Florida Statute 83.43 - Full Text and Legal Analysis

The 2025 Florida Statutes

Title VI
CIVIL PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE

Chapter 83
LANDLORD AND TENANT

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83.43 Definitions.—As used in this part, the following words and terms shall have the following meanings unless some other meaning is plainly indicated:

(1) “Active duty” shall have the same meaning as provided in s. 250.01.

(2) “Advance rent” means moneys paid to the landlord to be applied to future rent payment periods, but does not include rent paid in advance for a current rent payment period.

(3) “Building, housing, and health codes” means any law, ordinance, or governmental regulation concerning health, safety, sanitation or fitness for habitation, or the construction, maintenance, operation, occupancy, use, or appearance, of any dwelling unit.

(4) “Deposit money” means any money held by the landlord on behalf of the tenant, including, but not limited to, damage deposits, security deposits, advance rent deposit, pet deposit, or any contractual deposit agreed to between landlord and tenant either in writing or orally.

(5) “Dwelling unit” means:

(a) 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.

(b) A mobile home rented by a tenant.

(c) A structure or part of a structure that is furnished, with or without rent, as an incident of employment for use as a home, residence, or sleeping place by one or more persons.

(6) “Early termination fee” means any charge, fee, or forfeiture that is provided for in a written rental agreement and is assessed to a tenant when a tenant elects to terminate the rental agreement, as provided in the agreement, and vacates a dwelling unit before the end of the rental agreement. An early termination fee does not include:

(a) Unpaid rent and other accrued charges through the end of the month in which the landlord retakes possession of the dwelling unit.

(b) Charges for damages to the dwelling unit.

(7) “Florida financial institution” means a bank, credit union, trust company, savings bank, or savings or thrift association doing business under the authority of a charter issued by the United States, this state, or any other state which is authorized to transact business in this state and whose deposits or share accounts are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund.

(8) “Good faith” means honesty in fact in the conduct or transaction concerned.

(9) “Landlord” means the owner or lessor of a dwelling unit.

(10) “Legal holiday” means holidays observed by the clerk of the court.

(11) “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.

(12) “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.

(13) “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.

(14) “Security deposits” means any moneys held by the landlord as security for the performance of the rental agreement, including, but not limited to, monetary damage to the landlord caused by the tenant’s breach of lease prior to the expiration thereof.

(15) “Servicemember” shall have the same meaning as provided in s. 250.01.

(16) “State active duty” shall have the same meaning as provided in s. 250.01.

(17) “Tenant” means any person entitled to occupy a dwelling unit under a rental agreement.

(18) “Transient occupancy” means occupancy when it is the intention of the parties that the occupancy will be temporary.

History.—s. 2, ch. 73-330; s. 1, ch. 74-143; s. 1, ch. 81-190; s. 3, ch. 83-151; s. 17, ch. 94-170; s. 2, ch. 2003-72; s. 1, ch. 2008-131; s. 18, ch. 2023-8; s. 1, ch. 2024-199.

F.S. 83.43 on Google Scholar

F.S. 83.43 on CourtListener

Amendments to 83.43

Annotations, Discussions, Cases:

Cases Citing Statute 83.43

Total Results: 11 | Sort by: Relevance | Newest First

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Paterson v. Deeb, 472 So. 2d 1210 (Fla. 1st DCA 1985).

Cited 64 times | Published | Florida 1st District Court of Appeal | 10 Fla. L. Weekly 1417

...[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....

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State v. De Anza Corp., 416 So. 2d 1173 (Fla. 5th DCA 1982).

Cited 14 times | Published | Florida 5th District Court of Appeal

...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....

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Toledo v. Escamilla, 962 So. 2d 1028 (Fla. 3d DCA 2007).

Cited 11 times | Published | Florida 3rd District Court of Appeal | 2007 WL 2254764

...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)....

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Atlantis Est. Acquisitions, Inc. v. DePierro, 125 So. 3d 889 (Fla. 4th DCA 2013).

Cited 3 times | Published | Florida 4th District Court of Appeal | 2013 WL 1748642, 2013 Fla. App. LEXIS 6544

payment was advance rent, within the meaning of section 83.43(9), which had not been segregated in an account

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Mesnikoff v. Fq Backyard Trading, LLC, 239 So. 3d 765 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2018).

Cited 1 times | Published | District Court of Appeal of Florida

Backyard Trading is a “landlord” under the Act, § 83.43(3), Fla. Stat. (2016) (defining “landlord” as

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Borjas v. Vergara (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2017).

Published | District Court of Appeal of Florida

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

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Ago (Fla. Att'y Gen. 1994).

Published | Florida Attorney General Reports

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

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F.Y.E.S. Holdings, Inc. v. House Golden Rule, LLC & Paul Quevedo (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2021).

Published | District Court of Appeal of Florida

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

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Gina Nugent v. Anne- Laure Michelis (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2021).

Published | District Court of Appeal of Florida

under Florida Statutes § 83.52 and § 83.55 with § 83.43 as controlling authority.” Plaintiff further asserted

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Christina Marie Powers v. Roy George Whitcraft, III (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2021).

Published | District Court of Appeal of Florida

as yes. Section 83.43(3) defines “landlord” as “the owner or lessor of a dwelling unit.” § 83.43(3), Fla

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Patricia Kay Sublett v. State of Florida (Fla. 4th DCA 2025).

Published | Florida 4th District Court of Appeal

83.41, Fla. Stat. (2022). In pertinent part, section 83.43(2)(a) defines a “dwelling unit” as a “structure

This Florida statute resource is curated by Graham W. Syfert, Esq., a Jacksonville, Florida personal injury and workers' compensation attorney. For legal consultation, call 904-383-7448.