Section 84.43(17), Florida Statutes, defines an “early termination fee” as

any charge, fee, or forfeiture that is provided for in a written rental agreement and is assessed to a tenant when a tenant elects to terminate the rental agreement, as provided in the agreement, and vacates a dwelling unit before the end of the rental agreement.

However, the following are specifically excluded from that definition:

1. Unpaid rent and other accrued charges through the end of the month in which the landlord retakes possession of the dwelling unit.
2. Charges for damages to the dwelling unit.
3. Charges associated with a rental agreement settlement, release, buy-out, or accord and satisfaction agreement.

In order to charge an early termination fee, Landlord must comply with Section 83.595, Florida Statutes. Among other things, section 83.595 requires the Landlord and Tenant to sign an addendum to the rental agreement in which the Tenant specifically agrees to pay the early termination fee. Florida law also limits the amount of early termination fees to a maximum of two months rent.

If you are a Landlord and are interested in retaining the ability to charge an early termination fee, you would be well advised to contact a Landlord / Tenant Attorney BEFORE you enter in a rental agreement to ensure proper compliance with Florida Law.

If you are a Tenant and your Landlord is charing you an early termination fee, you would be well advised to contact a Landlord / Tenant Attorney to determine whether you are in fact liable for that fee under Florida Law.

If you have any questions about early termination fees under Florida Law, please do not hesitate to contact my office at (407) 835-8688.

Jaisen J. Stango, Esq.
Residential Eviction Lawyer

A “Holdover Tenancy” arises when the Tenant remains in possession of the premises after the expiration of the rental agreement or after the lawful termination of the rental agreement by the Landlord. Under Florida Law (s. 83.06 & 83.58 ), the Tenant may be liable for double rent during the holdover period.

However, even if the Landlord lawfully terminated the rental agreement, the Tenant may be relieved of the obligation to pay double rent during the Holdover Period so long as the Tenant remained in possession under a bona fide claim of right. See Greentree Amusement Arcade, Inc. v. Greenacres Development Corp., 401 So.2d 915 (Fla. 4th DCA 1981).

In Greentree, the lease required the Tenant to maintain the premises in an orderly fashion. However, because the Tenant’s patrons were “rowdy, unruly, and generally disruptive,” the Landlord alleged this conduct constituted a material breach of the lease and, therefore, terminated the rental agreement. The trial court found the Landlord’s termination of the lease was justifiable and awarded the Landlord damages in the amount of double rent during the holdover period.

On appeal, the Court held that although there was a valid termination of the lease, the Tenant was not a holdover tenant because the Tenant had a bona fide claim of possession. The Court’s rationale was

despite the fact that the trial court correctly found that the landlord had validly terminated the lease option, the validity of that termination remained a genuine and justiciable issue up to the time that the final judgment was entered.

However, the Court noted that the Tenant’s possession of the premises was (1) authorized by an injunction awarded by the trial court and (2) the Tenant continued to pay the normal rent due under the rental agreement until the Tenant vacated the premises.

If you have any questions about Florida Landlord / Tenant Law, please call my office at (407) 835-8688.

Jaisen J. Stango, Esq.
Landlord / Tenant Attorney