Florida’s vibrant real estate market and thriving tourism industry make it an attractive destination for property investors and landlords. However, with the allure of sandy beaches and sunny days comes a unique set of challenges for those in the rental business. From unpredictable weather to evolving legal regulations, Florida landlords must be well-prepared to handle a range of issues to ensure a smooth and successful rental experience. This article will focus on four challenges that confront landlords and guidance to manage them.
Continue Reading Navigating the Sunshine State’s Rental Landscape: Tips for Florida Landlords

As a landlord, you’ve probably heard horror stories about tenants who refuse to pay rent, damage your property, or violate the terms of the lease agreement. These disputes can quickly escalate into costly lawsuits, leaving both parties frustrated and stressed. As a landlord, it’s crucial to be aware of the common disputes that can arise with tenants and take steps to prevent them from occurring.
Continue Reading Navigating Landlord Tenant Disputes in Florida: 5 Common Challenges and How to Overcome Them

Hurricane Season AheadEach year, the months of June to November keep property owners across the State of Florida a bit on edge when storms begin brewing out in the Gulf and the Atlantic. This past weekend tropical depression Claudette kicked off the 2021 hurricane season, signaling to property owners across the state that it is time to begin making the necessary preparations in advance of potential storms. In addition to stocking up on batteries, plywood, and water, property owners should be aware of potential legal consequences resulting from a hurricane or tropical storm.

Damage to land

The first and perhaps most readily apparent of these consequences is when a hurricane causes a sudden change to the shoreline otherwise known as avulsion. The United States Supreme Court defined avulsion as:

the sudden or perceptible loss of or addition to the land by the action of the water or a sudden change in the bed of a lake or the course of a stream.”

Hurricanes are considered avulsive events under Florida law, which – unlike other erosion events (such as accretion or reliction which are more gradual) – preserves the property boundary at the mean high water mark existing prior to the storm. In the aftermath of a hurricane which causes a sudden loss of the shoreline, that boundary remains the same, entitling the State to reclaim or back fill that portion of the beach to ensure that the public right of access is not cut off.

Beachfront owners should be cognizant of the location of the mean high water mark or any coastal construction control line. After a storm passes, this will allow beachfront owners to better understand how the storm impacted their property boundary, and whether the State has any rights to backfill a portion of the beach that was lost.

Purchasing property in hurricane season

Continue Reading Preparing for a Storm: Legal Considerations for Property Owners during Hurricane Season

On April 2, 2020, Governor DeSantis signed Executive Order 20-94, which placed a moratorium on residential eviction actions related to the non-payment of rent. The purpose of the moratorium was to provide targeted, temporary relief to Floridians in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, after granting several extensions, Governor DeSantis permitted Florida’s moratorium to expire at midnight on September 30, 2020.

While the expiration on Florida’s moratorium may come as a relief to landlords and a further concern to tenants, there remains a federal moratorium imposed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”) that continues to impact Florida rental properties.

Who’s covered under the CDC Moratorium?

Continue Reading How the CDC’s Moratorium Could Impact Florida Landlords’ Right to Evict Despite the Expiration of the Florida Moratorium