A lawmaker has filed a new bill that seeks to keep rental tenants cool in Florida’s hot, humid weather.
Winter Haven Republican Rep. Jon Albert filed the measure (HB 241) that would amend landlord obligations to include sufficient cooling requirements for rental properties.
Under the legislation, landlords would be required to install permanent or securely affixed appliances, such as central air systems, packaged thermal air conditioners, mini-split heat pumps, and window units, if local codes permit.
Landlords would be obligated to provide and maintain cooling equipment that is capable of keeping the indoor air temperature of habitable rooms below 82 degrees Fahrenheit when the outdoor heat index is at or exceeds 90 degrees Fahrenheit. These appliances would be required to be installed in spaces used for living, sleeping, eating or cooking, and would exclude bathrooms, closets and hallways.
If a landlord receives a written notice from a tenant that the equipment is not functioning, they would be obligated to repair or replace the equipment within three business days of receiving the notice.
A landlord would, however, not be in violation if their tenant unreasonably denies access to the property for installation, repairs or maintenance, if cooling equipment fails due to natural disasters, if there are utility outages, or if there are any supply chain delays out of the landlord’s control.
Landlords would also not have to install cooling equipment if their property is limited by historic preservation codes, but they would be able to install alternative systems if feasible.
According to a study from the University of Florida, Florida Summers are becoming significantly hotter, with researchers projecting up to 70 days above 91 degrees Fahrenheit annually by 2050.
Local governments would be restricted from creating or enforcing rules around housing conditions that are stricter than state law already provides.
The bill would apply to rental agreements entered into or renewed on or after July 1, 2026. Existing agreements would need to comply by July 1, 2027.
The bill would further expand the scope for Class A Air-Conditioning Contractors, who would be able to replace and reconnect package pool heaters as long as they are the same make and model, maintain flow rates and specs without piping or pool systems, and perform incidental excavation work related to HVAC installation or repairs.
They would also be able to disconnect and reconnect liquified petroleum or natural gas appliances as long as they do not install new fuel lines, test and evaluate HVAC systems, including ductwork — which does not require a mandatory license for testing.
Mechanical contractors would be granted a similar scope, including work on fuel lines, piping systems, and HVAC-related electrical connections, pool and heater replacement rules, and the same excavation allowances as a Class A contractor.
The bill would take effect July 1, 2026.
Dusty says
They are not going to have to pay for the electric bill unless it is included.
Joe D says
A/C is pretty much standard in the Florida area….however, for those that have a lower rent BECAUSE there is no landlord supplied A/C are going to have to realize, that adding a NEW A/C system retro to an older home is not going to be cheap, and the rents for those homes are going to skyrocket with the added costs of adding new systems. Especially since the ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS are likely going to need upgrading too to handle the central A/C systems($$).
I can also anticipate ( like we had with post Covid and post hurricane PRICE GOUGING by contractors) there will be a massive surge in installation needs all at once, and heavy competition usually means elevated costs, initially if this law is implemented.
Previously when I was renting out a townhouse in Flagler Beach, my 4 1/2 year old rooftop HVAC unit had a circulation fan rust out ( joys of living with the salt air, even with an expensive name brand system). The technician was sent out within 24 hours of being notified. The PROBLEM was, there was no available replacement part ANYWHERE ALONG THE EASTERN SEABOARD! the manufacturer had a sudden increase in replacement demand ( all of Florida was experiencing 110 degree days triggering multiple HVAC system overloads in Flagler County at the same time). The part wasn’t available at ANY PRICE.
I did offer my tenant 33% discount off the rent for the 12 days ( thankfully it was only that long…others were out longer) she was without A/C and I paid for purchasing circulating fans to be a partial help. Thankfully Flagler Beach has the strongest coastal winds anywhere along the eastern coast of Florida.
I’m HOPING, if landlords can prove there has been a “good faith” effort to repair a system within 3 days (some A/C repair companies may not have full availability on 3 day weekends), that they don’t have to end up in court to defend their actions to repair the system in a timely manner. If not, you’re going to see rents rise to include such potential court costs too.
I’m hoping that if there is such a law passed, there is discussion and negotiation from both tenant and landlord groups to come to a reasonable compromise.
Catharine W Noel-Repetski says
I feel this is government overreach. No one is going to rent a place without AC, so why the bill?
FlaglerLive says
@Catharine, The bill would not allow landlords to so easily dismiss or delay repairs to malfunctioning AC units, as is common.
JimboXYZ says
More superfluous legislation ? This is one of those things that renters have always been protected on. The HVAC breaks down, the landlord has to repair it. It’s one of the amenities the rental unit was leased as functional. How long anyone lives without AC is one of those things where the property owner has to contract. For something like natural gas, that needs to be repaired for obvious reasons. No rental unit should become Auschwitz ?
Not sure this really applies, granted any FPL bill is primarily HVAC, but it’s also appliances (Kitchen, Laundry & Water Heater), lighting. I doubt FPL is going to be too happy about that. Apartments are pretty much the tenant having their own account, sometimes with the duplex, the rent covers water, power & cable for being included ?
“They are not going to have to pay for the electric bill unless it is included.”
I lived in Miami, the lease contract & monthly payment had variability in the amount. They were charging me a quarterly water charge every month. I’d have rather had the separate account. I learned this when I bought a condo and had a separate water account. I realized that the apartment was charging me 3X what the condo bill actually was for Water & Sewer for a month. That was back under Obama. When I sold the condo, I got hit with a mystery Water bill of $ 700 that was a previous tenant that didn’t pay their water bill. So I got stuck paying that Ez’es (Hernandez) delinquent water bill. I wasn’t happy about that. The thing about that was the City of Miami had no lien from those bills that were unpaid a decade before I bought t the condo. But that’s the way it goes in this world, find someone else to pay for another’s financial irresponsibility. What can you do, they took the $ 700 as part of the HUD settlement to sell the condo unit. It tried to recover that from the Title company because they didn’t insure the title for the property, which is the whole premise behind Title insurance anyway. Crooked human beings pretty much.