Landlord Guide

Tenant Screening in Tampa: What Hillsborough Landlords Get Wrong

Tampa tenant screening runs on state and federal law, not a local rulebook. Here's what changed in Hillsborough, plus the military and market quirks that trip up landlords.

Normal Wear and Tear in Florida Rentals: Drawing the Line

Florida law never defines normal wear and tear — yet it decides every deposit dispute. Here's the working standard, item-by-item examples, and the proration math.

Holdover Tenant in Florida: What Landlords Can Do

The lease expired and your tenant hasn't left. Here's how Florida's holdover rules really work — the double-rent remedy, the removal path, and the one rent check that restarts the whole tenancy.

Florida Landlord Insurance Claim Denied: What to Do Next

Your insurer has 60 days to pay or deny — and one year is the outer wall on your notice, not the target. The Florida landlord's step-by-step plan for filing a storm claim and fighting a denial or lowball payment.

Storm Damage in a Florida Rental: What Happens to the Lease

A hurricane just damaged your rental, and your tenant wants out — or wants to stay at reduced rent. Florida Statute 83.63 puts that choice in the tenant's hands. Here's what you control, what you owe, and the deadlines that decide it.

How to Buy Your First Rental Property in Florida: A Step-by-Step Guide

A step-by-step path to your first Florida rental — budget, submarket, deal analysis, closing, and first tenant. With the insurance and tax math the 1% rule hides.

Florida Tenant Noise Complaints: Which Notice to Serve

The neighbors are calling again about your tenant. Florida gives you two different 7-day notices for a disturbance, and reaching for the wrong one restarts the case you've been building for months.

Florida Repair and Deduct Law: What Tenants Can Actually Do

Your tenant hired a contractor and took the bill off the rent. Florida has no repair-and-deduct law — and the withholding statute they'll quote at you governs commercial leases, not homes.

Advance Rent vs Security Deposit: The Florida Rule Most Landlords Miss

If you collect first, last and security, you're holding two kinds of regulated money — and the exemption most small Florida landlords rely on doesn't cover the part that matters.

What Can a Landlord Change Mid-Lease in Florida?

Your landlord wants to raise the pet rent halfway through your lease. Can they? What a Florida landlord can and can't change mid-term — and the one lawful time to change anything.

The Best Time to Rent Out a House in Tampa (11 Years of Data)

Everyone says list your Tampa rental in summer. We measured eleven years of Tampa rent data to see what that timing is actually worth — and it's about twenty dollars a month.

AI Tenant Screening Fraud in Florida: How to Verify

AI-forged pay stubs and synthetic IDs now pass a visual check. The fix isn't a sharper eye for fakes — it's one source-of-truth verification you run on every Florida applicant, so you catch the fraud and stay fair-housing clean.

Tenant Arrested in Florida: What Landlords Can Do

Your tenant just got arrested and the unit looks empty. Before you touch the locks, here's what Florida law lets you do — and the move that triggers a three-months'-rent penalty.

Florida Condo Financing Rules 2026: What Landlords Miss

Everyone watched the August 3 deadline. It was the least important of the four changes. Here's what the new condo financing rules actually do to a Florida rental — including the one change that helps landlords.