Managers must now give notice to residents in a specific fashion and in a specific time frame or will not be able to enforce notice provisions in lease.

PRIOR LAW: Prior to July 1, 2004, a manager could require the resident to give a specific amount of notice of vacating the premises. This had to be stated in the lease and could not exceed a requirement of 60 days' notice from the resident. Most leases required a 30 day notice from the resident, and failure to give such notice resulted in the resident forfeiting their security deposit or having to pay an additional month's rent. The manager was not required to notify the resident in any way other than to state the notice requirements in the lease. Failure of the resident to give notice would result in a forfeiture of money up to the amount of rent that the notice period required and/or the security deposit.

CURRENT LAW: Manager can still require notice from the resident of up to 60 days BUT MUST give resident written notice of the resident's notice obligation within 15 days of the beginning of the required notice period. This NEW notice from the manager must contain information regarding the notice requirement, how the notice needs to be given, and the fees, penalties or other charges imposed upon the resident if the resident does not give the notice.

EXAMPLE: Lease requires resident to give manager 30 days' notice prior to lease end. Manager NOW must inform resident of this requirement by giving resident written notice per FS 83.575 45 to 31 days prior to the beginning of the 30 day notice period. If the manager fails to give this notice, and the resident vacates without notice at the end of the lease, the manager will not be permitted to charge resident for failure to give notice. The new law does not specify HOW this notice must be given. We recommend giving the notice according to the terms of your lease, hand delivering the notice or posting on the resident's door if your lease allows this type of delivery. If you are going to mail the notice, it is crucial that you ADD 5 BUSINESS DAYS for mailing, and avoid certified mail as often the certified mail is not picked up.

SAMPLE WORDING:

Place this in your Renewal Letter along with your other usual information.

"According to your lease, you are required to give us ______ days’ notice in writing if you are vacating the premise at the end of your lease term. Failure to give us this notice in writing will result in __________ Forfeiture of your security Deposit __________ you will owe us an additional _________ month rent."

PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: A property manager should always be diligent in determining whether a resident is staying or leaving at the end of the lease term. Most property managers send out their renewal letters 30 to 60 days prior to the end of the lease as a standard procedure and should continue to do so just as in the past. The only difference is that NOW, a letter needs to get to the resident within that 15 day timeframe before your required notice period. It is important to create a tickler file, mark your calendar, create a reminder on your computer, etc., to make sure that you do not miss this 15 day "window".

PLEASE DO NOT FORGET TO DO THIS!!!!

TEXT OF THE NEW NOTICE LAW

83.575 AS AMENDED Termination of tenancy with specific duration.—

1. A rental agreement with a specific duration may contain a provision requiring the resident to notify the manager before vacating the premises at the end of the rental agreement; however, a rental agreement may not require more than 60 days' notice before vacating the premises.
    
2. A rental agreement with a specific duration may provide that if a resident fails to give the required notice before vacating the premises at the end of the rental agreement, the resident may be liable for liquidated damages as specified in the rental agreement if the manager provides written notice to the resident specifying the resident's obligations under the notification provision contained in the lease and the date the rental agreement is terminated. The manager must provide such written notice to the resident within 15 days before the start of the notification period contained in the lease. The written notice shall list all fees, penalties, and other charges applicable to the resident under this subsection.
    

If the resident remains on the premises with the permission of the manager after the rental agreement has terminated and fails to give notice required under s. 83.57 the resident is liable to the manager for an additional 1 month's rent.

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