Florida's residential landlord-tenant law is governed by F.S. Ch. 83, Part II, the Florida Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (LL/TE Act). (1) Although there are many provisions in the LL/ TE Act that cover what remedies are available for a landlord to terminate a lease at the end of the lease term, the LL/TE Act is silent as to what remedies a tenant has if the landlord refuses to renew the lease. There have been many documented cases around the state of Florida in which landlords have unjustifiably nonrenewed tenants' leases where those tenants have paid the rent on time and abided by all provisions in the lease agreements. In one case documented by WKMG, a CBS station in central Florida, the tenant had received a certificate of good tenancy from the landlord, but was nonrenewed without any reason after 16 years of residence in that apartment complex. (2) This particular landlord had numerous vacant units at the time, and the tenant had even offered to pay a higher rent to remain, however, the lease was nonrenewed.
