Florida residential lease violations · 2026
What If a Florida Tenant Repeats a Lease Violation?
The short answer
A second violation does not automatically remove the tenant's chance to cure. Florida's repeat provisions depend on a qualifying earlier written warning or notice, the timing, and whether the new conduct is the same or sufficiently similar to the earlier noncompliance.
What does the 12-month rule say?
Section 83.56(2)(a) includes a subsequent or continuing noncompliance within 12 months of a written warning about a similar violation. Section 83.56(2)(b) says that if the same noncompliance recurs within 12 months after notice, the landlord may begin eviction without a subsequent notice under paragraph (a) or (b). These provisions require a careful comparison of the two events.
What should a landlord document?
Keep the earlier written notice or warning, its delivery record, the conduct it described, the date it was given, and evidence of the new conduct. Compare the specific acts and the lease or statutory duty involved. A new allegation with only a broad label in common may not establish the required similarity.
What if the repeat rule applies?
The statute may permit proceeding without another cure notice when its prior-notice, timing, and conduct requirements are met. It does not authorize self-help removal; possession is recovered through the court process if the tenant remains. Whether particular conduct is sufficiently similar is fact-sensitive, and the statute uses different wording in paragraphs (a) and (b).
Related Florida guidance
Legal information reviewed October 4, 2026. This is general legal information, not legal advice.