How much notice must a Florida park owner give before raising lot rent?

Florida Statutes §723.037 requires written notice at least 90 days before an increase in the lot rental amount. The same 90-day notice applies to a reduction in services or utilities or a change in the park's rules and regulations.

Does Florida cap how much lot rent can go up?

Chapter 723 does not set a statewide dollar or percentage cap on lot rent. Instead it sets a process: advance notice, and a right for a homeowners' committee to question an increase as unreasonable through mediation under §723.037 and §723.038. What is 'unreasonable' depends on the facts.

What can homeowners do if they think an increase is unreasonable?

Under §723.037, after the required meeting between a homeowners' committee and the park owner, a majority of affected homeowners may petition the state to initiate mediation if they designate that the increase is unreasonable. This is general information, not advice about any specific increase.

Mobile home lot rent rules in Florida

In Florida, lot tenancies in mobile home parks are governed by Chapter 723 of the Florida Statutes, the Florida Mobile Home Act. It sets out how a park owner must handle a lot rent increase — chiefly, how much advance notice is required and what homeowners can do in response. The details below describe how the law generally works; for a specific increase or situation, consider consulting a licensed attorney in Florida.

What the statute says

The controlling section is Florida Statutes §723.037, titled "Lot rental increases; reduction in services or utilities; change in rules and regulations; mediation." It ties three different park actions to the same advance-notice rule: a park owner must give affected mobile home owners written notice

at least 90 days before any increase in lot rental amount or reduction in services or utilities.

The same 90-day notice requirement applies to a change in the park's rules and regulations.

How it works in general

Chapter 723 does not impose a statewide cap on the dollar amount or percentage of a lot rent increase. What it provides instead is a process. The park owner gives the required 90-day notice. A committee of homeowners then has the right to meet with the park owner to discuss the increase. If the committee and the park owner do not resolve the matter, §723.037 and §723.038 lay out a path to mediation, in which a majority of affected homeowners may ask the state to review an increase they designate as unreasonable.

Whether a particular increase is "reasonable" is a fact-specific question that the statute leaves to that process — and, ultimately, to the courts. The law sets the procedure, not the price.

Common scenarios

Homeowners in Florida parks commonly encounter situations like these, framed here as general examples rather than guidance for any one person:

A notice arrives raising the monthly lot rental amount effective in three months. The 90-day timeline in §723.037 is what determines whether the notice period was met.
A park reduces a service it used to provide — say, lawn care — without a matching reduction in rent. The mediation provisions speak directly to a reduction in services that is "not accompanied by a corresponding decrease in rent."
A park announces new rules at the same time as a rent change. Because rule changes carry the same 90-day notice requirement, both actions run on the same clock.

Other authorities that may apply

Chapter 723 is rarely the only thing in play. A park's prospectus and the lot rental agreement can spell out additional terms about how rent is set and adjusted. Federal laws — for example, the Fair Housing Act — can apply to how a park treats residents. And a park operated as a resident-owned community or nonprofit cooperative may also be subject to Florida's nonprofit corporation law. Reading §723.037 alongside the park's own documents usually gives the fuller picture.