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Many residential tenants are unpleasantly
surprised as to what a landlord is required to do to be in compliance with Florida Statute §
83.51. The statute, in the absence of a written agreement (i.e., a lease) stating otherwise,
is not as hard for the landlord to comply with as the tenant might expect. In fact, the
statute does not impose a requirement that the premises even have an air conditioner! The
following is what is required of the landlord:
(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.
Essentially, what this statute requires the
landlord to do is to comply with the local housing regulations and building codes.
LANDLORD RIGHTS TIP: Since the tenant is the
party seeking to establish that the landlord has not maintained the premises (i.e., complied with
the local housing regulations), the tenant has the burden of proof on that issue. As a
result, Florida law requires that the tenant file the appropriate motions with the Court to have it
take judicial notice of the applicable building codes and local housing regulations.
Rodriguez v. Philip, 413 So. 2d 441 (Fla. 3d DCA 1982); Wilkins v. Tebbetts, 216 So. 2d 477 (Fla.
3d DCA 1968); Florida Statute §§ 90.201-90.205.
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