Florida Mobile Home Park Rent Control: 2026 Guide

Is mobile home lot rent controlled in Florida?

Short answer: no. Florida has no rent control. There is no statewide cap on lot rent, and no Florida city or county is allowed to impose one either. Nothing limits the dollar amount or the percentage by which you can raise lot rent.

What Florida does regulate is the process. The Florida Mobile Home Act (Chapter 723) requires advance written notice of any lot-rent increase and gives homeowners a path to negotiate and, if needed, mediate. So the right way to think about it is: no cap, but a required notice-and-reasonableness process you have to follow.

No rent control — and local caps are prohibited

Florida sets no statewide ceiling on lot rent and no maximum annual increase. There is simply no rent-control statute to comply with on the amount.

Local governments cannot fill that gap. Both Fla. Stat. § 166.043 (cities) and § 125.0103 (counties) state that 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.'

If you have read that a Florida locality can pass emergency rent control by referendum, that is outdated. That narrow exception existed before 2023. The Live Local Act (SB 102), effective July 1, 2023, eliminated it. Today the prohibition is absolute, and it forecloses any local ordinance reaching mobile-home lot rent.

The 90-day lot-rent increase notice (Chapter 723)

The main rule to calendar is the 90-day notice. Under § 723.037(1), a park owner 'shall give written notice to each affected mobile home owner and the board of directors of the homeowners' association, if one has been formed, at least 90 days before any increase in lot rental amount or reduction in services or utilities provided by the park owner or change in rules and regulations.'

Timing is tied to your rental agreements. Under § 723.031, agreements run for at least one year, and you generally cannot raise the lot rental amount during the term except for disclosed pass-through or pass-on charges — so increases line up with renewal, on the 90-day track.

One more wrinkle when a home is sold: under § 723.059(3), a qualifying purchaser 'has the right to assume the remainder of the term of any rental agreement then in effect' — so a sale does not reset the current term or its rent.

The reasonableness and mediation framework

The 90-day notice opens a negotiation window. A committee of up to five homeowners (or the HOA board) may meet with the park owner to discuss the increase, and the owner must disclose and explain the factors behind it. If the parties do not resolve it, homeowners can petition the Division to mediate the dispute.

The backstop is a reasonableness test, not a cap. Under § 723.033, a court, arbitrator, or mediator can find an increase 'unreasonable' — and the statute provides that 'a lot rental amount that is in excess of market rent shall be considered unreasonable,' where 'market rent' means 'that rent which would result from market forces absent an unequal bargaining position between mobile home park owners and mobile home owners.'

Practical takeaway: you are free to raise rent to market, but be ready to show your increase reflects market forces — comparable parks, cost and tax changes, CPI, and your prior disclosures are the kinds of factors that support reasonableness.

Rent-increase rules at a glance in Florida

• No rent cap
  Florida sets no maximum lot rent and no ceiling on the size of an increase.
• No local rent control
  § 166.043 and § 125.0103 bar cities and counties from imposing rent controls; the old emergency exception was repealed by the 2023 Live Local Act.
• 90-day written notice
  § 723.037(1) requires at least 90 days' written notice before any lot-rent increase, service/utility reduction, or rule change.
• One-year minimum term
  § 723.031 agreements run at least a year; rent is generally fixed during the term except for disclosed pass-through/pass-on charges.
• Committee negotiation and mediation
  Homeowners may form a committee of up to five to negotiate, and unresolved disputes may go to Division mediation.
• Unreasonable-rent challenge
  § 723.033 lets a court or mediator strike an increase that exceeds 'market rent' as unreasonable.
• Purchaser assumes the term
  § 723.059(3) lets a qualifying buyer assume the remaining term and rent; a sale does not reset it.

Operator best practices in Florida

• Calendar the 90-day notice
  Build a workflow that sends compliant written notice to every affected homeowner and the HOA board at least 90 days out — miss it and the increase is unenforceable for that cycle.
• Document your market-rent basis
  Keep comparable-park data, cost/tax changes, and CPI on file so any increase can be defended as reasonable under § 723.033.
• Disclose all fees up front
  Chapter 723 bars collecting fees you failed to disclose before tenancy; put every charge in the prospectus and rental agreement.
• Engage the homeowners' committee in good faith
  Meet, disclose the real factors behind an increase, and treat it as settlement discussion — refusing to mediate can cost you attorney's fees in a later dispute.
• Run rule changes on the same track
  Reductions in services or utilities and rule changes trigger the same 90-day notice as rent increases — do not treat them as informal.
• Build a relationship with a Florida MHP attorney
  Chapter 723 notice, prospectus, and mediation rules are technical and change; have Florida mobile-home-park counsel review your notices and increase strategy before you send them.