Florida/Georgia Personal Injury & Workers Compensation

...[6] Appellees argue that section 83.51 does not require the landlord to provide "locks and keys" for outside entrances to the building or the upstairs hallway bathroom door because these areas are not a part of the "dwelling unit." We disagree. The term "dwelling unit" is defined in section 83.43(2) to mean a structure or part of a structure that is rented for use as a residence, and is broad enough to include the bathroom and common areas....

...good faith in its performance or enforcement." This provision is identical to language in the Uniform Commercial Code. § 671.203, Fla. Stat. (1981). The term "good faith" is defined in section 671.201(19), Florida Statutes (1981), identically as in section 83.43(8), as "honesty in fact in the conduct or transaction concerned." In the context of the Uniform Commercial Code, this provision adds an additional term into the contract that the parties observe honesty in fact and reasonable standards of fair dealing in their transactions....

...The landlord is entitled to the summary procedure provided in s. 51.011[F.S. 1971], and the court shall advance the cause on the calendar. (Emphasis added). Thus, a landlord/tenant relationship is a condition precedent to applying this statutory remedy. Section 83.43(4), Florida Statutes (2004), defines "tenant" as "any person entitled to occupy a dwelling unit under a rental agreement." Moreover, section 83.43(7) defines "rental agreement" as "any written agreement, or oral agreement if for less duration than 1 year, providing for use and occupancy of premises." In the instant case, it is undisputed that there was no written "rental agreement." Moreover, it is also undisputed that after Ms....

...Toledo's former boyfriend moved from the condominium unit, Ms. Toledo continued to live there for approximately four years. Thus, any oral agreement between Ms. Toledo and her former boyfriend cannot be considered a "rental agreement" as defined in section 83.43(7), as the oral agreement, if any, between Ms....

...See Consumers Alliance Corp. v. McWhorter, 12 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 890a (Fla. Broward Cty. Ct. July 13, 2005)(holding that "Plaintiff failed to prove that this is a landlord-tenant relationship with a `rental agreement' as required by Florida Statutes §§ 83.41, 83.43(6) & 83.43(7) (2004)....

...The landlord contended that it did not violate section 83.49(2) by failing to segregate and hold the monies in an interest bearing account. In its counterclaim, it sought damages for breach of the lease. After a trial on the matter, the court ruled that the $66,000 rental payment was advance rent, within the meaning of section 83.43(9), which had not been segregated in an account, and that the landlord did not post a bond to secure the advance rent for the tenant in accordance with the provisions of section 83.49(1)....

...The rental payment period is yearly. See § 83.46(2), Fla. Stat. Therefore, the $66,000 was not being held for a future rental period but was paid for the current year’s rental. It did not constitute advance rent within the meaning of the Landlord and Tenant Act. See § 83.43(9), Fla....

...of [second-tier] certiorari jurisdiction.” Stel-Den of Am., 438 So. 2d at 884. The Act “applies to the rental of a dwelling unit.” § 83.41, Fla. Stat. (2016). Although we agree that Backyard Trading is a “landlord” under the Act, § 83.43(3), Fla. Stat. (2016) (defining “landlord” as “the owner or lessor of a dwelling unit”) (emphasis added), Mesnikoff is not a “tenant” under the Act because there was no rental agreement. See § 83.43(4), Florida Statutes (2016) (defining “tenant” as “any person entitled to occupy a dwelling unit under a rental agreement”); see also Toledo v....

jurisdiction, that there was no rental agreement under section 83.43, Florida Statutes, and that she had an ownership

1976). 7 Id. at 664. 8 Id. 9 Id. at 664-665. 10 Section 83.43(2), Fla. Stat. (1993), defines "[d]welling unit"

subject property in that case, pursuant to section 83.43(3), Florida Statutes (2019), because FYES’s

...d that she “was also successful in defending against the two (2) counterclaims filed” by Defendant, pointing out that the counterclaims “asked for the award of attorney’s fees and court costs under Florida Statutes § 83.52 and § 83.55 with § 83.43 as controlling authority.” Plaintiff further asserted that Defendant “is not entitled to seek a reduction in fees based on the fact that the Plaintiff was only successful in one (1) cause of action....

...f Chapter 83, Part II, Florida Statutes (2018), also known as the Florida Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (“Residential Act”). 5  The Residential Act’s plain language answers that question as yes. Section 83.43(3) defines “landlord” as “the owner or lessor of a dwelling unit.” § 83.43(3), Fla. Stat. (2018) (emphasis added). Section 83.43(2)(a) defines a “dwelling unit” as “[a] structure or part of a structure that is rented for use as a home, residence, or sleeping place by one person or by two or more persons who maintain a common household.” § 83.43(2)(a), Fla....

...dwelling unit or a portion thereof to a third party like the alleged tenant here, while still living in the dwelling unit himself, is, in fact, a “landlord.” Further, the oral agreement here between the alleged landlord and the alleged tenant was a “rental agreement.” See § 83.43(7), Fla....

...If the rent is payable … monthly, tenancy is from month to month. …”). Thus, the alleged tenant here, as a person who was entitled to occupy the house under the rental agreement with the alleged landlord, was, in fact, a “tenant.” See § 83.43(4), Fla....

...(2018) (‘“Tenant’ means any person entitled to occupy a dwelling unit under a rental agreement.”). The fact that the rental agreement required the alleged tenant to pay one-half of the utilities, in addition to the $600 monthly payment, does not alter that conclusion. See § 83.43(6), Fla....

...the victim’s assertion of dominion over the porch. The Florida Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, Part II of Chapter 83, Florida Statutes (2022), applies to “the rental of a dwelling unit.” § 83.41, Fla. Stat. (2022). In pertinent part, section 83.43(2)(a) defines a “dwelling unit” as a “structure or part of a structure that is rented for use as a home, residence, or sleeping place by one person.” § 83.43(2)(a), Fla. Stat. (2022). A dwelling unit may be rented by an oral agreement. See § 83.43(7), Fla. Stat....