§83.67 covers direct or indirect interruption of utility service furnished to the tenant.
The statute expressly lists water, heat, light, electricity, gas, elevator, garbage collection and refrigeration.
§180.135 restricts refusal/discontinuance for covered former-occupant charges when the statutory conditions apply.
§180.135 does not prevent discontinuance to a tenant who is sufficiently in arrears under the statute.
The cited laws regulate shutoff/prior-debt issues rather than one universal tenant allocation method.
A landlord cannot use utility interruption as ordinary self-help
Florida Statutes §83.67 says a landlord of a covered dwelling unit may not directly or indirectly cause the termination or interruption of utility service furnished to the tenant, whether or not the service is controlled or paid by the landlord.
If service stops, document the cause before assuming the statute applies. A provider outage, tenant-account nonpayment, repair shutdown and landlord-directed interruption can involve different facts.
Keep the shutoff issue separate from a billing-method dispute
A tenant may have a high third-party bill without any interruption of service. That kind of dispute should start with the billing method, meter/submeter or allocation inputs, provider/master bill, service dates and separate fees.
Conversely, an actual interruption can matter even when the amount billed is not disputed. Preserve outage dates, provider notices and communications showing who requested or caused the interruption.
A new tenant should not automatically inherit a former occupant’s municipal utility debt
Section 180.135 says a municipality generally may not refuse or discontinue utility, water or sewer service to a rental owner, tenant or prospective tenant solely because of service charges incurred by a former occupant when the former occupant contracted for the service or the municipality knew the former occupant’s identity and service period.
The statute includes exceptions and separate rules, so preserve the former-account notice, your lease/service-start date and any statement showing whose service period produced the disputed balance.
Prior occupant debt and your own arrears are different questions
The former-occupant protection should not be read as a general ban on municipal disconnection for current unpaid charges. Section 180.135 separately states that nothing in the section prohibits discontinuing service to a tenant who is in arrears 30 days or more, or as required by bond covenant.
When a shutoff warning contains both old and current amounts, ask the municipality to identify the account holder and service dates for every balance.
What to collect for a Florida utility dispute
- Lease and utility addendum showing who is responsible for each service.
- Current and prior utility or third-party billing statements.
- Service-start, move-in, move-out and account-close dates.
- Meter/submeter readings or allocation formula if the issue is a billed amount.
- Municipal notice identifying any former-occupant balance.
- Provider or municipality account-holder information.
- Shutoff/disconnection notices and scheduled shutoff date.
- Landlord communications about utility service or possession.
- Proof of any payments, deposits, transfers or service-start requests.
This is not Florida-wide RUBS pricing guidance
The cited Florida statutes create strong protection around landlord-caused interruption and certain former-occupant municipal utility debt. They do not set one statewide formula for landlord allocation of a master utility bill or one universal submeter rate rule.
For a high or allocated apartment utility bill, identify the billing method first and use the evidence workflow before applying a more specific lease, local, provider or regulatory rule.
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Official sources
Use these links to verify the rule directly.
Official 2026 statute prohibiting a residential landlord from directly or indirectly terminating or interrupting utility service furnished to the tenant, including water, heat, electricity, gas, garbage collection and other listed services.
Florida SenateFlorida Statutes § 180.135 — Former occupant municipal utility charges ↗Official 2026 statute limiting a municipality’s ability to refuse/discontinue utility, water or sewer service because of unpaid charges incurred by a former occupant, subject to the statute’s conditions and exceptions.