Florida Statutes 83.682 – Termination of rental agreement by a servicemember
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(1) Any servicemember may terminate his or her rental agreement by providing the landlord with a written notice of termination to be effective on the date stated in the notice which is at least 30 days after the landlord’s receipt of the notice if any of the following criteria are met:
(a) The servicemember is required, pursuant to a permanent change of station orders, to move 35 miles or more from the location of the rental premises;
Terms Used In Florida Statutes 83.682
- Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
- Landlord: means the owner or lessor of a dwelling unit. See Florida Statutes 83.43
- Premises: means a dwelling unit and the structure of which it is a part and a mobile home lot and the appurtenant facilities and grounds, areas, facilities, and property held out for the use of tenants generally. See Florida Statutes 83.43
- Rent: means the periodic payments due the landlord from the tenant for occupancy under a rental agreement and any other payments due the landlord from the tenant as may be designated as rent in a written rental agreement. See Florida Statutes 83.43
- Rental agreement: means any written agreement, including amendments or addenda, or oral agreement for a duration of less than 1 year, providing for use and occupancy of premises. See Florida Statutes 83.43
- Tenant: means any person entitled to occupy a dwelling unit under a rental agreement. See Florida Statutes 83.43
(b) The servicemember is prematurely or involuntarily discharged or released from active duty or state active duty;
(c) The servicemember is released from active duty or state active duty after having leased the rental premises while on active duty or state active duty status and the rental premises is 35 miles or more from the servicemember’s home of record before entering active duty or state active duty;
(d) After entering into a rental agreement, the servicemember receives military orders requiring him or her to move into government quarters or the servicemember becomes eligible to live in and opts to move into government quarters. For purposes of this paragraph, the term “government quarters” means any military housing option that is available to a servicemember, including privatized military housing that is owned, operated, or managed by a private sector company;
(e) The servicemember receives temporary duty orders, temporary change of station orders, or state active duty orders to an area 35 miles or more from the location of the rental premises, provided such orders are for a period exceeding 60 days; or
(f) The servicemember has leased the property, but before taking possession of the rental premises, receives a change of orders to an area that is 35 miles or more from the location of the rental premises.
(2) The notice to the landlord must be accompanied by either a copy of the official military orders or a written verification signed by the servicemember’s commanding officer.
(3) In the event a servicemember dies during active duty, an adult member of his or her immediate family may terminate the servicemember’s rental agreement by providing the landlord with a written notice of termination to be effective on the date stated in the notice that is at least 30 days after the landlord’s receipt of the notice. The notice to the landlord must be accompanied by either a copy of the official military orders showing the servicemember was on active duty or a written verification signed by the servicemember’s commanding officer and a copy of the servicemember’s death certificate.
(4) Upon termination of a rental agreement under this section, the tenant is liable for the rent due under the rental agreement prorated to the effective date of the termination payable at such time as would have otherwise been required by the terms of the rental agreement. The tenant is not liable for any other rent or damages due to the early termination of the tenancy as provided for in this section. Notwithstanding any provision of this section to the contrary, if a tenant terminates the rental agreement pursuant to this section 14 or more days prior to occupancy, no damages or penalties of any kind will be assessable.
(5) The provisions of this section may not be waived or modified by the agreement of the parties under any circumstances.