Florida Preempts Local Rent Control

Under Fla. Stat. § 166.043 (municipalities) and § 125.0103 (counties), a local government may not adopt or maintain any law that would have the effect of imposing controls on rents. Previously these statutes allowed a city or county to enact rent control for up to one year, but only by referendum after declaring a housing emergency "so grave as to constitute a serious menace to the general public," while exempting most units (new construction, luxury, single-family and similar). That exception was practically unusable, and the 2023 Live Local Act (SB 102) amended the statutes to delete the emergency carve-out entirely, leaving a flat preemption with only a land-use affordable-housing allowance (such as inclusionary zoning). Florida sets no statewide cap on rent increases; landlords raise rent freely subject to lease and notice terms.

Any local rent-control ordinance is preempted and unenforceable. When Orange County voters approved a 2022 rent-control referendum, industry lawsuits blocked it, and the 2023 Live Local Act has since closed the option entirely. A court would strike any new local cap.