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Read. Follow. Verify.Florida requires residential landlords and vacation rentals to install water safety features
Last action · March 13, 2026: Died in MessagesSponsors: Danny Burgess and 1 other
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What This Bill Proposed
Landlords and vacation rental operators must equip rental properties with specific water safety features like door alarms or self-latching mechanisms if a pool or water body is within 150 feet, starting July 1, 2026. Violations can result in second-degree misdemeanor charges and license suspension or revocation for vacation rentals. The requirements exclude s.
Residential landlords and vacation rental operators face criminal penalties and license actions if they fail to install mandated safety features around water bodies within 150 feet of rental units.
Who It Would Have Affected
Groups the bill's text would have affected, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Landlords
Must equip rental properties meeting distance criteria with specific water safety mechanisms and face potential misdemeanor charges for noncompliance.
Vacation Rental Licensees
Must install safety features, file compliance certificates upon licensure and renewal, and are subject to fines, license suspension, or revocation by the division.
Division of Hotels and Restaurants
Tasked with adopting implementation rules, reviewing compliance certificates, and exercising authority to fine, suspend, or revoke vacation rental licenses.
Tenants and Guests
Reside or stay in properties that must feature mandated water safety equipment and are prohibited from unauthorized removal of safety features.
Key Facts
- Landlords must ensure rental units within 150 feet of a water body (at least 24 inches deep) are equipped with either exit alarms on doors and windows (minimum 85 dB A at 10 feet) or self-latching doors with release mechanisms at least 54 inches high.
- If a dwelling unit has a swimming pool, landlords must ensure it has at least one pool safety feature described in s. 515.27(1).
- Landlords who violate these requirements commit a second-degree misdemeanor.
- Landlords are not penalized if a safety feature is removed or modified without their knowledge by a tenant or guest, provided the landlord corrects the violation within 45 days of actual knowledge.
Show all 9 facts
- Nontransient apartments are exempt from the water safety requirements.
- Public lodging establishments licensed as vacation rentals must comply with the same water safety and pool feature requirements if a water body or pool is within 150 feet.
- The Division of Hotels and Restaurants may suspend or revoke vacation rental licenses and issue fines for noncompliance.
- Vacation rentals with nearby water bodies or pools must file a certificate of compliance upon initial licensure and upon renewal.
- The Division of Hotels and Restaurants is required to adopt rules to implement the vacation rental safety subsection.
Frequently Asked Questions
What rental properties are covered by the new water safety rules?
What specific safety devices are required for properties near a water body?
Are regular long-term apartment buildings included in these rules?
What happens if a tenant removes a safety feature without the landlord knowing?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
Follow the record
Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
This bill did not become law - Died in the House.
Procedural history
25 actions- Mar 13, 2026HouseFloorDied in Messages
- Feb 19, 2026HouseIn Messages
- Feb 19, 2026SenateImmediately certified -SJ 356
- Feb 19, 2026SenateFloorCS passed as amended; YEAS 37 NAYS 0 -SJ 354
- Feb 19, 2026SenateFloorRead 3rd time -SJ 354
- Feb 19, 2026SenateCommitteeAmendment(s) adopted (786606) -SJ 354
Show 19 earlier actions
- Feb 19, 2026SenateFloorRead 2nd time -SJ 354
- Feb 18, 2026SenateIntroducedCS/CS by Community Affairs read 1st time
- Feb 18, 2026SenatePlaced on Special Order Calendar, 02/19/26
- Feb 18, 2026SenatePlaced on Calendar, on 2nd reading
- Feb 17, 2026SenateCommitteeFavorable by- Rules; YEAS 23 NAYS 0
- Feb 12, 2026SenateOn Committee agenda-- Rules, 02/17/26, 12:00 pm, 412 Knott Building
- Feb 12, 2026SenateCommitteeNow in Rules
- Feb 11, 2026SenatePending reference review under Rule 4.7(2) - (Committee Substitute)
- Feb 10, 2026SenateCommitteeCS/CS by Community Affairs; YEAS 8 NAYS 0
- Feb 5, 2026SenateOn Committee agenda-- Community Affairs, 02/10/26, 3:00 pm, 37 Senate Building
- Jan 29, 2026SenateIntroducedCS by Regulated Industries read 1st time
- Jan 29, 2026SenateCommitteeNow in Community Affairs
- Jan 29, 2026SenatePending reference review under Rule 4.7(2) - (Committee Substitute)
- Jan 27, 2026SenateCommitteeCS by Regulated Industries; YEAS 9 NAYS 0
- Jan 27, 2026SenateCS combines this bill with SB 608
- Jan 22, 2026SenateOn Committee agenda-- Regulated Industries, 01/27/26, 1:00 pm, 412 Knott Building
- Jan 13, 2026SenateIntroducedIntroduced
- Dec 9, 2025SenateCommitteeReferred to Regulated Industries; Community Affairs; Rules
- Nov 24, 2025SenateIntroducedFiled
Version history & redline
8 versions on fileOfficial version history is partial: 4 linked texts are unavailable or incomplete. Source links remain available below.
The text diff for this stage has not been computed yet.
official version host penalty: 429 Retry-After 300 s
Voting Record
Floor vote on S 658 c2
Total
41
- Yes
- 37
- No
- 0
- Present
- 0
- Not voting
- 2
- Abstain
- 0
- Other positions
- 2
How they voted (39)
15 more members
Show 3 earlier roll calls
Rules: Favorable on S 658 c2
Total
24
- Yes
- 23
- No
- 0
- Present
- 0
- Not voting
- 1
- Abstain
- 0
How they voted (19)
Community Affairs: Favorable with Committee Substitute on S 658 c1
Total
8
- Yes
- 8
- No
- 0
- Present
- 0
- Not voting
- 0
- Abstain
- 0
Regulated Industries: Fav/CS with SB 608 on S 658 Filed
Total
9
- Yes
- 9
- No
- 0
- Present
- 0
- Not voting
- 0
- Abstain
- 0
Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Expansion of Rental Safety Mandates
The bill aligns residential landlord obligations under Chapter 83 with public lodging safety regulations under Chapter 509 to enforce uniform water safety standards.
Connected Entities
Sources
www.flsenate.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 65)
- Controversy35Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz40Current news / social attention level
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