Tenant Rights to Privacy and Safety

Have you ever been in a situation where you wondered whether or not the landlord or one of his representatives can enter your apartment or rental? Have you come home from work and you can tell that someone has been in there while you were gone because you notice that some things are moved around? Does it seem that your landlord is constantly coming around and wanting to get in your apartment without you having any kind of repairs that need to be fixed? Have you been home sitting and watching a movie when you hear the door unlock and in walks the maintenance man? I hope you haven’t had these experiences because they can be quite unsettling.

You do have certain rights as to your privacy once you have rented your apartment or home. The landlord has to abide by these rules also. Just because you have become the renter, it does not give him free access to your home. Yes, you are paying the rent and that gives you some rights that need to be upheld by your landlord or his representatives.

Let’s discuss what can and cannot be done in regards to your privacy.

If you have had some of these or other things happen that have made you uncomfortable, you should talk with your landlord and ask that he make an appointment with you when he wants to come to your apartment. If he refuses to abide by your request, you can file a complaint with the Rental Protection Agency to let him know that you are serious about your request.

Now let’s talk about what you have to do as a renter and when you have to allow your landlord or his representatives to enter your premises.

According to Section 83.53(1), F.S.

”The tenant shall not unreasonably withhold consent to the landlord to enter the dwelling unit from time to time in order to inspect the premises.”

I believe this doesn’t mean your landlord can enter at any time. This is when you should check your lease to see if there is a clause in there that states how often the landlord or his representatives are allowed to enter your apartment to do an inspection. You would have to abide by what that says but if doesn’t say a definite amount of time; you should work out what would be a reasonable amount of time between inspections. I firmly believe that a monthly inspection is not reasonable.


Section 83.53(2), F.S.

According to this is the landlord feels that he must enter for the protection or preservation of the premises, and then he may enter at any time.

This would, of course, be an emergency situation and I am sure if there was an emergency, you would want your landlord to enter and take care of the problem.

He may enter the premises to make repairs but must give you “reasonable notice” and the time he wants to enter must be at a “reasonable time”. The law states that this would be defined as the “reasonable notice” should be (12) twelve hours prior to entering and the “reasonable time” should between the hours of 7:30 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. So if he wants to come at a different time than these, you will need to agree to that different time but you can insist that he comes between the hours stated.

Your landlord or his representatives can enter at any time if:

You are gone for gone for a period of time that is equal to 1/2 the time that you pay rent. So if you have a monthly contract and you are gone more than 1/2 of month he can enter your apartment unless you have paid your rent and you have told him that you are going to be gone. Then he can only enter if you have given your consent or if there is a reason to enter to protect or preserve the premises.

• He may enter at any time if you give him your consent
• He may enter if it is an emergency
• He may enter if you have withheld unreasonable consent

The landlord must not abuse his right to access your living area or use his rights to harass you. If you feel that he is harassing you and you file a complaint he cannot evict you or harass you, because that would be a violation of your rights. You have the right to your privacy without worrying about someone coming into your rental without you knowing or coming in when you are home and scaring you.