Landlord Entry Notice Requirements in Florida

At a glance

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, defined as at least 24 hours before 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 2026-08-12)
• Fla. Stat. § 83.505(1) — voluntary electronic delivery of Part II notices after both parties sign the required addendum and designate email addresses.
• Fla. Stat. § 83.67(1), (2), (5) — utility-interruption, access-prevention, and removal-of-doors-or-locks prohibitions.
• Fla. Stat. § 83.681(1), (2) — the statute's express injunction route for a landlord against destructive tenant conduct; ordinary civil enforcement and damages arise under §§ 83.54-.55. http://www.leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0000-0099/0083/0083.html (accessed 2026-08-12)