{"id":2541,"date":"2022-09-27T20:22:44","date_gmt":"2022-09-28T00:22:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.landersandsternberg.com\/?p=2541"},"modified":"2022-09-28T10:49:29","modified_gmt":"2022-09-28T14:49:29","slug":"florida-renters-survival-guide-after-a-hurricane","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.landersandsternberg.com\/es\/florida-renters-survival-guide-after-a-hurricane\/","title":{"rendered":"Florida Renters&#8217; Survival Guide After A Hurricane: What You Need to Know (And Do) Now"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.landersandsternberg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Hurricane-Season.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2543 lazyload\"\/><noscript><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"720\" height=\"226\" src=\"https:\/\/www.landersandsternberg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Hurricane-Season.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2543 lazyload\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.landersandsternberg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Hurricane-Season.jpg 720w, https:\/\/www.landersandsternberg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Hurricane-Season-300x94.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.landersandsternberg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Hurricane-Season-18x6.jpg 18w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/noscript><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>When natural disasters strike, the effects can be devastating for residents in the affected area. If you\u2019re a renter in Florida, you might be wondering what your rights are if a natural disaster forces you out of your rental. Here\u2019s what you need to know about being a renter after a hurricane.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What to Expect After a Natural Disaster<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>After a natural disaster, you\u2019ll want to be sure to keep informed about any evacuation orders for your area. At the same time, you\u2019ll also want to be prepared for any damage that may occur to your rental property. When a hurricane or other type of storm hits, you can expect the following: Rising waters from storm surge, damaged infrastructure or collapsed roads, power outages, and damage to your rental property. As a renter, if your rental property experiences damages, you may need to take special precautions to protect your rights. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Know Your Rights When Returning to a Damaged Property<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>If you evacuated and return to your rental property after a natural disaster, you\u2019ll want to be sure to check the property to see what, if any, damage has occurred. If there are damages that are significant, you have two options depending on the severity of the damages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">1) When Your Rental is &#8220;Substantially Impaired&#8221; i.e. Unlivable or Destroyed<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Where the use of the leased premises is \u201csubstantially impaired\u201d&nbsp; by damage from a natural disaster, Florida law states,<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>If the premises are damaged or destroyed other than by the wrongful or negligent acts of the tenant so that the enjoyment of the premises is substantially impaired, the tenant may terminate the rental agreement and immediately vacate the premises.<\/p><cite>Florida Statute 83.63<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Who can terminate the lease?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p> Only the tenant\u2014not the landlord\u2014 has the sole discretion to terminate the tenancy and vacate the leased premises after casualty damages due to a natural disaster.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">2) When the Rental is Partially Damaged or Destroyed and You Want to Remain<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Where the use of the leased premises is \u201cunusable by the casualty\u201d from a natural disaster whereby you want to remain living at the property, Florida law states,<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>The tenant may vacate the part of the premises rendered unusable by the casualty, in which case the tenant\u2019s liability for rent shall be reduced by the fair rental value of that part of the premises damaged or destroyed.&nbsp; <\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>If you decide to continue the tenancy after a hurricane, we would recommend that you issue to the landlord a <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.floridabar.org\/public\/consumer\/consumer004\/\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.floridabar.org\/public\/consumer\/consumer004\/\">seven day notice<\/a><\/strong> to perform the repairs.&nbsp;Such notice will need to be delivered or mailed to the landlord at the landlord&#8217;s address. It provides the landlord 7 days to fix the damages and will establish a lawful defense to the non-payment of rent if the landlord were to file an eviction. You may then also negotiate a rent reduction based on the damaged premises.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Your Rental Agreement During Disasters<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>If you\u2019re a renter, you\u2019ll likely have a rental agreement with your landlord that outlines when and how rent is due and what the landlord\u2019s obligations are. You\u2019ll want to be sure to be familiar with your rental agreement, as well as any terms or addendums attached to the lease. You also may need to be prepared for a few different scenarios. Here are a few things you\u2019ll want to be prepared for: Natural disaster disrupts your ability to pay rent; Natural disaster damages your rental property; or Natural disaster forces you to move out of your rental property.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Tips for Renters After a Natural Disaster<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>If you\u2019re a renter and a natural disaster occurs in your area, you\u2019ll want to be sure to stay informed about any alerts or warnings in your area, and you may want to have a disaster plan in place with your family. You also can contact your state\u2019s Consumer Protection Agency if you have additional questions about your rights as a renter after a natural disaster. Stay alert for scams! Keep copies of important documents. Additionally, it is important to have seven day notices ready to report any damage to your landlord. Stay informed about government assistance programs, and disaster relief funds may be available to help you with upcoming rental payments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Conclusion<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>When natural disasters strike, many people who rent in Florida end up having to deal with a sudden loss of housing. If you are a renter, you may have some key decisions to make in these situations but may want to be sure to educate yourself on what your rights are before disaster strikes.  You also can contact your county\u2019s Consumer Protection Agency or our office if you have additional questions about your rights as a renter after a natural disaster.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When natural disasters strike, the effects can be devastating for residents in the affected area. If you\u2019re a renter in Florida, you might be wondering what your rights are if a natural disaster forces you out of your rental. Here\u2019s what you need to know about being a renter after a hurricane. What to Expect [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"nf_dc_page":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[32,33,34,37,35,38],"class_list":["post-2541","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-landlord-tenant","tag-casualty","tag-damage","tag-hurricane","tag-landlord","tag-repair","tag-tenant","entry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.landersandsternberg.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2541","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.landersandsternberg.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.landersandsternberg.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.landersandsternberg.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.landersandsternberg.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2541"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.landersandsternberg.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2541\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2561,"href":"https:\/\/www.landersandsternberg.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2541\/revisions\/2561"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.landersandsternberg.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2541"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.landersandsternberg.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2541"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.landersandsternberg.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2541"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}