New West Palm Beach Ordinance Aims to Protect Tenants

New West Palm Beach Ordinance Aims to Protect Tenants
Landlords Now Required to Give 60 Days' Written Notice for Rental Tenancies Termination, Rent Increases of +5%

WEST PALM BEACH, FLA (June 16, 2022) - A new ordinance adopted by the City of West Palm Beach requires landlords to give 60 days' written notice for termination of residential tenancies and increases in rent of more than 5% for rental tenancies.

Ordinance No. 5007-22 requires that tenants are given longer notice if their lease is going to terminate and/or if their rent is going to increase. Instead of having 30 days or less, depending on their tenancy, tenants will have at least 60 days to accept higher rent and stay or relocate. The tenant protection measure requires tenants have at least 60 days to make that decision instead of a lesser time.

The purpose of this Ordinance is to provide all residents of the City with fair notice if their rents are to increase.

Over the past year, the City has experienced a significant increase in rental rates being paid by tenants. Studies have shown that more than half of renters' households in Palm Beach County are severely cost-burdened.

The Florida Residential Landlord and Tenant Act does not provide specific notification requirements for landlords seeking to increase rental rates. With respect to termination of tenancy, if there is a written lease, notice required to terminate a tenancy is no more than 60 days. When there is no lease, a seven-day notice to a tenant renting week-to-week, a 15-day notice to a tenant renting month-to-month, a 30-day notice to a tenant renting quarter-to-quarter, and a 60 day notice to a tenant renting year-to-year.