Residential Lease Addendum - Moisture and Mold - Florida

FLORIDA RESIDENTIAL LEASE ADDENDUM — MOISTURE AND MOLD

This is a contractual condition-reporting and response addendum. It does not claim that Florida has enacted a single statewide mold-disclosure form or a mold-specific repair deadline.

1. Parties, Premises, and Statutory Classification

This Addendum supplements the rental agreement dated [DATE] between [LANDLORD] and [TENANT(S)] for [PREMISES].

Section 83.51 does not use one identical duty set for every dwelling. In particular, subsection (1) duties may be altered or modified in writing for a single-family home or duplex, and subsection (2) generally distinguishes other dwelling units. Complete this gate before stating the landlord's duties.

2. Current Condition and Factual Disclosure

The parties record observable and known facts; neither party warrants that microscopic mold is absent.

Landlord Disclosure

Landlord states, after reviewing reasonably available property and maintenance records:

☐ No known current water intrusion, unresolved leak, or visible suspected mold is being disclosed.

☐ The following current or prior condition is disclosed: [LOCATION / DATE / SOURCE / RESPONSE / STATUS].

☐ Attached records: [ASSESSMENT / WORK ORDER / INVOICE / CLEARANCE / PHOTOGRAPH / OTHER].

Tenant Move-In Observation

Tenant's signature acknowledges receipt and recorded observations, not agreement that a condition is safe, harmless, tenant-caused, or fully remediated.

3. Landlord Maintenance and Response

Subject to the completed classification gate and the rental agreement, Landlord will:

1. perform the duties that § 83.51(1) and applicable building, housing, and health codes place on Landlord;
2. maintain structural components and plumbing as required by the applicable branch of § 83.51;
3. receive and document a moisture or suspected-mold report at the notice contacts below;
4. respond with reasonable promptness based on severity, active water intrusion, safety, access, and applicable code requirements;
5. investigate and address a source condition for which Landlord is responsible; and
6. use persons legally authorized for any regulated assessment, remediation, construction, plumbing, HVAC, or other work.

Response contact: [NAME / PHONE / EMAIL / PHYSICAL ADDRESS].

This Addendum does not invent a five-business-day statutory inspection or remediation deadline. Insert a contractual service target only after the owner, manager, insurer, and counsel confirm it is workable and does not narrow a faster duty arising under law or the facts: [OPTIONAL TARGET].

4. Tenant Maintenance and Notice

Consistent with § 83.52 and the rental agreement, Tenant will:

1. keep the occupied portion of the Premises and plumbing fixtures clean and sanitary;
2. reasonably use plumbing, heating, ventilating, air-conditioning, and other facilities and appliances;
3. promptly clean ordinary spills that Tenant can safely address;
4. promptly report observed leaks, water intrusion, unusual persistent dampness, or visible suspected growth;
5. avoid concealing, painting over, demolishing, or chemically treating suspected growth without written authorization; and
6. cooperate with lawful access for inspection and necessary or agreed work.

Report made on: [DATE / TIME].

Method and recipient: [DETAIL].

Condition reported: [DETAIL].

The parties may use equipment-specific operating and filter instructions attached as Exhibit B. This Addendum does not impose a universal 60-percent humidity limit or 30-day filter schedule regardless of equipment, climate, or manufacturer instructions.

5. Access — Fla. Stat. § 83.53

Tenant will not unreasonably withhold consent for the access purposes listed in § 83.53(1). For repair entry, Landlord will generally give at least 24 hours' notice and enter at a reasonable time between 7:30 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. Section 83.53 separately addresses entry for protection or preservation, consent, emergency, unreasonable withholding, and specified absences.

Landlord will not abuse access or use it to harass Tenant. Nothing here narrows an emergency or preservation right or expands entry beyond § 83.53 and the rental agreement.

6. Assessment, Remediation, and Other Licensed Work

Sections 468.841 and 468.8411 make vendor classification fact-specific:

• regulated “mold assessment” and “mold remediation” definitions include a greater-than-ten-square-feet element;
• owners, certain employees and affiliates, other licensed professionals, insurer representatives, and specified government or school employees may fall within statutory exemptions; and
• other construction, plumbing, electrical, HVAC, or specialty work may require a different license.

Before retaining a person who offers regulated mold services to the public, verify license status, applicable exemption, conflicts, scope, insurance, protocol, and any construction license. Section 468.8419 restricts assessment/remediation cross-work, property interests, referrals, and other conduct.

Any assessment protocol, remediation plan, clearance criterion, or industry standard selected for the project must be identified in writing: [________________________________].

7. Statutory Notices and Remedies

Landlord Noncompliance — § 83.56(1)

If Tenant alleges a material failure to comply with § 83.51(1) or a material lease provision, § 83.56(1) uses a seven-day written notice specifying the noncompliance and stating the intent to terminate. The statute then distinguishes whether the failure is cured, whether causes are beyond Landlord's control despite continuing reasonable efforts, whether the unit is untenantable and Tenant vacates, and whether Tenant remains in occupancy with a loss of rental value.

This Addendum is not that notice. Tenant must use a current, fact-specific notice and delivery method.

Tenant Noncompliance — § 83.56(2)

Tenant-caused conditions and material failures under § 83.52 or the rental agreement require the remedy path that fits § 83.56(2). Curable noncompliance generally uses the statute's seven-day cure notice; specified noncurable, subsequent, or continuing conduct follows a different route. A late report does not automatically establish tenant causation, eviction, damages, or “additional rent.”

Notice Delivery — § 83.56(4)

Required § 83.56 notices must use the current statutory delivery route. Email is available only in accordance with § 83.505. The notice requirements may not be waived in the rental agreement.

No Contract-Created Self-Help Remedy

This Addendum does not authorize Tenant to hire a remediator and deduct the charge from rent. It does not authorize Landlord to charge investigation or remediation costs as rent without a current contractual and legal basis. Each party retains only the remedies supplied by the rental agreement and applicable law.

Fees

Section 83.48 permits fees and costs to the party in whose favor judgment or decree is rendered in an action enforcing the rental agreement or Part II, but expressly excludes a personal-injury damages claim based on breach of a § 83.51 duty. Do not state a blanket prevailing-party fee entitlement for every mold-related claim.

8. Nonwaiver and Claim Preservation

Under § 83.47, this Addendum does not:

• waive or preclude a Part II right, remedy, or requirement;
• limit or preclude liability arising under law;
• release an unknown personal-injury or property claim;
• establish that a condition was caused by either party merely because that party reported it; or
• require disclosure of a household member's diagnosis or disability.

Any disability-related accommodation or relocation request must be handled separately under applicable law. Any temporary move, rent adjustment, hotel payment, property handling, or other interim arrangement must be stated in a separate signed agreement without mislabeling § 83.51 as a relocation statute.

9. Notices and Response Log

Emergency contact instructions: [________________________________].

10. Signatures

The parties incorporate this Addendum into the Lease. If a direct conflict exists, applicable law controls; otherwise, the Lease and this Addendum should be read together. No oral statement changes the recorded disclosures or obligations.

Additional tenant: __________________________ Date: [____________]

Exhibits

• Exhibit A: Prior reports, work orders, invoices, photographs, or completion records actually provided
• Exhibit B: Equipment-specific ventilation, HVAC, filter, and moisture-control instructions
• Exhibit C: Separate interim occupancy, access, or work plan, if any

Practice Notes — Remove Before Signing

• Florida's landlord-maintenance statute does not contain a generic mold-specific disclosure or five-day remediation rule. Use applicable codes, § 83.51, the lease, facts, and qualified advice.
• Do not say § 83.51(1) is universally nonwaivable; its final sentence permits written alteration or modification for a single-family home or duplex. Section 83.47 still prohibits the waivers and liability limits it describes.
• Section 83.53's 24-hour definition is for repair entry. Read the entire access section before applying that number to an inspection, emergency, preservation entry, consent entry, or absence.
• Section 83.56 was amended by chapters 2025-16 and 2026-143. Use the current official section, including its electronic-notice cross-reference and current examples, not a pre-2025 notice form.
• Mold licensing is not “all mold requires a licensed remediator.” Check the greater-than-ten-square-feet definitions, statutory exemptions, public-facing activity, and any separate construction license.
• Do not collect household medical information in an ordinary addendum. Process accommodation information through a separate, privacy-conscious workflow.

Official References

• Fla. Stat. § 83.47 — https://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0000-0099/0083/Sections/0083.47.html
• Fla. Stat. § 83.48 — https://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0000-0099/0083/Sections/0083.48.html
• Fla. Stat. § 83.51 — https://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0000-0099/0083/Sections/0083.51.html
• Fla. Stat. § 83.52 — https://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0000-0099/0083/Sections/0083.52.html
• Fla. Stat. § 83.53 — https://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0000-0099/0083/Sections/0083.53.html
• Fla. Stat. § 83.56 — https://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0000-0099/0083/Sections/0083.56.html
• Fla. Stat. § 468.841 — https://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0400-0499/0468/Sections/0468.841.html
• Fla. Stat. § 468.8411 — https://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0400-0499/0468/Sections/0468.8411.html
• Fla. Stat. § 468.8419 — https://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0400-0499/0468/Sections/0468.8419.html