Monthly Legal Insights

For Property Managers and Landlords

Source: Law Offices of Heist, Weisse & Wolk, PLLC

Florida has enacted a major new law that directly impacts rental housing providers: fraudulent rental applications — fake pay stubs, forged or altered IDs, stolen identities, false income claims — are now a third-degree felony. Just as important, "fraudulent entry" is now clearly a non-curable violation, so you may serve a 7-day notice to vacate with no opportunity to cure. The law takes effect October 1, 2026. Now is the time to tighten screening and update your lease language.

Read the full breakdown of the new law...

Source: Law Offices of Heist, Weisse & Wolk, PLLC

Often a legal holiday falls on a weekend, or it's simply not a big holiday to you. Well, banks and public workers get a good deal — and they are often closed. When a holiday falls on a Saturday or Sunday, be aware of when that court holiday is "observed" and get those Three Day Notices done correctly. Independence Day 2026 is observed by the courts on Friday, July 3. Download the 2026 Legal Holiday List if you have not done so already.

Download Your 2026 Legal Holiday List

The time is coming for the fireworks fun. In single family, it's not that big of an issue, but in multifamily, Independence Day can turn a property into a warzone. Does your lease cover all your bases? Get that reminder email or hand-delivered notice out now and try to cut your liability.

Read more and get the sample lease clause...

Invariably a tenant will demand your presence during a move-out inspection, or even tell you that it's the law. Should you do it? Absolutely not. Find out how bad this can be, why it is so bad, and how it can be avoided. That innocent tenant request that may even sound good to you continues to cause serious problems. It MUST be stopped.

Read the full article and watch the VIDEOS...

Source: Law Offices of Heist, Weisse & Wolk, PLLC

Counties and municipalities are rapidly jumping on the rental registration bandwagon throughout Florida. Fees range from $20.00 to $200.00 for a registration. Now is the time to carefully watch your local city council and county's actions, and if they are proposing a fee program, you need to mobilize and work with the city or county to prevent them from creating an ordinance that may not work for you. Sitting back and doing nothing will result in very unexpected and unpleasant results. Check now to see if you are in compliance, as ordinances are often enacted with little notice.

Many tenants and people in general deal with contracts where they can "get out" within a certain time period once they sign. Some tenants think this applies to the lease. It does not. Once all the documents are fully executed, there is a contract — no backing out, no cooling-off period. But wait! There's more. This myth is just the tip of the iceberg.

Read the article and see if you've come across these myths...

Daniel Rothrock Director of Property Mgmt., MPM® Eaton Realty

We are proud to announce that our Industry Leader this month is Daniel Rothrock. Known to most of his friends as "Dan," he's a Broker Associate, Director of Property Management, Master Property Manager, and a real leader in the single-family home management industry.

With his finger on the pulse of the entire property management department at Eaton Realty, Daniel is always looking for innovative ways to provide a superior experience for all of his customers. In 2019, Daniel received his Master Property Manager designation — the highest level a member can attain through NARPM, the National Association of Residential Property Managers.

Read more about Dan here...

Taught by: Attorneys Harry Heist or Kirk Eason

Having trouble getting out of the office for a day? Book a date and time for a 2 hour ZOOM LEGAL CLASS designed for your portfolio or association. Dates are filling fast! Don't let a scheduling conflict hold you back from the education you or your agents need. Have a real estate license? We can get you CE credits!

Email us at info@evict.com to get scheduled...

It's coming into peak Florida heat season. The service calls will be coming in fast — of course, at night on a holiday weekend Friday. Let's get this filter "thing" straightened out ahead of time. To the amateur, you simply put a clause in the lease and the tenant complies. Maybe you have a resident benefit package in place with a filter delivery service. Well, the real world operates differently, and you need to take some important steps now.

Read the full article and watch the VIDEOS...

Just about everyone knows that the Notice of Intention to Impose Claim on Security Deposit must be sent out by certified mail, or by email if the tenant has previously agreed to that in writing. After the tenant vacates, this MUST be done — but when? Suppose the tenant is receiving a full deposit with no deductions? In 30 days? 15 days? 45 days? Are you sure? Is it the receipt date or your sending date? Let's get this straight now and train your staff on the law.

Read the full article with examples and the statute...

Hurricane season has begun, and with each year we learn more lessons on dealing with problems that arise in the landlord/tenant relationship. How do we deal with generators? Can we prohibit them? Evacuations? Liability on the landlord's part? Damage to the property and the tenant refusing to vacate? A review of your current lease and rules and regulations will probably reveal many deficiencies. Watch this topic, as it is part of an ongoing series regarding tropical storms and hurricanes.

Read Part 1: Damage or Destruction...

This Month's Top Property Manager Situations

Each month we provide this Newsletter which is helpful to property managers, landlords and even sales agents and brokers who may just dabble in tenant placement. Subscribe, read and get the most up to date legal and practical information to help in dealing with rentals, single family or large multifamily. New law? Hear about it FIRST, from us. Whether you are a full-blown property manager or dealing with investor buyers or sellers, knowledge of the law is a MUST these days! Forward the Newsletter or share the subscribe link below.

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