Polk County, FL Rental Property Rules: Repairs & Habitability (2026)

Polk County's Structural Maintenance Ordinance (Ord. No. 5, Article II, applies only in the unincorporated areas of the county (Sec. 5-23) and puts the duty to maintain a rental structure on the owner (Sec. 5-25). For heat, any owner who rents, leases, or lets a dwelling unit must supply heat capable of maintaining at least sixty-eight degrees Fahrenheit in every habitable room, bathroom, and toilet room (Sec. 5-33(a)(2)). Water heating facilities must be able to deliver water of not less than one hundred ten degrees Fahrenheit at every required sink, lavatory, bathtub, shower, and laundry facility, with an approved temperature-and-pressure relief valve installed on the heater (Sec.

5-32(f)). Bathrooms and toilet rooms must be ventilated to Florida Building Code standards, and mechanical exhaust from a bathroom must vent to the outdoors rather than recirculate (Sec. 5-31(b)(1)). Rented dwelling, rooming, and housekeeping unit doors must carry a deadbolt lock with at least a one-inch throw that opens from inside without a key, and operable windows within six feet of grade on a rented unit must have a window sash locking device (Sec. 5-28(q)(1)-(2)). The exterior and interior of the structure, including foundations, roofs, exterior walls, and interior surfaces, must be kept structurally sound, weather-tight, and free of deteriorated paint, plaster, or wood (Sec. 5-29). 00 or up to sixty days in jail, or both (Sec. 5-27).