Arizona vs Florida: Local Ordinance Comparison (2026)

ADU Rules

Arizona's HB 2720 (2024), codified at A.R.S. 9-461.18, requires municipalities over 75,000 population to permit accessory dwelling units on single-family lots, limiting restrictive zoning, owner-occupancy, and parking mandates. HB 2928 (2025) extends an ADU mandate to counties.

Beekeeping

Arizona requires every beekeeper to register apiaries with the State Department of Agriculture, regardless of city rules, and follows uniform statewide pest and disease management standards.

Florida law requires every beekeeper to register their honeybee colonies with the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, obtain inspection certificates, and renew annually. The state fully preempts local hive bans.

Chickens & Livestock

Arizona generally leaves chicken and livestock keeping to municipal zoning, but state law protects agricultural operations on land zoned or used for farming under the Right to Farm Act.

Florida Statutes Chapter 588 makes livestock owners liable for animals that stray onto public roads. Under section 588.15, an owner who negligently permits cattle, horses, hogs, or other livestock to run at large owes damages for all resulting injury and property loss.

Dog Leash Laws

Arizona requires all dogs to be on a leash no longer than six feet whenever off the owner's property, and enforces statewide rabies licensing for dogs over three months old.

Exotic Pets

Arizona Game and Fish Commission rules apply uniformly statewide and prohibit private possession of restricted live wildlife including big cats, primates, alligators, and venomous reptiles without a special license.

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) regulates exotic and captive wildlife statewide. Possession of Class I, II, and III wildlife requires FWC permits, and state law preempts most local exotic animal regulations.

Pet Limits

Florida has no standalone hoarding statute; hoarders are prosecuted under Fla. Stat. 828.13 for confining animals without enough good, wholesome food and water, and under 828.12 cruelty when deprivation causes suffering or death.

Wildlife Feeding

Arizona makes it unlawful to intentionally feed or attract wildlife, except birds and tree squirrels, in Maricopa, Pima, and Pinal counties under A.R.S. 13-2927. The offense is a petty offense targeting coyotes, javelina, and similar animals.

Florida law prohibits intentional feeding of black bears, alligators, crocodiles, sandhill cranes, foxes, raccoons, and pelicans. These FWC rules apply statewide regardless of local ordinances.

Structure Height Limits

Florida Statutes 161.053 establishes the Coastal Construction Control Line, a state-administered seaward setback that applies to all coastal counties regardless of local zoning. Construction seaward of the CCCL requires a Florida DEP permit and meets statewide structural and elevation standards.

Tobacco Retail License

Florida Statute 569.315 expressly preempts the regulation of the marketing, sale, and delivery of nicotine products and dispensing devices to the state, voiding most municipal ordinances on electronic cigarettes and vape shops.

Dispensary Zoning

Arizona caps statewide marijuana establishment licenses and limits the local zoning conditions cities may impose under ARS Title 36 Chapter 28.2.

Florida preempts local regulation of medical marijuana dispensaries: cities must either treat them like pharmacies or ban them outright.

Juvenile Curfew

Florida Statutes 877.20 through 877.25, the Juvenile Curfew Act, set a uniform statewide framework allowing counties to impose curfews on minors under 16 with specific hours, exceptions, and parental liability provisions that apply identically across adopting jurisdictions.

Commercial Drones

Arizona commercial drone pilots operate under FAA Part 107 and ARS 13-3729 state rules, with cities barred from imposing separate licensing or operational regulations.

Commercial drone operations in Florida are regulated by federal FAA Part 107 and state law; local governments cannot impose additional commercial operation restrictions.

Recreational Drones

Florida expressly preempts local regulation of drones, reserving authority to the state and federal government, with limited surveillance and trespass exceptions.

Minimum Wage Preemption

Florida Statute 218.077 prohibits local governments from establishing a minimum wage other than the state or federal rate, preempting city and county living-wage ordinances except for direct local government employees.

Paid Leave Preemption

Arizona preempts most local paid leave mandates, while requiring statewide earned paid sick time under Proposition 206 and ARS 23-371.

Worker Scheduling Preemption

Florida Statute 509.032(7) and broader employment preemption framework prevent local governments from requiring private employers to follow predictive or fair-scheduling rules beyond state and federal law.

Coastal Development

Florida regulates construction seaward of the Coastal Construction Control Line through state permits, with uniform standards administered by the Department of Environmental Protection.

Erosion Control

Arizona bans discharging pollutants to protected waters without an AZPDES permit under A.R.S. § 49-255.01. Construction sites disturbing one acre or more must obtain ADEQ's Construction General Permit and implement erosion and sediment controls through a Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan.

Florida runs its own federally approved NPDES stormwater permit program under Fla. Stat. 403.0885, requiring construction sites that disturb one or more acres to obtain FDEP coverage and install erosion and sediment controls before clearing land.

Flood Zones

Arizona statutorily delegates floodplain regulation to counties and flood control districts, setting uniform minimum standards for development in mapped floodplains statewide.

Florida adopts a single statewide building code that incorporates flood-resistant construction standards from FEMA and ASCE, applying uniformly to all jurisdictions.

Fire Pits & Backyard Fires

Florida regulates outdoor recreational fires through the Florida Fire Prevention Code (NFPA 1), which applies uniformly statewide and preempts inconsistent local fire-code provisions.

Fireworks

A.R.S. 36-1606 makes permissible consumer fireworks a matter of statewide concern: cities and counties may regulate their use but may not ban their sale, and aerial fireworks remain illegal for consumers statewide.

Florida permits consumer fireworks use on July 4, December 31, and January 1 under Section 791.08, Florida Statutes, exempting those days from the state's general fireworks prohibition, though local regulations and recorded HOA covenants can still apply.

Outdoor Burning

Arizona regulates open burning through ADEQ air quality rules and DFFM forestry statutes, requiring permits for most outdoor burns and prohibiting burns during no-burn declarations.

Open burning of yard waste and land-clearing debris in Florida requires authorization from the Florida Forest Service under Section 590.125, applying universally outside municipal limits.

Wildfire Zones

The Florida Forest Service has statewide jurisdiction over wildfire prevention and suppression on non-municipal land under Chapter 590, Florida Statutes.

Firearms in Vehicles

Florida Statute 790.25(5) allows any law-abiding person 18 or older to possess a concealed firearm in a private vehicle for self-defense, provided the firearm is securely encased or not readily accessible for immediate use, regardless of any concealed-carry license.

Local Firearms Preemption

Arizona broadly preempts cities, towns, and counties from regulating firearms, ammunition, components, and related accessories beyond state law.

Florida Statute 790.33 expressly preempts the entire field of firearm and ammunition regulation to the state, voiding all local ordinances and imposing personal civil penalties on local officials who knowingly enact or enforce conflicting rules.

Card Room Licensing

Florida cardrooms operate only inside licensed pari-mutuel facilities, dog tracks, horse tracks, and jai alai frontons, under a license from the Florida Gaming Control Commission. Fla. Stat. § 849.086 authorizes poker and dominoes played in a nonbanking manner, caps designated-player poker at 10 tables where slot machines are legal or 30 where they aren't, and blocks any first-time license until the host municipality or county governing body votes to approve it.

Social Gambling Rules

Arizona law defines "social gambling" in ARS § 13-3301(9) and excludes it from criminal liability under § 13-3302(A)(2). A private game qualifies only if no player collects more than personal winnings, no host or third party takes a cut, and every player is at least 21. Miss any one element and the game becomes unlawful promotion of gambling or benefiting from gambling: a felony or misdemeanor under §§ 13-3303 and 13-3304.

Florida law exempts small-stakes card and tile games from gambling crimes under Fla. Stat. § 849.085, but only under strict conditions: winnings per hand can't exceed $10, the game must happen in a private dwelling or qualifying common area, and no one may charge admission, take a cut, or advertise the game. Break any condition and the exemption disappears.

Sports Betting Law

Arizona legalized event wagering, commonly called sports betting, in 2021 under Arizona Revised Statutes Title 5, Chapter 11. The Department of Gaming may issue no more than ten event wagering operator licenses to non-tribal applicants, Arizona pro sports teams, PGA Tour host venues, or NASCAR national-touring-race promoters, or their designees, and no more than ten to Indian tribes that have signed the current tribal-state gaming compact. Offering event wagering without one of these licenses is unlawful statewide.

Sports wagering is legal in Florida only through the Seminole Tribe's Hard Rock Bet platform, authorized under the state's gaming compact codified at Fla. Stat. § 285.710(13)(b)7. Mobile and online bets are legally deemed to occur on tribal land where the wagering servers sit, so anyone 21 or older can bet statewide from their phone, but no other operator can legally take a sports bet.

Assessment & Dues

Under A.R.S. § 33-1807, unpaid assessments in an Arizona planned community become an automatic lien on the lot, and the association may charge late fees and interest if the declaration allows. The lien may be foreclosed like a mortgage, but only once the owner is delinquent 18 months or owes $10,000 or more.

Under Fla. Stat. § 720.3085, unpaid assessments become a lien on a parcel, and the homeowners' association may foreclose like a mortgage. Before recording the lien the association must send a 45-day written notice by certified and first-class mail, and a second 45-day notice is required before foreclosure can begin.

Board Procedures

Arizona heavily regulates HOA governance: A.R.S. § 33-1804 requires open board and member meetings (with limited executive sessions) and lets members record them, A.R.S. § 33-1812 mandates absentee ballots and permits secret ballots for board elections, and A.R.S. § 33-1805 makes association financial and other records open to members for inspection.

Under Fla. Stat. § 720.303(2), Florida HOA board meetings must be open to members with notice posted at least 48 hours ahead. Section 720.306 governs member meetings and elections, § 720.303(4)-(5) gives members the right to inspect official records within 10 business days, and HB 1203 added website transparency rules for larger associations.

CC&R Enforcement

Arizona HOAs enforce CC&Rs, design rules, and bylaws, but A.R.S. § 33-1803 channels enforcement through a detailed violation-notice process. A member who gets a violation notice may demand, within 21 days, the specific provision violated, the date, who observed it, and how to contest, and the HOA cannot collect attorney fees until it provides this.

Under Fla. Stat. §§ 720.303 and 720.3035, a Florida HOA enforces its recorded covenants and architectural standards, but only where authority is stated or reasonably inferred in the governing documents, and standards must be applied reasonably and equitably to all owners. HB 1203 added new limits and written-denial transparency rules effective July 1, 2024.

Clotheslines & Energy Devices

Florida Statute 163.04 bars homeowner association deed restrictions and local ordinances from prohibiting clotheslines, solar collectors, or other renewable-resource energy devices in owner-occupied communities, though the protection excludes patio railings in condominiums, cooperatives, and apartments. An HOA cannot deny a clothesline outright, and unlike solar panels, it holds no reserved power to dictate where a resident hangs one.

Lien & Foreclosure Limits

Arizona bars an association from foreclosing an assessment lien until the owner passes a dollar figure or a time period, and the trigger is not the same in every community. In a condominium, A.R.S. § 33-1256(A) allows foreclosure only once the unit owner has been and remains delinquent for one year or owes $1,200 or more, whichever occurs first, measured on the date the action is filed. In a planned community the same sentence in A.R.S. § 33-1807(A) sets a much higher bar of eighteen months or $10,000. In both, the board must first make reasonable efforts to communicate with the owner and offer a reasonable payment plan.

A Florida association can foreclose an assessment lien in the same manner a mortgage is foreclosed, but only after two separate 45-day notices, and fines are largely off limits: a condominium fine may never become a lien under Fla. Stat. § 718.303(3), and a homeowners' association fine of less than $1,000 may not become a lien under § 720.305(2). The sharpest Florida-specific limit protects lenders instead of owners. Under § 718.116(1)(b) and § 720.3085(2)(c), a first mortgagee that takes title by foreclosure or deed in lieu owes the association only the lesser of 12 months of back assessments or 1 percent of the original mortgage debt. A recorded condominium claim of lien also dies one year after recording unless the association sues within that year.

Rental Restriction Limits

Arizona homeowners associations cannot block a member's right to rent unless the declaration itself prohibits it or limits rental time periods. Once a unit is rented, A.R.S. § 33-1806.01 caps what the HOA can demand: only tenant names, contact information, lease dates, and vehicle plate numbers, for a fee no higher than $25 per new tenancy.

Florida limits how homeowners' associations can restrict renting out a home, but only in communities governed by Chapter 720, not condos or co-ops. Under Fla. Stat. § 720.306(1)(h), a rental ban or rule an HOA adopts after July 1, 2021 binds only owners who buy in afterward or who individually consent to it, not every existing owner. Two carve-outs bind all owners regardless of consent: bans on rentals shorter than six months, and limits of three rentals per calendar year.

Cottage Food Operations

Arizona lets you cook for sale in your own kitchen once you register with the Department of Health Services and hold a current food handler certificate from an accredited program. A.R.S. § 36-136(I)(4)(g) exempts cottage food products made in a private home for commercial purposes from the state food establishment rules, so there is no licence, no inspection and no annual sales cap. What Arizona does impose is a packaging and labeling regime under A.R.S. § 36-932, plus separate delivery rules for anything containing dairy, meat or poultry and for anything that needs temperature control.

Florida's Cottage Food Operations Act preempts local regulation, allowing home production of non-potentially hazardous foods up to a statewide gross sales limit.

Home Daycare

Florida regulates family and large family child care homes uniformly under Chapter 402, setting capacity limits, training, and inspection requirements applicable statewide.

Home Kitchen Operations

Arizona has no home restaurant permit. There is no microenterprise home kitchen operation licence, no meal count allowance, and nothing in A.R.S. § 36-136(I)(4) that exempts a home kitchen serving cooked-to-order meals from the state food establishment rules. The only commercial route out of a private kitchen is cottage food registration under A.R.S. Title 36, Chapter 8, Article 2, and A.R.S. § 36-932(A) makes that a packaged-goods scheme: products "must be packaged at home with an attached label." Serving plates to guests at your address, or cooking meals to order for pickup, falls outside every exemption Arizona has written.

DUI Checkpoint Legality

Arizona has no DUI checkpoint statute at all. The words "checkpoint" and "roadblock" appear nowhere in the Arizona Revised Statutes, so nothing in state law authorizes sobriety checkpoints, bans them, or sets rules on notice, supervision or how long a stop may last. The only stop authority title 28 grants is A.R.S. § 28-1594, which permits a stop and detention only as reasonably necessary to investigate an actual or suspected violation of that title, so a suspicionless checkpoint stop rests on constitutional analysis rather than on any Arizona statute. Everything that happens after the stop is heavily codified, from the impaired-to-the-slightest-degree standard in § 28-1381(A)(1) to the twelve-month refusal suspension in § 28-1321(B).

Florida allows sobriety checkpoints, and the discretion of the individual trooper is what gets constrained. Fla. Stat. § 321.05(1) gives Florida Highway Patrol officers the power to require drivers to stop and exhibit licenses and registration, and Florida Highway Patrol Policy 17.08 supplies the written guidelines that make a checkpoint operate to a plan rather than to an officer's judgment. That policy requires a written operational plan approved by the Troop Commander at least 10 days ahead, a vehicle selection formula fixed in advance, advance media notification, and a bar on checkpoints on limited access facilities. It also states that a driver's effort to avoid a checkpoint is not by itself enough to justify a stop.

Golf Carts & Low-Speed Vehicles

Arizona runs two separate low-speed classes and gives neither one a local street-designation scheme. A neighborhood electric vehicle, the state's version of a federal low-speed vehicle, may not exceed 25 mph, may not be driven on a road posted above 35 mph except to cross at an intersection, and must carry a permanent notice of those restrictions in clear view of the driver under A.R.S. § 28-966. A golf cart is defined separately in A.R.S. § 28-101(37) and escapes registration only when it is used in the operation of a golf course or moved on a highway "only incidentally", so a cart used as everyday neighborhood transport has to be registered, equipped and driven by a licensed driver like any other motor vehicle. One narrow shoulder privilege exists, and it reaches only age restricted communities in unincorporated Maricopa County.

Florida flips the usual assumption: a golf cart is barred from public roads unless a county, a municipality, or a water control district has affirmatively designated that road for cart use and posted signs saying so. Low-speed vehicles are treated as real motor vehicles and may be driven on any street posted at 35 miles per hour or less anywhere in the state, but they must be titled, registered, insured and driven by a licensed driver. Since the 2023 amendment, a golf cart driver under 18 must hold a valid learner's or driver license, and a driver 18 or older must carry government-issued photo identification. Golf carts themselves are exempt from registration and license plates under Fla. Stat. section 320.105.

Aircraft Noise

Arizona law forces cities, towns, and counties holding land in a military airport's high noise or accident potential zone to adopt compatibility plans and enforce zoning that shields residents from aircraft noise, backed by civil penalties reaching $50,000.

Dark Sky Rules

Arizona regulates outdoor lighting statewide through the Outdoor Light Control statutes, requiring shielded fixtures and limits on certain lamp types, particularly in counties hosting major astronomical observatories.

Abandoned Vehicles

Arizona Revised Statutes Title 28 establishes uniform statewide procedures for abandoned vehicle reporting, towing, notice to owners, and disposal through licensed agents.

Florida Statutes Chapters 705 and 715 establish uniform procedures for declaring vehicles abandoned, providing notice, and disposing of them through licensed wreckers.

EV Charging

Florida law protects condominium unit owners' rights to install electric vehicle charging stations in their designated parking areas under Fla. Stat. 718.113(8), while commercial installations follow uniform Florida Building Code permitting statewide.

Eviction Notice & Process

Under A.R.S. § 33-1368, Arizona landlords must give a 5-day written notice for nonpayment of rent and a 10-day notice to cure for other material lease violations before filing. Material and irreparable breaches allow immediate termination. Evictions proceed as special detainer actions under A.R.S. § 33-1377, with trial set 3–6 days out.

Fla. Stat. § 83.56 requires a 3-day notice to pay rent or vacate for nonpayment, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays from the count. For lease violations, the landlord serves a 7-day notice to cure (or a 7-day unconditional notice for repeat or non-curable violations). Only a court may order eviction through Florida's summary procedure.

Just Cause Eviction

The Arizona Residential Landlord-Tenant Act preempts the field of residential eviction grounds and procedures, preventing cities from imposing just-cause eviction requirements beyond the state-defined notice and breach standards.

Florida's Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, Chapter 83 Part II, exclusively defines lawful eviction grounds and procedures statewide, preempting cities from adding just-cause requirements that restrict when a landlord may terminate a tenancy.

Landlord Entry & Notice

Under A.R.S. § 33-1343, an Arizona landlord must give at least two days' notice of intent to enter and may enter only at reasonable times for legitimate purposes such as inspections, repairs, or showings. No notice is required in a genuine emergency, and access may not be abused to harass the tenant.

Under Fla. Stat. § 83.53, a Florida landlord must give at least 24 hours' notice to enter for repairs and may enter only at reasonable times, defined as between 7:30 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. No notice is required in an emergency or to preserve the premises, and access may not be used to harass the tenant.

Lease Termination & Notice to Vacate

A.R.S. § 33-1375 requires 30 days' written notice to end a month-to-month tenancy (10 days week-to-week). Breaking a fixed-term lease early can incur damages, though landlords must mitigate. A.R.S. § 33-1318 lets domestic-violence and sexual-assault victims terminate early; military servicemembers terminate under the federal SCRA.

For a month-to-month tenancy, Fla. Stat. § 83.57 now requires 30 days' written notice (raised from 15 days by 2023's HB 1417). Breaking a fixed-term lease triggers landlord remedies under § 83.595, including a pre-agreed early-termination fee capped at two months' rent. Servicemembers may terminate early under § 83.682.

Rent Control

Arizona prohibits local rent control. State law makes rent regulation on private residential property a matter of statewide concern and preempts the field, so cities, charter cities, towns, and counties cannot cap or freeze rents on private housing. There is no statewide rent cap, leaving private rents to the market.

Florida effectively bans local rent control. State law bars any city or county from imposing controls on rents, and the 2023 Live Local Act removed the old narrow exception that had allowed a one-year emergency referendum riddled with exemptions. There is no statewide rent cap, so landlords set increases freely by lease terms.

Rent Increase Notice

Arizona has no statutory cap on how much a landlord may raise rent and no dedicated rent-increase notice statute. For a month-to-month tenancy, a rent change is implemented by serving the 30-day termination/change notice tied to the periodic rental date under A.R.S. § 33-1375. Fixed-term leases cannot be raised mid-term.

Florida has no rent control and no statute setting a maximum rent increase or a dedicated advance-notice period. On a month-to-month tenancy, a new rent takes effect only through the termination/change notice in Fla. Stat. § 83.57, which 2023's HB 1417 (ch. 2023-314) lengthened from 15 to 30 days.

Rental Registration

Florida Statute 509.032(7) preempts local regulation of vacation rental bans, duration, and frequency, while FS 83.425 (2023) preempts local regulation of residential tenancies, leaving cities only narrow room for rental registration programs.

Repairs & Habitability

A.R.S. § 33-1324 requires Arizona landlords to keep rentals fit and habitable: meeting building codes, maintaining electrical, plumbing, heating and cooling systems, and supplying running water and heat. If a landlord fails to act, A.R.S. § 33-1361 lets tenants terminate after a 5-day or 10-day notice, and § 33-1363 allows repair-and-deduct.

Fla. Stat. § 83.51 requires landlords to comply with applicable building, housing, and health codes or keep the structure, plumbing, and (for most multi-unit buildings) heat, running water, hot water, and pest control in working order. Tenants enforce these duties through the § 83.56 seven-day written notice to cure before withholding rent or terminating.

Security Deposit Rules

Arizona caps security deposits at one and one-half month's rent. After the tenancy ends and the tenant requests it, a landlord has 14 days (excluding weekends and legal holidays) to return the deposit with an itemized list of deductions. Wrongful retention exposes the landlord to damages of twice the amount withheld.

Florida places no dollar limit on residential security deposits, but it enforces tight deadlines. If the landlord makes no claim, the deposit must be returned within 15 days of move-out. If the landlord intends to keep any part, written certified-mail notice is due within 30 days, and the tenant then has 15 days to object.

Squatter's Rights & Adverse Possession

Arizona's adverse possession periods are tiered: 2 years by right of possession alone (A.R.S. § 12-522), 3 years under color of title (§ 12-523), 5 years under a recorded deed with taxes paid (§§ 12-524, 12-525), and a 10-year catch-all (§ 12-526). Possession must be open, hostile, and continuous; removal is by court action.

Adverse possession in Florida requires 7 years of actual, continued, exclusive possession plus paying all taxes within a year and filing a return with the property appraiser (Fla. Stat. § 95.18). Separately, the 2024 anti-squatter law HB 621 (Fla. Stat. § 82.036) lets owners have a sheriff remove unauthorized occupants within hours, without a lawsuit.

Insurance Requirements

A.R.S. 9-500.39 requires Arizona short-term rental operators to maintain at least $500,000 in liability insurance or rent through a marketplace providing equivalent coverage.

Noise Rules

A.R.S. 9-500.39 lets Arizona cities apply local noise ordinances to short-term rentals and impose escalating penalties for verified noise violations occurring on the premises.

Occupancy Limits

A.R.S. 9-500.39 lets Arizona cities cap nightly occupancy at two adults per bedroom plus additional persons, applying uniformly to short-term rentals statewide.

Short-Term Rental Permits

Florida law preempts the regulation of vacation rental licensing and inspections to the state Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR), though local zoning and registration are permitted.

Taxes & Fees

Arizona requires short-term rental operators to license with the Department of Revenue and remit transaction privilege tax plus any applicable county and city transient lodging taxes statewide.

Florida imposes a 6% state sales tax, plus county discretionary surtaxes of 0.5 to 1.5%, on rentals of living accommodations for six months or less, applying universally to short-term rentals.

Plastic Bag Rules

Arizona prohibits cities, towns, and counties from regulating or banning auxiliary containers like plastic bags, cups, and bottles under ARS 9-500.38.

Florida Statute 403.7033 preempts the regulation of disposable plastic bags by local governments, prohibiting cities and counties from enacting bans or fees on retailers pending a legislative review that has not occurred.

Polystyrene Foam Rules

Arizona preempts local bans and fees on polystyrene foam food containers as auxiliary containers under ARS 9-500.38 and ARS 11-269.16.

Florida Statute 500.90 preempts the regulation of polystyrene products by local governments, blocking cities and counties from banning expanded polystyrene foam food containers, cups, and similar items.

HOA Restrictions

Arizona law bars homeowners associations from banning solar energy devices outright. A.R.S. § 33-1816 lets an association adopt only reasonable placement rules, and only if those rules do not block installation, impair function, restrict use, or raise the device's cost or reduce its efficiency. Courts must award attorney fees and costs to whichever side wins a lawsuit over the section.

Florida law voids any deed restriction, covenant, or HOA agreement that bans or effectively blocks solar collectors on homes or condo units, and boards cannot deny installation outright. The only power an HOA keeps is fixing where on the roof a system sits, within due south or 45 degrees either side, and only if that placement will not cut into how well the panels work. The rule does not reach patio railings in condos, co-ops, or apartments.

Fencing & Safety Requirements

Arizona enforces a uniform statewide swimming pool enclosure law requiring barriers around residential pools, with cities and counties bound to minimum standards but allowed to adopt stricter local rules.

Florida Statutes Chapter 515 establishes minimum statewide pool barrier requirements applying to every residential swimming pool, spa, or hot tub. New pools must meet at least one safety feature requirement before receiving a certificate of completion, regardless of city or county location.

Tobacco Age Restrictions

Arizona bans the sale or furnishing of tobacco, vapor, and alternative nicotine products to anyone under 21 under A.R.S. 13-3622. The state raised its own minimum age from 18 to 21 in 2025 to match the federal Tobacco 21 standard.

Florida Statute 569.101 prohibits the sale or delivery of tobacco and nicotine products to persons under 21, aligning with federal law and applying uniformly statewide under the preemption in FS 569.0025 and 569.315.

Recycling Requirements

Arizona forbids selling plastic bottles and rigid containers unless they carry a molded resin identification code, the familiar number inside the chasing-arrows triangle. A.R.S. § 49-835 has mandated this labeling statewide since July 1, 1991.

Florida Statute 403.706(2)(a) requires every county to run a recyclable-materials recycling program built to hit a 75 percent recycling goal by December 31, 2020, stepping up from 40 percent in 2012. The Department of Environmental Protection tracks progress.

Radar Detector Rules

A radar detector is legal in a private vehicle anywhere in Arizona. The state's vehicle equipment article, A.R.S. sections 28-921 through 28-966, names no radar detector, laser jammer or speed measuring countermeasure of any kind, and section 28-921(B) states positively that the article does not prohibit the use of additional parts and accessories on a vehicle where the use is not inconsistent with the article. Two real limits survive. Where you stick it matters, because section 28-959.01(B) bars any object placed in or on the vehicle in a manner that obstructs or reduces the driver's clear view through the windshield. And a detector is prohibited outright in a commercial motor vehicle under 49 C.F.R. section 392.71, which Arizona enforces against commercial traffic through Title 28, chapter 14.

A driver of a private passenger vehicle may use a radar detector in Florida. No section of the Florida Statutes prohibits owning, carrying or operating one, and chapter 316, which carries every other piece of Florida vehicle equipment law, contains no radar detector provision to hang a citation on. The two real constraints are elsewhere. Commercial motor vehicles are barred from carrying detectors because Fla. Stat. § 316.302 adopts 49 C.F.R. part 392, which includes the federal radar detector prohibition, and the windshield rule in § 316.2952(2) leaves no lawful place to stick one on the glass.

Underglow & Auxiliary Lighting

Arizona allows a vehicle four kinds of extra forward lighting and puts a mounting-height band on each: one spot lamp, two fog lamps mounted 12 to 30 inches off the ground, two auxiliary passing lamps mounted 24 to 42 inches, and two auxiliary driving lamps mounted 16 to 42 inches. No more than four front lamps projecting a beam greater than 300 candlepower may be lit at any one time on a highway. Anything visible from directly in front of the vehicle must be amber or white, never red or red and blue, and flashing lights are barred outside a short list that covers emergency vehicles, school buses, snow removal equipment, warning lamps on a disabled or parked vehicle, and turn signals.

Florida is one of the states that says yes to underbody lighting in so many words. Fla. Stat. § 316.235(3) provides that any motor vehicle may be equipped with one or more lamps or devices underneath the vehicle, and then attaches three conditions by cross-reference. Those conditions are the real rule: § 316.2397(1) forbids any lamp showing red, red and white, or blue visible from directly in front, § 316.2397(7) bans flashing lights outside a short list of turn, hazard and low-visibility uses, and § 316.238 requires you to dim within 500 feet of an oncoming vehicle. Blue is reserved statewide to police, certain heavy government fire vehicles and corrections vehicles on emergency calls.

Window Tint Limits

Arizona lets the front side windows carry film with a light transmission of thirty-three percent plus or minus three percent, so a front window measuring down to 30 percent still complies, and it sets no darkness limit at all on the side windows behind the driver or on the rear window. Every tinted pane, front and rear, is capped at a luminous reflectance of thirty-five percent plus or minus three percent, which is what rules out mirrored and heavily metallic film. On the windshield the state allows a tint strip across the topmost portion provided the bottom edge of the material sits at least twenty-nine inches above the undepressed driver's seat and the strip is not red or amber. Arizona has no periodic passenger-vehicle safety inspection, so all of this is checked at the roadside rather than at a testing station.

Florida sets a separate light transmittance floor for each piece of glass rather than one statewide number. Side wings and side windows forward of or next to the driver must pass at least 28 percent of visible light and reflect no more than 25 percent (Fla. Stat. § 316.2953), while windows behind the driver must pass at least 15 percent and reflect no more than 35 percent, dropping to a 6 percent floor on a multipurpose passenger vehicle such as an SUV, pickup or van (§ 316.2954). The windshield may carry no percentage tint at all, only a transparent strip above the AS/1 line. Every one of those percentages is read subject to a plus or minus 3 percent tolerance under § 316.2955(2).