Florida Senate - 2020                                    SB 1528
       
       
        
       By Senator Torres
       
       
       
       
       
       15-01585-20                                           20201528__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to landlords and tenants; amending s.
    3         83.60, F.S.; deleting a provision providing that the
    4         failure to pay rent into a registry of the court under
    5         certain circumstances constitutes an absolute waiver
    6         of certain defenses and entitles the landlord to a
    7         certain default judgment; providing an effective date.
    8          
    9  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   10  
   11         Section 1. Subsection (2) of section 83.60, Florida
   12  Statutes, is amended to read:
   13         83.60 Defenses to action for rent or possession;
   14  procedure.—
   15         (2) In an action by the landlord for possession of a
   16  dwelling unit, if the tenant interposes any defense other than
   17  payment, including, but not limited to, the defense of a
   18  defective 3-day notice, the tenant shall pay into the registry
   19  of the court the accrued rent as alleged in the complaint or as
   20  determined by the court and the rent that accrues during the
   21  pendency of the proceeding, when due. The clerk shall notify the
   22  tenant of such requirement in the summons. Failure of the tenant
   23  to pay the rent into the registry of the court or to file a
   24  motion to determine the amount of rent to be paid into the
   25  registry within 5 days, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal
   26  holidays, after the date of service of process constitutes an
   27  absolute waiver of the tenant’s defenses other than payment, and
   28  the landlord is entitled to an immediate default judgment for
   29  removal of the tenant with a writ of possession to issue without
   30  further notice or hearing thereon. If a motion to determine rent
   31  is filed, documentation in support of the allegation that the
   32  rent as alleged in the complaint is in error is required. Public
   33  housing tenants or tenants receiving rent subsidies are required
   34  to deposit only that portion of the full rent for which they are
   35  responsible pursuant to the federal, state, or local program in
   36  which they are participating.
   37         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2020.