Civil Litigation
New Florida Laws Effective October 1, 2026: Landlords, Drivers, and Crime Victims
On October 1, 2026, a second wave of new Florida laws takes effect. The July 1 batch got most of the attention; this one is smaller, but several of these changes land directly on landlords, drivers, and crime victims across South Florida. This is Part 1 of a two-part guide. It covers four chapters on the three topics most likely to affect you personally, with the chapter number and a link to the official text so you can read each law for yourself. Part 2 covers the laws affecting businesses, animals, and public safety.
Every statement in this guide comes from the enrolled bill as signed, the chapter law as published by the State of Florida, and the 2026 Florida Statutes. Where a law changes an existing statute, we compared the new text to the 2025 text. Where the statute does not answer a question, we say so rather than guess.
If one of these laws touches a dispute you are already in, start a free case review or call (561) 455-4455.
Landlords and property owners: fraudulent entry of a rental home becomes a felony
The new crime (HB 1293, chapter 2026-143)
Florida creates a new criminal statute, section 817.537, aimed at people who get into a rental unit by lying their way through the application. Under the new section, a person may not enter and take possession of a residential dwelling unit by knowingly and willfully doing any of three things: making a materially false written statement about their identity in a rental application; presenting forged, fictitious, or counterfeit documents to the landlord, which the statute says includes a driver license, an identification card, a bank statement, or a paystub; or impersonating another person in whose name the application is submitted, for the purpose of signing the lease or taking possession. A violation is a felony of the third degree.
The new eviction ground
The change that matters most to landlords is in the eviction statute. Section 83.56(2)(a) lists examples of tenant noncompliance so serious that the tenant does not get a chance to cure it. As of October 1, that list adds an act of fraudulent entry that violates section 817.537(2), in the statute’s words, “regardless of whether criminal proceedings have commenced.” The landlord may deliver a written notice terminating the rental agreement, and the tenant has seven days from delivery of the notice to vacate.
What the text does not answer: how a landlord proves the false statement or the forged document in an eviction case when no criminal charge has been filed. The statute makes the ground available without a charge; it does not say what evidence a county court will require. That is a question for your specific facts, and it is the kind of question our landlord-tenant practice handles.
Dealing with a tenant who got in on false paperwork? Tell us what happened. The review is free and confidential.
Drivers: crash reports, plate frames, and e-mailed suspensions
The crash-reporting threshold rises from $500 to $2,000 (SB 488, chapter 2026-39)
Section 316.065(1) has required a driver involved in a crash to immediately notify police when the crash causes injury or death, or property damage “in an apparent amount of at least $500.” Effective October 1, that figure becomes $2,000. The duty to report injury or death does not change, and failing to report remains what it was: a noncriminal traffic infraction punishable as a nonmoving violation under chapter 318.
What the text does not answer: what happens to your insurance claim or a later injury claim when a crash goes unreported because it looked like less than $2,000 of damage at the scene. The reporting statute is about the duty to call police. It says nothing about proof in a civil case, and the apparent amount at the scene is often not the real amount. If you are in a crash, the safer practice remains to report it and document it whether or not the law requires the call.
License plate frames are now expressly allowed, with limits (SB 488, chapter 2026-39)
Section 320.061 has long prohibited altering a plate or covering it with anything that interferes with its legibility, and a knowing violation is a second-degree misdemeanor. The 2025 statute had no exception for frames. The Legislature added a new subsection (2): the use of a license plate frame or decorative border “is not an offense under this section, provided that the frame or border does not obscure the visibility of” the plate number or the registration decal in the upper right corner. If your frame covers either of those, the exception does not apply.
Driver license suspensions can arrive by e-mail (SB 488 and SB 490, chapters 2026-39 and 2026-40)
Section 322.251 governs how the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles gives notice of an order cancelling, suspending, revoking, or disqualifying a driver license. Until now the statute allowed only personal delivery or first-class mail. As of October 1, notice may also be given “by e-mail notification if authorized by the licensee.” The amended statute treats these methods as notice, states that a person’s failure to receive the order “does not affect or stay the effective date,” and provides that notice by mail or e-mail is complete 20 days after the e-mail or the mailing (15 days for notices under chapter 324 and sections 627.732 through 627.734).
A companion act, SB 490, amends the public records law so the e-mail addresses the department collects under the sections that authorize e-mail notice are exempt from public disclosure. The exemption applies retroactively and is scheduled for legislative review before it stands repealed on October 2, 2031. SB 490 takes effect on the same date as SB 488.
The practical point: if you have authorized the department to e-mail you, a suspension notice can now be sent there and be legally effective whether or not you open it. Keep that address current.
Read chapter 2026-39 and chapter 2026-40
Questions about a suspension, a crash, or a claim that grew out of one? Start with a free case review.
Crime victims: violating a no-contact order on pretrial release becomes its own crime
The Victim Safety in Pretrial Release Act (HB 397, chapter 2026-155)
This act creates section 903.0472. A person who is on pretrial release after an arrest for one of the listed offenses, and who willfully violates a court-imposed condition of release described in section 903.047(1)(b), commits a first-degree misdemeanor. A second or subsequent violation is a third-degree felony.
The listed offenses include murder, manslaughter, assault, aggravated assault, battery, aggravated battery, stalking, aggravated stalking, kidnapping, false imprisonment, sexual battery, lewd or lascivious offenses against persons under 16, robbery, written or electronic threats to kill or do bodily injury under section 836.10, and “any other felony that involves the use or threat of physical force or violence against any individual.”
What “no contact” means
The condition referred to is the one described in section 903.047(1)(b), the no-contact order. Under the 2026 Florida Statutes, unless the court specifies otherwise, “no contact” includes communicating with the victim or any other person named in the order, orally or in writing, in person, by phone, electronically, or indirectly through a third person; having physical or violent contact with that person or their property; and being within 500 feet of that person’s residence, vehicle, place of employment, or a specified place they regularly frequent. The statute allows the defendant’s attorney to communicate with a protected person for lawful purposes, and, at the defendant’s request, it lets the court designate a third person to arrange contact with children the two have in common.
Arrest, custody, and the court’s duty
Three more provisions in the act. A law enforcement officer may arrest without a warrant on probable cause that the person violated the condition. A person arrested for the violation, or a person on pretrial release for a listed offense who is arrested for a new law violation, is held in custody until first appearance, where the court must “prioritize the safety of the victim and the public” and consider the severity of the underlying offense, the person’s history of compliance with court orders, and any evidence of intent to intimidate, harass, or harm. And an officer is not liable in a civil action for an arrest made on that probable cause.
For victims of stalking, threats, and online harassment, this is a meaningful change: a defendant arrested for a listed offense who messages the victim in violation of a no-contact condition of release now faces a new charge for the message itself, not only a bond revocation. Our page on suing for online harassment in Florida covers the civil side of the same conduct.
If someone under a no-contact order is still reaching you, tell us. There are civil remedies alongside the criminal ones.
The full picture
Twelve general laws of the 2026 Regular Session carry an October 1, 2026 effective date, in whole or in part: chapters 2026-30, 39, 40, 78, 80, 143, 148, 151, 155, 156, 159, and 176. We searched all 240 chapter laws of the session to build that list. Four local acts (chapters 2026-201, 203, 215, and 223) also reference October 1 but apply only to specific districts and counties. The four chapters above are the ones most likely to reach an individual reader; Part 2 of this guide covers the other eight. For the much larger set of laws that took effect three months ago, see our guide to new Florida laws effective July 1, 2026.
A note on how to read any of this: a statute’s text tells you what the Legislature wrote. It does not tell you how a court will read a phrase like “materially false statement” or “apparent amount,” and as of this writing we are not aware of any Florida appellate decision construing these new sections. When the answer to your question depends on that, the honest answer is that it depends on your facts, and that is a conversation worth having early. Request a free case review or call (561) 455-4455.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, when anyone is injured or killed, and when property damage appears to be at least $2,000. Before October 1 the property-damage threshold was $500. Failing to report is a noncriminal nonmoving violation. Reporting a crash below the threshold is still allowed and is usually the safer choice for any later claim.
As of October 1, 2026, section 83.56(2)(a) lists fraudulent entry of a dwelling unit under section 817.537(2) as noncompliance the tenant need not be given a chance to cure, “regardless of whether criminal proceedings have commenced.” The landlord delivers a written termination notice and the tenant has seven days to vacate. The statute covers materially false written statements about identity, forged or counterfeit documents, and impersonation; it does not address other kinds of application misstatements.
Not by itself. Effective October 1, 2026, section 320.061(2) states that a frame or decorative border is not an offense provided it does not obscure the plate number or the registration decal in the upper right corner. A frame that covers either of those falls outside the exception, and a knowing violation of section 320.061 is a second-degree misdemeanor.
As of October 1, 2026, section 322.251 allows notice of cancellation, suspension, revocation, or disqualification to be given by e-mail “if authorized by the licensee,” in addition to personal delivery and first-class mail. Failure to receive the order does not stay its effective date, and notice is complete 20 days after the e-mail or mailing for most orders.
Under new section 903.0472, effective October 1, 2026, a person on pretrial release after arrest for a listed violent offense who willfully violates a court-imposed no-contact condition commits a first-degree misdemeanor, and a third-degree felony on a second or later violation. The person can be arrested without a warrant and is held until first appearance.
Every chapter law is published by the State at laws.flrules.org, and each bill’s history and enrolled text is on the Florida Senate site at flsenate.gov. The chapter numbers in this guide link directly to the official chapter law PDFs.