Many leases have a clause stating that the Tenant must give the Landlord a certain number of days’ notice in writing that they are vacating at the end of the lease.

 

If the Tenant fails to give this notice and vacates, the Landlord tries to charge the Tenant a specific amount for failure to give this notice. Florida law allows this, but if it is not done properly, the Landlord can find themselves in serious trouble and NOT be able to charge the penalty.

A careful reading and understanding of the law is crucial if the Landlord insists on charging the Tenant an amount for failure to give notice. Unfortunately, the law is a bit tricky, as it requires the Landlord to give the Tenant notice that they will be charging the Tenant for failure to give notice. This may seem like a tongue twister, but it simply is a requirement of the Landlord to “remind” the Tenant that the Tenant must give notice so the Tenant is not “surprised”.

TO LEGALLY CHARGE THE TENANT A PENALTY, THE LAW MUST BE FOLLOWED AND THE LANDLORD MUST HAVE GIVEN THE PROPER NOTICE TO THE TENANT IN THE NOTICE “WINDOW” PERIOD

83.575 Termination of tenancy with specific duration.--

1. A rental agreement with a specific duration may contain a provision requiring the Tenant to notify the Landlord 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 Tenant fails to give the required notice before vacating the premises at the end of the rental agreement, the Tenant may be liable for liquidated damages as specified in the rental agreement if the Landlord provides written notice to the Tenant specifying the Tenant's obligations under the notification provision contained in the lease and the date the rental agreement is terminated. The Landlord must provide such written notice to the Tenant 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 Tenant under this subsection.

 

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

How it works: In order to enforce a clause in your lease that requires a Tenant to give you notice prior to lease end, you must do the following:

Give the Tenant a notice WITHIN 15 days of the beginning of the notice period you are requiring from the Tenant.

Example: Your lease requires 30 days notice from the Tenant. You must “remind” the Tenant of this by giving the Tenant notice of this sometime within days 30 and 45 prior to the lease ending.

Your Notice Must State the Following:

1. That 30 days’ written notice from the Tenant is required if the Tenant is leaving at lease end, and 2. Failure of the Tenant to give you notice will result in a charge of $_____________

NOTE: The amount can be no more than one month’s rent, and the lease must support this charge.

If you give the Tenant notice too far in advance, you will not be able to enforce the notice requirement. It is a STRICT 15 DAY WINDOW.

Common mistakes: The Landlord gives the Tenant too much notice. Many Landlords feel that since the lease states the notice requirement, this is enough or the Landlord will give the notice 60 days in advance and the lease only requires 30 days’ notice. Remember the notice to the Tenant must be given in a specific “window”, no more and no less.

Below is a sample notice:

SAMPLE RENEWAL OFFER WORDING

THIS SHOULD BE SENT OUT BETWEEN 1 AND 15 DAYS PRIOR TO THE BEGINNING OF THE TENANT’S NOTICE PERIOD AS DESIGNATED IN THE LEASE

According to your lease agreement, your lease shall expire on _________________. Landlord would like to give you some options.

Please mark off the appropriate selection below or your lease shall terminate on the above date and you must vacate at that time.

Option 1…We will vacate the premises on the above date.

Option 2…We wish to sign a new one year lease agreement at a rental rate of $______ per month.

Please return this to Landlord no later than 30 days prior to your lease end or your lease shall be deemed terminated at the end of the lease agreement, and you shall owe Landlord the “failure to give notice fee” in the amount of $__________ as per your lease agreement in addition to any amount due from you at that time according to the lease and/or Florida Law.

This offer by Landlord may be withdrawn at any time and for any reason by Landlord prior to Landlord and Tenant(s) written acceptance of this offer by signature of Landlord below and Tenant(s) below and Landlord fully executing a Lease Renewal or new lease if Tenant(s) choose Option 2.”

IF YOU DID NOT GIVE THE TENANT THE WRITTEN NOTICE IN THE “NOTICE WINDOW” PERIOD TELLING THE TENANT THAT THE TENANT HAD TO GIVE NOTICE AND TELLING THE TENANT THE PENALTY FOR FAILURE TO GIVE NOTICE, YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO CHARGE ANY PENALTY.

 

 

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