or subsection (6) is 193
civilly liable to the victim for $1,000 for punit ive damages, 194
actual and consequential damages, and court costs, including 195
reasonable attorney fees, unless the landlord can show that this 196
was the landlord's first violation and the violation was not 197
committed in bad faith. Subsequent or repeated violation s that 198
are not contemporaneous with the initial violation are subject 199
to separate awards of damages. 200
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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
(8) The provisions of this section may not be waived or 201
modified by a rental agreement. 202
Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2025. 203