Miya’s Law: Parts of Florida's tenant safety bill go into effect in the new year
ORLANDO, Fla. - Changes are on the way aimed at strengthening the safety of tenants in Florida. Gov. Ron DeSantis signed Senate Bill 898, or "Miya’s Law," over the summer and key parts go into effect on January 1, 2023.
Paul Howard runs Florida Landlord Network, connecting and informing property managers and landlords around the state. Howard tells FOX 35 News the new changes include key control, meaning landlords must now keep a log of each unit’s keys.
"To have good key control and to make sure that you have a list of who has keys and whose checking them in and checking them out basically," he said.
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Also, background checks are now required for prospective employees, a practice Howard said is already commonly used.
"If anybody wants to see if or know about those background checks they can ask for it," he said.
Howard said the new law doesn’t include all rentals, only those with more than five units.
"So single-family homes, duplexes, and so forth. Those are not covered by this law," he said.
Miya’s Law is named after Miya Marcano, the Orlando college student who was murdered last year. Her accused killer was a maintenance worker at the apartment complex.
READ MORE: Miya Marcano Case
Miya’s family has been a major advocate for the legislation, working to prevent another tragedy.