Clearwater, FL Rental Property Rules: Rent Control (2026)
Rent control rules in Clearwater, FL, also known as rent stabilization or rent cap ordinances, limit annual rent increases and protect tenants from displacement.
Key Facts
- Governing statute
- Fla. Stat. § 166.043(2)
- Rule
- Cities and counties may not impose rent controls
- Exception
- Affordable-housing land-use tools, § 166.043(3)
- First enacted
- 1977, ch. 77-50
- Last amended
- 2024, ch. 2024-27
- Remedy for violation
- Ordinance void, challengeable in circuit court
Summary
Florida law flatly bars Clearwater and every other city or county in the state from adopting rent control. Fla. Stat. § 166.043(2) voids any ordinance, rule, or other measure that would cap or otherwise control rents, so landlords in Clearwater set rents without a municipal ceiling. The one carve-out lets the city use land-use tools, like inclusionary housing ordinances, to grow the affordable-housing supply instead.
(2) A municipality, county, or other entity of local government may not adopt or maintain in effect any law, ordinance, rule, or other measure that would have the effect of imposing controls on rents. (3) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this section, municipalities, counties, or other entity of local government may adopt and maintain in effect any law, ordinance, rule, or other measure which is adopted for the purposes of increasing the supply of affordable housing using land use mechanisms such as inclusionary housing ordinances.
Full Breakdown
" The bar is absolute. Unlike the price-control language in subsection (1)(a), which allows exceptions "specifically provided by general law" for franchised or contracted services such as towing and utility rates, subsection (2) carries no general-law escape hatch and lists no local emergency, housing-shortage, or vacancy-rate trigger that would let Clearwater's city commission activate rent stabilization the way some out-of-state cities do. " That carve-out lets Clearwater pursue density bonuses, set-asides, or fee waivers tied to affordable units, but it stops short of authorizing any cap on what a landlord may charge in rent.
The statute traces to 1977 (ch. 77-50) and has been amended repeatedly since, most recently by ch. 2023-17 and ch. 2024-27, without altering the core rent-control prohibition in subsection (2). Because the ban runs against "a municipality, county, or other entity of local government," it reaches Clearwater's city commission directly: no ordinance, resolution, executive order, or administrative rule adopted by the city can impose rent caps, rent increase limits, or mandatory rent freezes, regardless of the justification offered.
Violations & Fines
Section 166.043 sets no fine or misdemeanor penalty; it operates by voiding the local measure itself. Any Clearwater ordinance that imposed rent controls would be unenforceable and subject to being struck down in a declaratory judgment or injunction action brought in Pinellas County circuit court, since a municipality has no home-rule authority to enact a law that state statute expressly forbids.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can Clearwater pass a rent control ordinance?
Does Florida law give Clearwater any tools to address high rents?
Has the rent-control ban ever been repealed or weakened?
What happens if Clearwater tries to adopt rent stabilization anyway?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Clearwater
Florida rules heatmap·Compare Clearwater to another location·View the Florida rental property rules overview
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Rent Control in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Pinellas County handle rent control.