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Renting a home that was foreclosed in Florida: your rights

If you rent a home in Florida and your landlord's mortgage was foreclosed, federal law usually gives you at least 90 days' written notice, and often the rest of your lease. Florida has its own copy of that rule, but it takes effect only if the federal law is repealed. Florida law also says your security deposit must move to the new owner, and that a homeowners or condo association can sometimes require you to pay rent to it when your landlord is behind on dues.

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Reviewed against Florida law and official sources on October 11, 2026. General information, not legal advice.

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Your rights as a renter in Florida, in order

  1. Federal floor: 90 days' notice, and your lease may continue

    After the sale

    Under the Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act, a bona fide tenant gets at least 90 days' written notice to vacate, and a lease signed before the foreclosure runs to its end unless the buyer will live in the home. If you have a Section 8 voucher, the new owner takes over your lease and housing assistance contract. See [tenant notice after foreclosure](/notices/tenant-notice-after-foreclosure/).

    Pub. L. 111-22 § 702, as restored by Pub. L. 115-174 § 304

  2. Florida's backup version of the federal rule

    Only if the federal act is repealed

    Florida wrote the same 90-day notice and lease rights into its own law in 2020. The statute's note says it takes effect only upon repeal of the federal act, so today the federal law is the one that applies.

    Fla. Stat. § 83.5615

  3. The writ of possession and your right to be heard

    After the certificate of title

    The buyer needs a writ of possession from the court to remove anyone. If you are not named in the writ and have a right to stay, such as a lease, you can file an affidavit with the sheriff explaining your claim, and the sheriff stops until the judge decides.

    Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.580(b)

  4. Your security deposit moves to the new owner

    When title transfers

    When rental property changes owners, all security deposits and advance rent must be transferred to the new owner with an accounting. The law presumes the new owner received your deposit, up to 1 month's rent. When you move out, the landlord has 15 days to return it, or 30 days to send written notice of a claim against it.

    Fla. Stat. § 83.49(3), (7)

  5. When the HOA or condo association demands your rent

    Once you get a written demand

    If your landlord is behind on dues, the association can send you a written demand to pay rent to it instead. If you already paid the landlord for that period, send the association proof within 14 days and start with the next payment. Rent you pay to the association after its demand protects you from any claim for that rent by your landlord, and the association must give receipts on request.

    Fla. Stat. §§ 718.116(11), 720.3085(8)

  6. Keep paying and keep records

    Every rent period

    Keep paying rent as your lease requires unless you get a valid association demand or proof of a new owner. Ask the new owner in writing for proof of ownership and where to pay, and keep every receipt. Florida Law Help can point you to free legal aid.

Common questions in Florida

Does a Florida tenant have to pay rent to the HOA instead of the landlord?

Only after the association sends you a written demand under the condo or HOA statute. From then on, you pay the association until it releases you or you move out. Payments you make to it after the demand protect you from the landlord's claim for that rent.

Who returns my security deposit after my Florida landlord's foreclosure?

Florida law says deposits must be transferred to the new owner, and it presumes the new owner received your deposit up to 1 month's rent. Ask both the old landlord and the new owner in writing where your deposit is and keep copies of your letters.

Can the sheriff remove me from a foreclosed Florida rental with no warning?

The buyer must get a writ of possession first. If you are a tenant not named in the writ, you can file an affidavit with the sheriff explaining your right to stay, and the judge decides. Bring your lease and receipts, and call legal aid right away.

Step by step

More on foreclosure in Florida

Understand the process

What is happening and how much time there is.

Weigh your options

What can stop it, and what happens if it goes ahead.

Get help now

Who to call, and what to do when a sale is scheduled.

Also in Florida

Property tax foreclosure Claim surplus funds Deficiency judgments HOA and condo liens Renters after foreclosure (this page)Letters you may get

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Sources for this page

  1. Fla. Stat. § 720.3085 (HOA payment for assessments, lien claims)
  2. Fla. Stat. § 720.305 (HOA fines and suspensions)
  3. Fla. Stat. § 718.116 (condo assessments, liability, lien, priority)
  4. Fla. Stat. § 718.121 (condo liens and required notices)
  5. Fla. Stat. § 718.303 (condo fines and suspensions)
  6. Fla. Stat. ch. 83, part II (Florida Residential Landlord and Tenant Act)
  7. Fla. Stat. § 83.5615 (Florida Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act)
  8. Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act, Pub. L. 111-22 § 702, note under 12 U.S.C. § 5220 (govinfo)
  9. Florida Statutes chapter 702, Foreclosure of Mortgages and Statutory Liens (2026)
  10. Florida Statutes chapter 45, including §§ 45.031 to 45.035 (judicial sales, redemption, surplus) (2026)
  11. Fla. Stat. § 95.11, Limitations other than for the recovery of real property
  12. Fla. Stat. § 501.1377, Violations involving homeowners during the course of residential foreclosure proceedings
  13. Florida Law Help: Foreclosures
  14. Duval County Clerk of Courts: Foreclosure (defendant information, sales, cancellation, writ of possession)
  15. Eighteenth Judicial Circuit Administrative Order 12-02-B (statewide managed mediation program terminated December 19, 2011)
  16. Florida Department of Economic Opportunity: HAF program accomplishments (December 29, 2022)
  17. U.S. Treasury: Homeowner Assistance Fund (period of performance ended September 30, 2026)
  18. Florida Housing: Florida's Hardest-Hit Fund (all programs closed)
  19. Florida Housing: State Housing Initiatives Partnership (SHIP) program
  20. Florida Attorney General: Mortgage Fraud