FAQ's Landlords Ask...
Answers to some of our most asked questions:
Responsibilities of being a Landlord in Florida.
The landlord and tenant must comply with what is written in the lease signed by both parties, but the landlord also must comply with the Florida Statute to maintain the premises.
Here is a synopsis of the statute.
- The landlord must comply with the requirements of applicable building, housing, and health codes.
- The landlord must keep all roofs, windows, screens, doors, floors, steps, porches, exterior walls, foundations, and all other structural components in good repair.
- The landlord must make reasonable provisions for the extermination of rats, mice, roaches, ants, wood-destroying organisms, and bedbugs unless otherwise stated in writing. The tenant is required to temporarily vacate for up to four days with a seven-day written notice.
- The landlord must install working smoke detectors unless otherwise stated in writing.
- The landlord is NOT responsible to the tenant for negligent or wrongful acts or omissions of the tenant, a member of the tenant’s family, or other people on the premises with the tenant’s consent.
The Rent Me Florida lease requires all tenants to purchase renter’s insurance as the landlord’s homeowner’s insurance does not cover the tenant’s belongings.
To read this statute in its entirety you can go to Florida Statute 83 >>
Vacation Property Owners —
Property Owners are responsible for payment of all sales taxes due on properties leased for 6
months or less. Please go to MyFlorida.com and click on the Florida Department of Revenue
tab or call 800-352-3671 or write; Florida Department of Revenue, 5050 West Tennessee
Street, Tallahassee, FL 32399-0100 for more details concerning rental property sales tax.
NO Smoking Policy
Rent Me Florida’s standard lease states that there shall be NO Smoking in the interior of the home. This means that they are not allowed to smoke inside the home, but it is legal to smoke on the lanai, porch or patio. However, you as the homeowner could refuse to allow any smoking on the property.
How are Utilities Handled?
For most unfurnished annual leases, the tenants are responsible for assuming and paying for the monthly utilities; unless otherwise noted on the lease or if covered by the HOA.
City Water / Sewer: Even though the tenant is responsible for the monthly bill, the homeowner in many cases is responsible for any outstanding water invoices. It is good practice to collect a water deposit which will be refundable once the tenant has vacated and paid the account to zero.
For vacation / short term rentals: The utilities remain in the name of the home owner and are payable by the home owner. Caps can be specified per lease.
Section 8
Section 8 is a personal choice and does require some additional paperwork and inspections. But, this service does mean that you are guaranteed to receive your rent from Section 8 on time each month. There are also yearly inspections requiring both the tenant and the homeowner to keep the property in a habitable condition.
Sales
To better serve our clients, Rent Me Florida specializes only in rentals. But we have numerous professional Real Estate Sales Affiliates that we would be happy to refer you to.