Florida: Landlord Entry Notice Requirements

Requirements one by one

Governing law

Florida's rule lives in one statute: Fla. Stat. § 83.53, "Landlord's access to
dwelling unit," part of the Florida Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (Part II of
Chapter 83). Florida did not adopt the Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act;
§ 83.53 is its own scheme, last amended in 2022. The section is built a little
differently from the 24-hour-notice statutes in states like California: instead of a
single flat notice rule for every entry, it ties an explicit 24-hour / business-hours
rule to repairs, and handles the other reasons a landlord might enter through a list
of circumstances (consent, emergency, the tenant's unreasonable refusal, or the
tenant's extended absence).

Advance notice required

The statute's one hard number is for repairs: to enter to repair the unit, the
landlord must give "reasonable notice," and the statute defines that term —
"'Reasonable notice' for the purpose of repair is notice given at least 24 hours
prior to the entry" (§ 83.53(2)). For the other purposes in the statute — an
inspection, supplying agreed services, or showing the unit — there is no fixed
notice figure. The landlord instead must fit the entry into one of the four listed
circumstances below. And to protect or preserve the property, the landlord "may enter
the dwelling unit at any time."

Reasons a landlord may enter

Section 83.53(1) lists the purposes the tenant may not unreasonably block: to inspect
the premises; make necessary or agreed repairs, decorations, alterations, or
improvements; supply agreed services; or exhibit the unit to "prospective or actual
purchasers, mortgagees, tenants, workers, or contractors." A separate purpose sits in
subsection (2): entering "at any time for the protection or preservation of the
premises" — for example, to stop active damage. The statute is not phrased as a
strict "only these reasons" list the way California's is, but its consent-and-notice
structure and the anti-harassment limit in subsection (3) mean a lease cannot turn it
into a right to enter at will for any reason.

Permitted hours

For a repair entry, the statute fixes a clock: "reasonable time for the purpose of
repair shall be between the hours of 7:30 a.m. and 8:00 p.m." (§ 83.53(2)). That is a
firm window — a landlord cannot demand a 9:00 p.m. repair visit over the tenant's
objection. The statute sets this window only for repairs; it does not state a
time-of-day limit for the other purposes, and an entry to protect or preserve the
property may happen at any time.

When no notice is needed

For the subsection (1) purposes, the landlord may enter without the tenant's
scheduled permission only under one of four circumstances (§ 83.53(2)): with the
tenant's consent; in an emergency; when the tenant unreasonably withholds consent; or
when the tenant is absent for a stretch equal to at least half the rental-payment
period (for a month-to-month tenant, roughly two weeks). There is a carve-out inside
the absence rule: if rent is current and the tenant told the landlord about the
planned absence, the landlord may enter during it only with consent or to protect or
preserve the premises. On top of all of that, an emergency needs no notice, and
entry to protect or preserve the property may occur at any time.

Form and delivery of the notice

The statute requires "reasonable notice ... at least 24 hours prior" for a repair,
but it does not say the notice must be in writing, does not list required content,
and does not prescribe a delivery method — those details are left to the lease and to
what is reasonable in the circumstances. Separately, Florida lets landlords and
tenants agree in writing to deliver statutory notices electronically under § 83.505;
if they do, an entry notice can be sent that way.

Special rules for showings

Florida has no separate showing procedure. Showing the unit to prospective or actual
purchasers, tenants, and the others named in § 83.53(1) is simply one of the listed
purposes the tenant may not unreasonably refuse, entered under the same four
circumstances as any non-repair entry. Because the statute's explicit 24-hour and
7:30 a.m.–8:00 p.m. rule is written for "repair," it does not, by its own terms, set
a fixed notice period or hour window for a showing — a showing turns on the tenant's
consent (or one of the other listed circumstances) and on the general rule against
abusing the right of access.

Tenant's remedies for unlawful entry

The backstop is § 83.53(3): "The landlord shall not abuse the right of access nor use
it to harass the tenant." A tenant facing unlawful or harassing entries can ask a
court to enjoin the conduct (§ 83.681) and pursue the damages and remedies the Act
provides, and a pattern of abuse can support a claim under the Act's prohibited-
practices or retaliatory-conduct sections (§§ 83.67, 83.64). The duty runs both ways:
the tenant "shall not unreasonably withhold consent" to a lawful entry, and a tenant
who refuses one may hand the landlord the very authority to enter that subsection
(2)(c) grants.

What trips people up

The 24-hour rule and the 7:30-to-8:00 window are written for repairs. Read
literally, § 83.53(2) attaches its "at least 24 hours" notice and its 7:30 a.m.–8:00
p.m. clock to entry "for the purpose of repair." For an inspection or a showing, the
statute doesn't supply a number — it supplies a list of circumstances (consent,
emergency, unreasonable refusal, extended absence). In practice many Florida
landlords give 24 hours' notice for every entry, and a lease can promise it, but the
statute's fixed floor is a repair rule.

"Protection or preservation" lets a landlord in with no notice at all. Section
83.53(2) opens by letting the landlord enter "at any time" to protect or preserve the
property. That is narrower than it sounds — it is about safeguarding the premises
(stopping a leak, securing an open unit), not routine visits — but it is a genuine
no-notice, any-hour path when the property itself is at risk.

Refusing a lawful entry can backfire. The statute makes the tenant's cooperation
a condition: unreasonably withholding consent to a proper entry is itself one of the
circumstances (§ 83.53(2)(c)) that authorizes the landlord to enter anyway, and can
factor into a later dispute.

Common questions

Can my Florida landlord enter without telling me first? Only in specific
situations: a genuine emergency, to protect or preserve the property, if you consent,
if you unreasonably refuse a lawful entry, or during an extended absence. For a
routine repair, the landlord owes you at least 24 hours' notice and must come between
7:30 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. (§ 83.53(2)).

Does my landlord have to give 24 hours' notice to show the apartment? The
statute's explicit 24-hour rule is written for repairs, not showings. A showing is
one of the purposes you can't unreasonably refuse, and the landlord may enter with
your consent or under the other listed circumstances — but the fixed 24-hour /
business-hours floor in § 83.53(2) is tied to repair entries. Your lease may promise
more.

What counts as an emergency? A real one — a fire, a burst pipe, a gas leak, or
another threat to people or the property. "In case of emergency" is one of the
circumstances that lets a landlord enter for the listed purposes without your
advance permission (§ 83.53(2)(b)), and a protective entry under § 83.53(2) needs no
notice either.

My landlord keeps letting themselves in. What can I do? Florida law says the
landlord "shall not abuse the right of access nor use it to harass the tenant"
(§ 83.53(3)). You can document each entry, ask a court to stop it (§ 83.681), and
pursue the remedies the Act provides; repeated abuse can also support a prohibited-
practices or retaliation claim.

Statutes and sources

• Fla. Stat. § 83.53 — the tenant's duty not to unreasonably withhold consent to enumerated entry purposes (1); the landlord's any-time protective entry, the 24-hour / 7:30 a.m.–8:00 p.m. repair rule, and the four circumstances for other entries (2); and the bar on abusing the right of access or using it to harass (3).
  http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0000-0099/0083/Sections/0083.53.html (accessed 2026-07-11)