USA - FLORIDA Law and Practice Contributed by: Jeffrey R Margolis, Marc S Shuster, James L Berger and Evan Rosenberg, Berger Singerman LLP
leases with a term greater than six months. This tax is based on the total rent payable under the lease or licence agreement. 6.8 Costs Payable by a Tenant at the Start of a Lease In addition to the first month’s rent (plus sales tax), tenants are typically required to pay a secu - rity deposit and the last month’s rent (plus sales tax) at the commencement of a lease. 6.9 Payment of Maintenance and Repair Although landlords will pay the costs of main - taining and repairing common areas, such costs are typically reimbursed by tenants through common area maintenance charges equal to a pro rata share of the costs as set in net leases. 6.10 Payment of Utilities and Telecommunications If utilities and telecommunications services, etc, are not separately metered, then a lease will typi - cally provide that the tenant is responsible for paying its pro rata share of the cost of such ser - vices, utilities, and telecommunications to the landlord. 6.11 Insurance Issues Landlords typically remain responsible for insur - ing the leased real estate, and for repairing or replacing the real estate if it is damaged as a result of a casualty event. In a ground lease, the tenant is usually responsible for insuring the real estate and for repairing or replacing the real estate if it is damaged as a result of a casualty event. 6.12 Restrictions on the Use of Real Estate Leases are purely contractual in nature and land - lords may impose various restrictions on how a tenant may use real estate. For instance, a land -
lord may restrict the tenant’s use of the property to a specific type of business. Florida zoning and land use laws also impose restrictions on how real estate may be used. 6.13 Tenant’s Ability to Alter and Improve Real Estate If a lease is silent on such matter, then the tenant may alter or improve the real estate during the lease term, with the only limitations being the practical limitation of the cost of the improve - ments versus the length of the lease term. Typi - cally, though, landlords impose various restric - tions and requirements on tenant alterations and improvements in order to ensure that any alterations and improvements are pre-approved by the landlord, and comply with all laws, rules, and regulations. 6.14 Specific Regulations Although Part I of Chapter 83 of the Florida Statutes addresses commercial leases such as leases for industrial, office and retail prop - erty, such leases are not regulated to the extent of residential leases. Many local governments also impose restrictions on those who rent their homes on Airbnb and other similar platforms, including registration, licence, and requirements, in addition to requirements relating to the collec - tion of taxes and fees. 6.15 Effect of the Tenant’s Insolvency To the extent that a tenant’s insolvency results in a bankruptcy, Section 365 of the Bankruptcy Code addresses the rights and remedies avail - able to the landlord and tenant. Pursuant to Sec - tion 365, a debtor may: • reject leases determined to be burdensome, creating only a pre-petition damage claim limited under Section 502(b)(6) of the Bank - ruptcy Code;
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