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Florida Statute 83.67 - Full Text and Legal Analysis
Florida Statute 83.67 | Lawyer Caselaw & Research
Link to State of Florida Official Statute
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The 2025 Florida Statutes

Title VI
CIVIL PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE
Chapter 83
LANDLORD AND TENANT
View Entire Chapter
83.67 Prohibited practices.—
(1) A landlord of any dwelling unit governed by this part shall not cause, directly or indirectly, the termination or interruption of any utility service furnished the tenant, including, but not limited to, water, heat, light, electricity, gas, elevator, garbage collection, or refrigeration, whether or not the utility service is under the control of, or payment is made by, the landlord.
(2) A landlord of any dwelling unit governed by this part shall not prevent the tenant from gaining reasonable access to the dwelling unit by any means, including, but not limited to, changing the locks or using any bootlock or similar device.
(3) A landlord of any dwelling unit governed by this part shall not discriminate against a servicemember in offering a dwelling unit for rent or in any of the terms of the rental agreement.
(4) A landlord shall not prohibit a tenant from displaying one portable, removable, cloth or plastic United States flag, not larger than 4 and 1/2 feet by 6 feet, in a respectful manner in or on the dwelling unit regardless of any provision in the rental agreement dealing with flags or decorations. The United States flag shall be displayed in accordance with s. 83.52(6). The landlord is not liable for damages caused by a United States flag displayed by a tenant. Any United States flag may not infringe upon the space rented by any other tenant.
(5) A landlord of any dwelling unit governed by this part shall not remove the outside doors, locks, roof, walls, or windows of the unit except for purposes of maintenance, repair, or replacement; and the landlord shall not remove the tenant’s personal property from the dwelling unit unless such action is taken after surrender, abandonment, recovery of possession of the dwelling unit due to the death of the last remaining tenant in accordance with s. 83.59(3)(d), or a lawful eviction. If provided in the rental agreement or a written agreement separate from the rental agreement, upon surrender or abandonment by the tenant, the landlord is not required to comply with s. 715.104 and is not liable or responsible for storage or disposition of the tenant’s personal property; if provided in the rental agreement, there must be printed or clearly stamped on such rental agreement a legend in substantially the following form:

BY SIGNING THIS RENTAL AGREEMENT, THE TENANT AGREES THAT UPON SURRENDER, ABANDONMENT, OR RECOVERY OF POSSESSION OF THE DWELLING UNIT DUE TO THE DEATH OF THE LAST REMAINING TENANT, AS PROVIDED BY CHAPTER 83, FLORIDA STATUTES, THE LANDLORD SHALL NOT BE LIABLE OR RESPONSIBLE FOR STORAGE OR DISPOSITION OF THE TENANT’S PERSONAL PROPERTY.

For the purposes of this section, abandonment shall be as set forth in s. 83.59(3)(c).

(6) A landlord who violates any provision of this section shall be liable to the tenant for actual and consequential damages or 3 months’ rent, whichever is greater, and costs, including attorney’s fees. Subsequent or repeated violations that are not contemporaneous with the initial violation shall be subject to separate awards of damages.
(7) A violation of this section constitutes irreparable harm for the purposes of injunctive relief.
(8) The remedies provided by this section are not exclusive and do not preclude the tenant from pursuing any other remedy at law or equity that the tenant may have. The remedies provided by this section shall also apply to a servicemember who is a prospective tenant who has been discriminated against under subsection (3).
History.—s. 3, ch. 87-369; s. 7, ch. 88-379; s. 3, ch. 90-133; s. 3, ch. 96-146; s. 2, ch. 2001-179; s. 2, ch. 2003-30; s. 4, ch. 2003-72; s. 1, ch. 2004-236; s. 2, ch. 2007-136.

F.S. 83.67 on Google Scholar

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Amendments to 83.67


Annotations, Discussions, Cases:

Cases Citing Statute 83.67

Total Results: 16  |  Sort by: Relevance  |  Newest First

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Clemente v. Horne, 707 So. 2d 865 (Fla. 3d DCA 1998).

Cited 15 times | Published | Florida 3rd District Court of Appeal | 1998 WL 88383

...distress as a result of not having adequate alternative housing readily available to them and their five year old son. In count one of their amended complaint, the appellants sought statutory damages for breach of their landlords' duties pursuant to section 83.67, Florida Statutes (1995)....
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Jacobs v. Westgate, 766 So. 2d 1175 (Fla. 3d DCA 2000).

Cited 11 times | Published | Florida 3rd District Court of Appeal | 2000 WL 1283505

...d that the lease was in full force and effect on April 6, 1995. On that date, Jacobs returned to the residence and found himself locked out and his personal property thrown into the street. He initially sued for 1) wrongful eviction; 2) violation of section 83.67, Florida Statutes (1997); 3) conversion; and 4) negligence....
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Mann v. Hillsborough Cnty. Sheriff's Off., 946 F. Supp. 962 (M.D. Fla. 1996).

Cited 7 times | Published | District Court, M.D. Florida | 1996 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 17635, 1996 WL 683614

...the Hillsborough County Housing Code as there were no locks on the windows and standing water in the bedroom and bathroom) for a total of $1,314.48. In addition, Judge Honeywell entered an order against the Creasys, for violation of Florida Statute § 83.67 for preventing the tenant reasonable access to the dwelling and removing the tenant's personal property....
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James v. City Of St. Petersburg, 33 F.3d 1304 (11th Cir. 1994).

Cited 6 times | Published | Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit | 1994 U.S. App. LEXIS 27669

...He [or she] must have more than a unilateral expectation of it. He [or she] must, instead, have a legitimate claim of entitlement to it." Roth, 408 U.S. at 577 , 92 S.Ct. at 2709 (emphasis added). 12 James cites three Florida statutes as the source of her entitlement to continued water service: Fla.Stat. chs. 83.67(1), 180.135(1)(a), and 180.135(4) (1993). Section 83.67(1) prohibits a landlord from directly or indirectly causing the termination or interruption of a tenant's utility service....
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Grant v. GHG014, LLC, 65 So. 3d 1066 (Fla. 4th DCA 2010).

Cited 2 times | Published | Florida 4th District Court of Appeal | 2010 Fla. App. LEXIS 15817, 2010 WL 4103356

...The appellants, who allege they were tenants of the appellees, appeal the trial court's order denying their motion for a mandatory injunction. They sought the *1067 immediate possession of a residential apartment, contending that the appellees violated section 83.67(2), Florida Statutes, by changing the locks of the apartment....
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James v. City of St. Petersburg, 33 F.3d 1304 (11th Cir. 1994).

Cited 1 times | Published | Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit

67(1), 180.135(l)(a), and 180.135(4) (1993). Section 83.67(1) prohibits a landlord from directly or indirectly
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James v. City of St. Petersburg, 6 F.3d 1457 (11th Cir. 1993).

Published | Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit | 1993 WL 432521

termination of utility services. For example, Fla.Stat. § 83.67 prohibits a landlord from interrupting a tenant’s
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Anne-Laure Michelis v. Gina Nugent (Fla. 4th DCA 2025).

Published | Florida 4th District Court of Appeal

conceded Plaintiff was entitled to fees under section 83.67(6), Florida Statutes (2015). However, at a later
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Gina Nugent v. Anne- Laure Michelis (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2021).

Published | District Court of Appeal of Florida

specifically alleging the claims were barred by section 83.67(6), Florida Statutes (addressing violations
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Samantha Elaine Tsuji v. H. Bart Fleet, etc. (Fla. 2023).

Published | Supreme Court of Florida

or are not, liable “for damages.” See, e.g., § 83.67(4), Fla. Stat. (2022) (“The landlord is not liable
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1560-1568 Drexel Ave LLC v. Johann C. Dalton, Etc. (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2021).

Published | District Court of Appeal of Florida

requires Landlord to restore power to the unit. See § 83.67, Fla. Stat. (2020). 2 Without further elaboration
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Peoples Gas Sys., etc. v. Posen Constr., Inc., etc. (Fla. 2021).

Published | Supreme Court of Florida

plaintiff claimed that the defendants violated section 83.67, Florida Statutes (1997), and “the defendants
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Badaraco v. Suncoast Towers V Assocs., 676 So. 2d 502 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1996).

Published | District Court of Appeal of Florida | 1996 Fla. App. LEXIS 6880, 1996 WL 365714

a *503condominium. According to the tenant, Section 83.67, Florida Statutes (1995), entitled him to damages
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Christina Marie Powers v. Roy George Whitcraft, III (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2021).

Published | District Court of Appeal of Florida

landlord for violating section 83.67(1), Florida Statutes (2018). Section 83.67(1) permits tenants to
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William Hefley & Aimee J. Hefley v. Christopher Holmquist (Fla. 5th DCA 2025).

Published | Florida 5th District Court of Appeal

but not limited to, changing the locks.” Id. § 83.67(2); see also Nugent v. Michelis, 312 So. 3d 954
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In re Revisions to Simplified Forms Pursuant to Rule 10-2.1(a) of the Rules Regulating the Florida Bar, 50 So. 3d 503 (Fla. 2010).

Published | Supreme Court of Florida | 35 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 216, 2010 Fla. LEXIS 568, 2010 WL 1488111

from taking certain actions as described in Section 83.67, Florida Statutes, the provisions of which can

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.