Is it illegal for a landlord to ban you from putting up hurricane shutters in Florida?
Full Question:
Is it illegal for a landlord to ban you from putting up hurricane shutters in Florida, especially if you live in between the ocean and the intercoastal?
05/19/2007 |
Category: Landlord Tenant |
State: Florida |
#5347
Answer:
You should carefully read the terms in your lease agreement that relate to a tenant making improvements to the rental property. The following are relevant Florida statutes:
83.44 Obligation of good faith. —
Every rental agreement or duty within this part imposes an obligation of
good faith in its performance or enforcement.
83.45 Unconscionable rental agreement or provision. —
(1) If the court as a matter of law finds a rental agreement or any
provision of a rental agreement to have been unconscionable at the time it
was made, the court may refuse to enforce the rental agreement, enforce the
remainder of the rental agreement without the unconscionable provision, or
so limit the application of any unconscionable provision as to avoid any
unconscionable result.
(2) When it is claimed or appears to the court that the rental agreement
or any provision thereof may be unconscionable, the parties shall be
afforded a reasonable opportunity to present evidence as to meaning,
relationship of the parties, purpose, and effect to aid the court in making
the determination.
83.47 Prohibited provisions in rental agreements. —
(1) A provision in a rental agreement is void and unenforceable to the
extent that it:
(a) Purports to waive or preclude the rights, remedies, or requirements
set forth in this part.
(b) Purports to limit or preclude any liability of the landlord to the
tenant or of the tenant to the landlord, arising under law.
(2) If such a void and unenforceable provision is included in a rental
agreement entered into, extended, or renewed after the effective date of
this part and either party suffers actual damages as a result of the
inclusion, the aggrieved party may recover those damages sustained after
the effective date of this part.
83.51 Landlord's obligation to maintain premises. —
(1) The landlord at all times during the tenancy shall:
(a) Comply with the requirements of applicable building, housing, and
health codes; or
(b) Where there are no applicable building, housing, or health codes,
maintain the roofs, windows, screens, doors, floors, steps, porches,
exterior walls, foundations, and all other structural components in good
repair and capable of resisting normal forces and loads and the plumbing in
reasonable working condition. However, the landlord shall not be required
to maintain a mobile home or other structure owned by the tenant.
The landlord's obligations under this subsection may be altered or
modified in writing with respect to a single-family home or duplex.
(2)(a) Unless otherwise agreed in writing, in addition to the
requirements of subsection (1), the landlord of a dwelling unit other
than a single-family home or duplex shall, at all times during the
tenancy, make reasonable provisions for:
1. The extermination of rats, mice, roaches, ants, wood-destroying
organisms, and bedbugs. When vacation of the premises is required for such
extermination, the landlord shall not be liable for damages but shall abate
the rent. The tenant shall be required to temporarily vacate the premises
for a period of time not to exceed 4 days, on 7 days' written notice, if
necessary, for extermination pursuant to this subparagraph.
2. Locks and keys.
3. The clean and safe condition of common areas.
4. Garbage removal and outside receptacles therefor.
5. Functioning facilities for heat during winter, running water, and hot
water.
(b) Unless otherwise agreed in writing, at the commencement of the
tenancy of a single-family home or duplex, the landlord shall install
working smoke detection devices. As used in this paragraph, the term "smoke
detection device" means an electrical or battery-operated device which
detects visible or invisible particles of combustion and which is listed by
Underwriters Laboratories, Inc., Factory Mutual Laboratories, Inc., or any
other nationally recognized testing laboratory using nationally accepted
testing standards.
(c) Nothing in this part authorizes the tenant to raise a noncompliance
by the landlord with this subsection as a defense to an action for
possession under s. 83.59.
(d) This subsection shall not apply to a mobile home owned by a tenant.
(e) Nothing contained in this subsection prohibits the landlord from
providing in the rental agreement that the tenant is obligated to pay costs
or charges for garbage removal, water, fuel, or utilities.
(3) If the duty imposed by subsection (1) is the same or greater than any
duty imposed by subsection (2), the landlord's duty is determined by
subsection (1).
(4) The landlord is not responsible to the tenant under this section for
conditions created or caused by the negligent or wrongful act or omission
of the tenant, a member of the tenant's family, or other person on the
premises with the tenant's consent.
83.52 Tenant's obligation to maintain dwelling unit. —
The tenant at all times during the tenancy shall:
(1) Comply with all obligations imposed upon tenants by applicable
provisions of building, housing, and health codes.
(2) Keep that part of the premises which he or she occupies and uses
clean and sanitary.
(3) Remove from the tenant's dwelling unit all garbage in a clean and
sanitary manner.
(4) Keep all plumbing fixtures in the dwelling unit or used by the tenant
clean and sanitary and in repair.
(5) Use and operate in a reasonable manner all electrical, plumbing,
sanitary, heating, ventilating, air-conditioning and other facilities and
appliances, including elevators.
(6) Not destroy, deface, damage, impair, or remove any part of the
premises or property therein belonging to the landlord nor permit any
person to do so.
(7) Conduct himself or herself, and require other persons on the premises
with his or her consent to conduct themselves, in a manner that does not
unreasonably disturb the tenant's neighbors or constitute a breach of the
peace.
