Florida fair housing: what every landlord must know.

Most owners think of fair housing as a rule about who they may turn down. It is wider than that. The same statutes cover the wording of the advertisement, what you say on the phone, the terms you offer once someone is approved, how you respond to a request for an emotional support animal, and how you treat a tenant who has complained. Every rule below is quoted from the statute or ordinance itself, and each one is linked at the end.

1. Three layers of law apply at once

The short answer: a Broward County rental is covered by the federal Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. § 3601 and following), by the Florida Fair Housing Act (Fla. Stat. §§ 760.20–760.37), and by the Broward County Human Rights Act (chapter 16½ of the county code). You comply with all three, which in practice means you comply with the broadest one.

The federal and state rows come from 42 U.S.C. § 3604 and Fla. Stat. § 760.23. The Broward column comes from the definition of “discriminatory classification” in § 16½-3 of the county code, which says familial status, veteran status, lawful source of income and the victim categories apply specifically to housing claims. Other cities and counties have their own ordinances, so check the one where the property sits.

2. The exemption you probably do not have

The short answer: an individual who owns no more than three single-family houses has a narrow exemption from parts of the federal and Florida acts, but it applies only if the house is rented without a real estate licensee or anyone in the business of renting dwellings. Hire a broker or a property manager and the exemption is gone.

Florida’s version is in § 760.29(1)(a)1. The house must be rented “without the use in any manner of the sales or rental facilities or the sales or rental services of any real estate licensee or such facilities or services of any person in the business of selling or renting dwellings.” The federal wording in 42 U.S.C. § 3603(b)(1) is almost identical, and Broward’s exemption in § 16½-35.4 carries the same condition.

Three further limits catch owners out:

• The advertising rule still applies. The federal exemption covers “section 3604 ... (other than subsection (c))”, and subsection (c) is the advertising ban. Florida’s exemption is lost if the owner publishes an advertisement that violates § 760.23(3).
• Volume counts. Under § 760.29(1)(b), you are treated as being in the business of renting if, within the preceding 12 months, you took part as principal in three or more rental or sale transactions, or if you own any dwelling designed for five or more families.
• The owner-occupied version is separate. § 760.29(1)(a)2 exempts rooms or units in a building of no more than four units only where “the owner actually maintains and occupies one of such living quarters as his or her residence.”

3. The advertisement is regulated, not only the decision

The short answer: it is unlawful to publish any notice, statement or advertisement that “indicates any preference, limitation, or discrimination” based on a protected characteristic, under Fla. Stat. § 760.23(3) and 42 U.S.C. § 3604(c). That covers the listing, the sign in the window and what is said on the phone.

The safe habit is to describe the property and the terms, never the person you hope will live there. “Two bedrooms, fenced yard, 12-month lease, income at least three times the rent” describes the property and a criterion. “Adults only” or “no children” states a preference based on familial status, which § 760.23(6) extends to anyone who is pregnant or securing custody of a child under 18. In Broward, wording that discourages voucher holders or prefers a particular marital status is a problem under the county ordinance as well.

Section 760.23(4) adds a quieter rule: you may not tell someone a unit is unavailable for inspection or rental when it is in fact available. Telling one caller “it’s taken” and the next “come and see it” is the pattern that complaints are built on.

4. Disability: accommodations and modifications

The short answer: under § 760.23(9), refusing a reasonable change to your rules, or refusing to let a disabled tenant make reasonable physical changes at their own expense, counts as discrimination. A no-pets rule, an assigned-parking policy or a rent-payment method can all be the subject of an accommodation request.

5. Emotional support animals: what Florida lets you ask

The short answer: Fla. Stat. § 760.27 requires a housing provider to allow an emotional support animal as a reasonable accommodation for a person with a disability-related need, with no pet fee or pet rent. Where the disability or the need is not obvious, you may ask for reliable supporting information, but never for a diagnosis or medical records.

What the statute allows you to do:

1. Ask for reliable information that the person has a disability, if it is not readily apparent. § 760.27(2)(b) lists acceptable sources, including a government disability determination, receipt of disability benefits, or information from a health care practitioner with personal knowledge of the person’s disability. An out-of-state practitioner qualifies only if they have provided in-person care to the tenant at least once.
2. Ask for information about the need for the particular animal, if that need is not readily apparent (§ 760.27(2)(c)).
3. Ask about each animal separately when more than one is requested (§ 760.27(2)(d)).
4. Require proof of licensing and vaccination under state and local rules (§ 760.27(2)(e)).
5. Deny the request if the animal poses a direct threat to the health or safety of others, or of physical damage to others’ property, that another accommodation cannot reduce or eliminate (§ 760.27(2)(a)).

What the statute forbids or limits:

• Charging “extra compensation for such animal” (§ 760.27(2)).
• Asking for “the diagnosis or severity of a person’s disability or any medical records” (§ 760.27(3)(a)).
• Requiring a specific form or a notarized statement, or denying a request only because the tenant did not use your process (§ 760.27(3)(b)).

Two points run in the owner’s favor. An online registration, ID card, patch or certificate “is not, by itself, sufficient information” under § 760.27(3)(c). And under § 760.27(4) the tenant remains “liable for any damage done to the premises or to another person on the premises” by the animal. The section does not apply to service animals, which are governed separately by § 413.08.

6. Families with children, and 55-plus housing

The short answer: you may not refuse, or offer different terms to, a household because it includes children under 18 or someone who is pregnant. The only blanket exception is genuine “housing for older persons” under § 760.29(4).

That exception is precise. It covers housing solely occupied by people 62 or older, or housing intended for people 55 or older where at least 80 percent of occupied units have at least one resident aged 55 or over, the community publishes and follows policies showing that intent, and it verifies occupancy under the HUD rules in 24 C.F.R. part 100. An owner of a single condo unit cannot create it. It belongs to the community, and the association’s documents decide it. If your unit is in such a building, our guide to renting out a Florida condo covers the association side.

The act does not override local occupancy limits. § 760.29(5)(b) preserves “any reasonable local restriction regarding the maximum number of occupants.” Use the local code’s occupancy standard, not a rule of your own about how many children may share a room.

7. Section 8 vouchers in Broward County

The short answer: in Broward County, lawful source of income is a protected classification for housing, and the county code names “the Housing Choice Voucher Program or ‘Section 8’ vouchers” in its definition. A blanket “no Section 8” policy is a discriminatory classification under the ordinance.

The definition in § 16½-3 is broad. It includes Social Security, child support, alimony, veterans’ benefits, disability benefits, pensions and housing assistance, “whether such income is received directly or indirectly by the renter” and “even if such income includes additional federal, state, or local requirements.”

8. Retaliation is its own violation

Under § 760.37 it is unlawful to “coerce, intimidate, threaten, or interfere with any person” for exercising a fair housing right, or for helping someone else to exercise one. The federal equivalent is 42 U.S.C. § 3617. Raising the rent, declining a renewal or starting an eviction soon after a tenant files a complaint or asks for an accommodation will be examined in that light, so document the business reason for every such decision at the time you make it.

9. What you are not required to do

The act has limits, and they are worth knowing as precisely as the duties. Under § 760.29:

• You do not have to rent to someone “whose tenancy would constitute a direct threat to the health or safety of other individuals or whose tenancy would result in substantial physical damage to the property of others” (§ 760.29(5)(c)).
• The act does not prohibit acting on a conviction for “the illegal manufacture or distribution of a controlled substance” (§ 760.29(5)(d)). That is a narrow carve-out for that specific conviction, not a general permission regarding criminal records.
• For a dwelling first occupied before 13 March 1991, you are not required to make it physically accessible except as otherwise required by law (§ 760.29(3)). A tenant may still ask to make modifications at their own expense.

Income, credit and rental-history criteria are not protected characteristics. They are lawful when written down in advance and applied identically to every applicant, which our tenant screening guide covers in detail, including the adverse action notice federal law requires when you decline someone.

10. Complaints, deadlines and penalties

If a court finds a violation, § 760.35(4) says it “must issue an order” that includes injunctive relief, “actual and punitive damages, and reasonable attorney fees and costs.” Where the Commission itself sues, § 760.34(7)(b) allows fines of up to $10,000 for a first violation, up to $25,000 with one prior violation in 5 years, and up to $50,000 with two or more in 7 years.

Did the law change in 2026? Yes, but not for private landlords. Chapter 2026-179 amended § 760.22 to add government agencies to the definition of “person”, and § 760.35 to waive the state’s sovereign immunity for fair housing claims. The protected characteristics, the exemptions and the deadlines above did not change.

The checklist

1. Write your screening criteria before the listing goes live and apply them to every applicant in the order applications arrive.
2. Review every listing for words that describe the tenant instead of the property.
3. Give every caller the same answer about availability, and keep a log of inquiries.
4. Treat any request involving a disability as an accommodation request, even if the tenant never uses that phrase.
5. For emotional support animals, ask only what § 760.27 permits, never charge pet rent or a pet fee, and decide in writing.
6. In Broward, do not screen out voucher holders or any other lawful source of income.
7. Record the business reason for any rent increase, non-renewal or notice served after a complaint or request.
8. Keep application files long enough to cover the 2-year lawsuit window.

CIMCO manages long-term rentals across Hollywood, Fort Lauderdale and the rest of Broward County, as well as condo associations. Written criteria, listing review and accommodation requests are handled as part of full-service management at a flat 8% fee.

This is general information, not legal advice. Florida landlord–tenant law is detailed and fact-specific, and statutes change. Verify anything you intend to act on against the current Florida Statutes Chapter 83, Part II, and consult a Florida attorney before serving notices or filing an eviction.