Senate Bill 898 Miya’s Law
What apartment owners and management need to know about background checks to comply with Miya’s law.
This law went into effect on July 1, 2022, Senate Bill 898, also referred to as “Miya’s Law” was signed into law by Florida Governor, Ron DeSantis.
Miya’s Law is named after Miya Marcano.
Ms. Marcano’s murder was committed by a maintenance worker at the apartment complex who used a key fob to enter her apartment.
Senate Bill 898 focuses on the background checks of prospective employees as well as suppliers/ vendors and contractors that provide on site services.
Referred to as “Miya’s Law,” Senate Bill 898 puts measures in place that require landlords and property managers to do thorough background checks on any potential apartment complex employees.
The law also requires landlords and property managers to keep a detailed log of who has been given a key to each apartment and set up a system for returning and keeping track of them.
Any renter who breaks these rules could lose their license and their legal right to rent in the state of Florida.
Quoting from this News 4 Jax article:
“Actually, you know, we’re there 50 years late, as far as I’m concerned, but I don’t see any real problem with it,” said Paul Howard, president of the Florida Landlord Network.
Howard said a lot of these rules are already in practice.
“It’s a reasonable accommodation for the tenant. The tenant should feel safe and secure in their home, and I don’t see a problem with that,” Howard said. “The larger communities are already doing all of this because of the liability on the other things that go along with it.”
It’s also worth noting that those new rules will only apply to properties that have five or more family units — but not for single-family homes, duplexes. triplexes or quad units.
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