Florida Statute 83.595 | Lawyer Caselaw & Research

The 2024 Florida Statutes

Title VI
CIVIL PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE

Chapter 83
LANDLORD AND TENANT

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F.S. 83.595

83.595 Choice of remedies upon breach or early termination by tenant.—If the tenant breaches the rental agreement for the dwelling unit and the landlord has obtained a writ of possession, or the tenant has surrendered possession of the dwelling unit to the landlord, or the tenant has abandoned the dwelling unit, the landlord may:

(1) Treat the rental agreement as terminated and retake possession for his or her own account, thereby terminating any further liability of the tenant;

(2) Retake possession of the dwelling unit for the account of the tenant, holding the tenant liable for the difference between the rent stipulated to be paid under the rental agreement and what the landlord is able to recover from a reletting. If the landlord retakes possession, the landlord has a duty to exercise good faith in attempting to relet the premises, and any rent received by the landlord as a result of the reletting must be deducted from the balance of rent due from the tenant. For purposes of this subsection, the term “good faith in attempting to relet the premises” means that the landlord uses at least the same efforts to relet the premises as were used in the initial rental or at least the same efforts as the landlord uses in attempting to rent other similar rental units but does not require the landlord to give a preference in renting the premises over other vacant dwelling units that the landlord owns or has the responsibility to rent;

(3) Stand by and do nothing, holding the lessee liable for the rent as it comes due; or

(4) Charge liquidated damages, as provided in the rental agreement, or an early termination fee to the tenant if the landlord and tenant have agreed to liquidated damages or an early termination fee, if the amount does not exceed 2 months’ rent, and if, in the case of an early termination fee, the tenant is required to give no more than 60 days’ notice, as provided in the rental agreement, prior to the proposed date of early termination. This remedy is available only if the tenant and the landlord, at the time the rental agreement was made, indicated acceptance of liquidated damages or an early termination fee. The tenant must indicate acceptance of liquidated damages or an early termination fee by signing a separate addendum to the rental agreement containing a provision in substantially the following form:

☐ I agree, as provided in the rental agreement, to pay $ (an amount that does not exceed 2 months’ rent) as liquidated damages or an early termination fee if I elect to terminate the rental agreement, and the landlord waives the right to seek additional rent beyond the month in which the landlord retakes possession.

☐ I do not agree to liquidated damages or an early termination fee, and I acknowledge that the landlord may seek damages as provided by law.

(a) In addition to liquidated damages or an early termination fee, the landlord is entitled to the rent and other charges accrued through the end of the month in which the landlord retakes possession of the dwelling unit and charges for damages to the dwelling unit.

(b) This subsection does not apply if the breach is failure to give notice as provided in s. 83.575.

History.—s. 2, ch. 87-369; s. 4, ch. 88-379; s. 448, ch. 95-147; s. 2, ch. 2008-131.

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Amendments to 83.595

Arrestable Offenses / Crimes under Fla. Stat. 83.595

Level: Degree
Misdemeanor/Felony: First/Second/Third

Current data shows no reason an arrest or criminal charge should have occurred directly under Florida Statute 83.595.

Annotations, Discussions, Cases:

Cases Citing Statute 83.595

Total Results: 8

The Duffner Family 2012 Irrevocable Trust v. The Lee R. Duffner Revocable Living Trust

Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida | Date Filed: 2024-07-31

Snippet: by tenant” are closely circumscribed by section 83.595, Florida Statutes. The statute provides, in pertinent

Wilson v. Terwillinger

Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida | Date Filed: 2014-06-20

Citation: 140 So. 3d 1122, 2014 Fla. App. LEXIS 9341, 2014 WL 2781840

Snippet: the rental agreement, in the form set forth in § 83.595(4), Fla. Stat., constitutes a valid, binding obligation

Atlantis Estate Acquisitions, Inc. v. DePierro

Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida | Date Filed: 2013-04-24

Citation: 125 So. 3d 889, 2013 WL 1748642, 2013 Fla. App. LEXIS 6544

Snippet: pursuant to the Landlord and Tenant Act. Section 83.595, Florida Statutes, provides the choice of remedies

OLEN PROPERTIES CORPORATION v. Moss

Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida | Date Filed: 2008-05-14

Citation: 984 So. 2d 558, 2008 WL 2038249

Snippet: Residential Landlord Tenant Manual (2007) 1-1. Section 83.595, Florida Statutes (2007) sets out the landlord's

Olen Properties Corp. v. Moss

Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida | Date Filed: 2008-04-16

Citation: 981 So. 2d 515, 2008 WL 1734157

Snippet: damages where none exist. *521 Nothing in section 83.595, Florida Statutes, addresses the circumstance where

Cupeiro v. Baron

Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida | Date Filed: 1989-10-10

Citation: 555 So. 2d 370, 14 Fla. L. Weekly 2399, 1989 Fla. App. LEXIS 5698, 1989 WL 118934

Snippet: v. Lester, 58 So.2d 673 (Fla.1951); see also § 83.595(1)(a), Fla.Stat. (1987).

Murphy White Dairy, Inc. v. Simmons

Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida | Date Filed: 1984-05-09

Citation: 452 So. 2d 593, 1984 Fla. App. LEXIS 13089

Snippet: GLICKSTEIN, Judge. This is an appeal from a final judgment in which the trial court concluded appellant was not entitled to the relief it sought, namely, specific performance, because there was no enforceable oral contract for the sale and purchase of the real property involved. We commend the trial judge for verbalizing into the record, at the conclusion of the two-day non-jury trial, not less than eleven pages, reciting his findings of fact. These recitals reflect that he listened carefully to

Ingram v. State

Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida | Date Filed: 1983-12-16

Citation: 442 So. 2d 404, 1983 Fla. App. LEXIS 25153

Snippet: PER CURIAM. John Willis Ingram appeals an order entered after a jury trial which adjudicated him guilty of robbery in violation of section 812.13(1), Florida Statutes (1981), sentenced him to a fifteen-year term of imprisonment, and assessed him with a $1000 fine, a lien for the services of the public defender, and court costs of $81. Ingram’s initial argument on appeal is that the trial court erred in denying his motions for a mistrial and a new trial due to the prosecutor’s purported reference