Free Florida Lease Extension Agreement

An extension continues the lease you already have for a further period, so the original agreement stays in force and the extension operates as an amendment to it. Fla. Stat. § 83.43(13) defines a rental agreement to mean any written agreement, including amendments or addenda, or an oral agreement for a duration of less than one year, which is why a signed extension addendum is part of the same tenancy. A renewal instead replaces the old term with a fresh agreement, and § 83.49(6) states that for purposes of Part II a renewal of an existing rental agreement is considered a new rental agreement, and any security deposit carried forward is considered a new security deposit.

Yes in practice, because an extension is a bilateral agreement rather than a notice one side serves on the other. Chapter 83, Part II sets no prescribed extension form, so what makes the extension enforceable is that both parties assented in writing to the new end date and to any changed terms. A landlord cannot extend a fixed term unilaterally, and a tenant cannot compel an extension. If the tenant does not sign, the lease simply runs to its stated end date, and what happens after that is governed by whether the tenant stays with or without the landlord’s permission.

The fixed term expires on its stated end date. If the tenant stays on with the landlord’s permission and there is no new duration agreed, Fla. Stat. § 83.46(2) determines the duration from the periods for which rent is payable, so monthly rent produces a month-to-month tenancy, which either party may then end on not less than 30 days’ notice prior to the end of a monthly period under § 83.57(3). If the tenant holds over without the landlord’s permission, § 83.58 lets the landlord recover possession in the manner provided in § 83.59 and also recover double the amount of rent due for the period during which the tenant refuses to surrender possession.

It can, but the obligation has to run both ways. Fla. Stat. § 83.575(1) allows a rental agreement with a specific duration to require the tenant to notify the landlord within a specified period before vacating at the end of the agreement only if the agreement also requires the landlord to notify the tenant, in a manner prescribed by § 83.56(4), within that same notice period if the agreement will not be renewed. The same subsection provides that a rental agreement may not require less than 30 days’ notice or more than 60 days’ notice from either the tenant or the landlord.

Only if the lease provides for it and you send the statutory warning first. Fla. Stat. § 83.575(2) allows a specific-duration rental agreement to make the tenant liable for liquidated damages as specified in the agreement, but the landlord must provide written notice, in a manner prescribed by § 83.56(4), specifying the tenant’s obligations under the notification provision and the date the agreement terminates. That notice must be given within 15 days before the start of the notification period contained in the lease, and it must list all fees, penalties, and other charges applicable to the tenant. Separately, § 83.575(3) makes a permitted holdover who fails to give § 83.57(3) notice liable for an additional one month’s rent.

An extension that carries the existing deposit forward does not require you to refund it and take a new one. What matters is that the extension says plainly how the deposit is being treated, whether it carries over unchanged, is increased, or is partly refunded. Note the wording of Fla. Stat. § 83.49(6): a renewal of an existing rental agreement is considered a new rental agreement for Part II purposes, and a deposit carried forward is considered a new security deposit. Because the label you use can affect that analysis, spell out the deposit treatment in the signed extension rather than leaving it to inference.

It runs from termination of the rental agreement, not from the day the tenant hands back the keys. Under Fla. Stat. § 83.49(3)(a), a landlord who does not intend to impose a claim must return the deposit, with interest if otherwise required, within 15 days after the termination of the rental agreement. A landlord who does intend to impose a claim must give written notice of that intention and the reason for it within 30 days after termination, by certified mail to the tenant’s last known mailing address or by e-mail in accordance with § 83.505. Miss the 30-day notice and the landlord forfeits the right to impose a claim on the deposit and may not seek a setoff, though an action for damages remains available after returning the deposit.

You can exchange the extension itself however both parties agree, but statutory notices under Part II have a delivery rule. Fla. Stat. § 83.56(4) permits delivery by mailing, by delivering a true copy, by e-mailing in accordance with § 83.505, or, if the tenant is absent from the premises, by leaving a copy at the residence. Section 83.505 permits e-mail delivery only where the parties have signed an addendum specifically agreeing to electronic delivery, have each provided a valid e-mail address for that purpose, and the addendum conspicuously advises that the election is voluntary and may be revoked or updated at any time.