The House I am Renting is Being Foreclosed

What is a Foreclosure?

• If your landlord does not his mortgage, the mortgage company may file a foreclosure.
• A foreclosure is a lawsuit filed by the mortgage company when the landlord does not pay the mortgage.  In the foreclosure, the mortgage company asks the court to sell the property to pay off the mortgage.

I am only a tenant – Why am I being served?

If a foreclosure is filed against your landlord, as a tenant living in the property, you will usually be served with the foreclosure lawsuit.  Being served means either the Sheriff or a process server will hand you a copy of the lawsuit.

As a tenant, you are a party to the foreclosure lawsuit, but the foreclosure complaint will refer to you as the “unknown tenant” or “John/Jane Doe”.

What Should I Do If I Am Served with Notice of A Foreclosure Against My Landlord?

• Even though you do not own the property, you should file an Answer to the foreclosure.  For more information about how to do this, see LSGMI’s “How to File an Answer to a Lawsuit” brochure.  In the Answer explain that:
  • You live in the property
  • You rent the property.
  • If you have a lease, say this in your Answer.
  • State the date your lease expires.
  • Attach a copy of the lease to the Answer.
  • If you file an Answer, it will tell the judge and the mortgage company that a tenant is living in the property.
  • You will also be notified is any hearings are scheduled in the case.  If you do not file an Answer, you may not receive any notices about the foreclosure lawsuit, and you will not know what is happening in the case.
  • If the landlord did not pay the mortgage and you want to move out, you can send a letter to the landlord explaining that you are ending your rental agreement in 7 days because she did not pay the mortgage.
  • You may also have other claims against the landlord, but you should consult an attorney before you take any legal action.

What Should I do if My Landlord Tells Me She Plans to Stop The Foreclosure?

• If you receive a foreclosure complaint, you should contact your landlord to find out what she intends to do about the foreclosure.
• Sometimes, after a foreclosure is filed, the owner pays the mortgage company enough money to stop the foreclosure or files bankruptcy.  If the landlord does this, the foreclosure should be dismissed.
• Even if your landlord tells you that she will stop the foreclosure, you should still file an Answer in the foreclosure lawsuit.

What Should I Do If My Landlord Tells Me She Cannot Stop the Foreclosure?

• If your landlord tells you that they are not going to be able to stop the foreclosure, or if you cannot find your landlord, you should file an Answer in the foreclosure and begin looking for a new place to live.
• Legally, you must continue to pay rent to your landlord during the foreclosure process.
• If your landlord is not accepting your rent, you should save your rent in case an eviction case is filed against you.

What Happens If the Mortgage is Foreclosed?

• If your landlord does not stop the foreclosure, the court will enter a final judgment of foreclosure against the landlord.
• The court will schedule a foreclosure sale.  Once the property is sold at the foreclosure sale, there will be a new owner.

 

Can the New Owner Force Me to Move?

• On May 20, 2—9, President Obama signed the Protecting Tenant in Foreclosure Act.  This changed the law regarding tenants in foreclosure.  As with any new law, there are some questions about what the new law means.  This brochure is based on our reading of the new law and could change once judges rule on the new law.
• If your lease has expired or you don’t have a lease, the new owner must give you 90 days written Notice to Vacate.
• If you have a lease, the new owner must allow you to stay until the end of the lease before you can be evicted.  Even if you have a lease, the landlord can make you move sooner if the landlords to live in the property.  But, he must still give you 90 day Notice to Vacate.
• If the Notice to Vacate expires and you have not moved out, we believe the new owner must file an eviction to have you removed, just as any other landlord would do.
• Even though we interpret the new law to require the owner to file a separate eviction action, there are no decisions on this yet.  Therefore, the new owner may ask the foreclosure judge for a Writ of Possession without filing an eviction.  The Writ of Procession is an order telling the Sheriff to remove you and your belongings from the property.
• If you are still living in the property and the new owner schedules a hearing asking for a Writ of Procession, it is very important that you attend the hearing so you can tell the Judge that you are a tenant living in the property and the new owner must file an eviction case.

After the Property is Sold to A New Owner, Must I Pay Rent to the Old Landlord?

• After the property is sold at the foreclosure sale, you do not need to pay rent to the old landlord.
• After the foreclosure, under the Protecting Tenant in Foreclosure Act, the new owner steps into the role of the owner, so you will have to pay rent to the new owner.  It is very important that you as for proof of ownership.

What Should I DO If the New Owner Asks Me If I Want to Stay?

• Sometimes, the new owner will ask you if you want to keep living in the property.  If you cannot reach an agreement, the new owner cannot force you out by changing the locks or turning off the utilities.  Call the police if the new owner tries to force you out this way!  Also, see our brochure titled “What to Do if Your Landlord Locks You Out or Turns Off Your Utilities.
• You should ask for proof that he is the new owner before you pay him any rent.  This proof could be your previous landlord writing a letter to inform you of the new owner, you could check the Property Records at the County Clerk’s Office, or if you have serious doubts, you could call the police for advice.

 

(Note: In this packet there are two forms, (1) A Sample Answer Sheet, (2) Affidavit to Stay the Writ of Procession.  The Affidavit to Stay the Writ of Procession must be notarized.

 

 

 

 

Other Information That I will be Working On

• Writ of Procession
• What to Do if Your Landlord Locks You Out or Turns Off Your Utilities
• How to Answer Your Eviction Case
• What To Do If You Are Sued For Unpaid Rent
• Tenant’s Remedies For Violations by the Landlord

Do not Believe Landlord/Tenant Statutes

Judge Teretha Lundy Thomas

When you think the laws are correct then you have to get a judge to read them the way the law was not meant to be read.  All of the Landlord/Tenant laws have been thrown in the thrash when it comes to Teretha Lundy Thomas.  Florida Statute 83.51  Landlord’s obligation to maintain premises.  Florida Statute 83.51 is what the landlord is suppose to do to maintain their apartment building up Florida Building Codes.  They are required to exterminate the rats, mice, roaches, ants, wood-destroying organisms, and bedbugs.

I had asked the landlord to do just that and he did not do it.  We had rats, mice, bugs and he was turning the building into a firetrap. I complained to the code department and by the time we went to court I had five different c0de inspectors ready to testify on how bad the building located at 253 NE 34th Street was.  But that was not enough for Judge Teretha Lundy Thomas even if the Florida Laws say that the Landlord was not allowed to let the building go to waste.

This building like every apartment building in the State of Florida is to be inspected each and every year by  the Division of Hotels and Restaurants of the Department of Business and Professional Regulation according to the Florida Statute 509.032. Does this building look like it could pass an inspection?  This apartment where the windows are broken out had a the 215 Building Corp. (the owners) employee living there.  This apartment did not have electric, running water, and did have the ceiling falling down, wall falling apart, and the floor falling in.  All of this was good for this judge. 

The statutes also says that if you complaint to the landlord or any government agencies that you cannot be evicted.  Judge Teretha Lundy Thomas throws this law out too.  Florida Statute 83.64 clearly states:

  83.64  Retaliatory conduct.–

(1)  It is unlawful for a landlord to discriminatorily increase a tenant’s rent or decrease services to a tenant, or to bring or threaten to bring an action for possession or other civil action, primarily because the landlord is retaliating against the tenant. In order for the tenant to raise the defense of retaliatory conduct, the tenant must have acted in good faith. Examples of conduct for which the landlord may not retaliate include, but are not limited to, situations where:

(a)  The tenant has complained to a governmental agency charged with responsibility for enforcement of a building, housing, or health code of a suspected violation applicable to the premises;

(b)  The tenant has organized, encouraged, or participated in a tenants’ organization;

The law also that the landlord must terminate the lease before an eviction can given and again this is a waste of good paper in the law books.

If you by any chance Judge Teretha Lundy Thomas you better as for another Judge because she is either getting paid off or she is so stupid and in either case she should be removed as a Judge.

Another Bad Judge, Shelley Kravitz

Florida Statute 83.49 (2) The landlord shall, within 30 days of receipt of advance rent or a security deposit, notify the tenant in writing of the manner in which the landlord is holding the advance rent or security deposit and the rate of interest, if any, which the tenant is to receive and the time of interest payments to the tenant. Such written notice shall:

(a) Be given in person or by mail to the tenant.

If the landlord fails to give the required notice within the 30-day period, he or she forfeits the right to impose a claim upon the security deposit.

This is very clear but Judge Shelly Kravitz decides that this law is no good even if the Florida Supreme Court says it is.

I read the laws from Chapter 83 of the Florida Statutes and 83.49 was the reason that I file suit in Small Claims Court on June 6, 2008. I went to court on July 1, 2009 after a year and half waiting to get my Security Deposit money back from my old ex-landlord, The 215 Building Corp.
After a year in court that should have been settled 11 months earlier was not. This Judge made a decision not to give me my Security Deposit Money back and there are no other laws according to ten other attorneys. The attorneys that I talked to say that there is no way that a judge should ever make this type of decision.

Now the question is did Judge Shelly Kravitz get paid off or is she that stupid? In either case she should be removed as a judge.

Beg, Borrow, Steal Get an Attorney for Court

Beg, Borrow, or steal but whatever you do make sure you have an attorney if you need to go to court.  I went to Small Claims Court to get my money back from my old ex-landlord and lost even after the law and many attorneys that I have talked to stated that it was an open and shut case that the Florida Statute 83.49 clearly states if the landlord does not send you a letter stating that he/she is putting a claim on your Security Deposit money within thirty-days of vacating the premises that he/she loses all rights to the Security Deposit money.

83.49  Deposit money or advance rent; duty of landlord and tenant.–

(3)(a)  Upon the vacating of the premises for termination of the lease, if the landlord does not intend to impose a claim on the security deposit, the landlord shall have 15 days to return the security deposit together with interest if otherwise required, or the landlord shall have 30 days to give the tenant written notice by certified mail to the tenant’s last known mailing address of his or her intention to impose a claim on the deposit and the reason for imposing the claim. The notice shall contain a statement in substantially the following form:

This is a notice of my intention to impose a claim for damages in the amount of _____ upon your security deposit, due to _____. It is sent to you as required by s. 83.49(3), Florida Statutes. You are hereby notified that you must object in writing to this deduction from your security deposit within 15 days from the time you receive this notice or I will be authorized to deduct my claim from your security deposit. Your objection must be sent to  (landlord’s address) .

If the landlord fails to give the required notice within the 30-day period, he or she forfeits the right to impose a claim upon the security deposit.

 

I went to Small Claims Court and lost my case and don’t know how.  The Judge Shelly Kavitz is either that stupid or she is getting paid off.  This woman should not be a judge in either case and should be removed from office.

More lies from Judges when it comes to Landlord/Tenant Laws

On July 1, 2009 I went to court to get my Security Deposit Money back from my ex-landlord.  I gave the Security Deposit Money back in 2004 and additional $200.00 more in June of 2006 because of an apartment change.  I moved out in October of 2007 and now it July 29, 2009 four weeks after we went to court and still have not heard a thing after being promised by Judge Shelly Kravitz that I would have an answer within one week. 

I got tired of waiting so I called her office on Monday and left a message for a return call which never happened.  Then I called on Tuesday and talked to her secretary and she told me that she would look for my case and call me on Tuesday afternoon and that didnot happen either.

If we did that to her she would have us put in jail.  She should be put in jail.

Guidelines for Security Deposit Charges

Chart: Cleaning and Repairs a Landlord Can Deduct From a Security Deposit

Landlords are permitted to deduct from security deposits for damage or excessive filth, but not for ordinary wear and tear.

Typically, landlords may charge tenants for any cleaning or repairs necessary to restore the rental unit to its condition at the beginning of the tenancy. Landlords may not, however, use the tenant’s security deposit to cover the costs of ordinary wear and tear. Here are examples of wear and tear versus damage or excessive filth:

Ordinary Wear and Tear: Landlord’s Responsibility	Damage or Excessive Filth: Tenant’s Responsibility
Curtains faded by the sun	Cigarette burns in curtains or carpets
Water-stained linoleum by shower	Broken tiles in bathroom
Minor marks on or nicks in wall	Large marks on or holes in wall
Dents in the wall where a door handle bumped it	Door off its hinges
Moderate dirt or spotting on carpet	Rips in carpet or urine stains from pets
A few small tack or nail holes in wall	Lots of picture holes or gouges in walls that require patching as well as repainting
A rug worn thin by normal use	Stains in rug caused by a leaking fish tank
Worn gaskets on refrigerator doors	Broken refrigerator shelf
Faded paint on bedroom wall	Water damage on wall from hanging plants
Dark patches of ingrained soil on hardwood floors that have lost their finish and have been worn down to bare wood	Water stains on wood floors and windowsills caused by windows being left open during rainstorms
Warped cabinet doors that won’t close	Sticky cabinets and interiors
Stains on old porcelain fixtures that have lost their protective coating	Grime-coated bathtub and toilet
Moderately dirty mini-blinds	Missing mini-blinds
Bathroom mirror beginning to “de-silver” (black spots)	Mirrors caked with lipstick and makeup
Clothes dryer that delivers cold air because the thermostat has given out	Dryer that won’t turn at all because it’s been over-loaded
Toilet flushes inadequately because mineral deposits have clogged the jets	Toilet won’t flush properly because it’s stopped up with a diaper

After 1 1/2 Years still waiting for my deposit

After a year and a half I am still waiting for my Security Deposit Money back according to Florida Statute 83.49.  On July 1, 2009 I went to court finally to get my Security Deposit which was required by law to be returned and was not. I left the apartment on October 15, 2007 and here it is July 15, 2009 and still have not heard a word from the judge’s decision in which she had promised me within a week.  This type of behavior happens way too many times with judges and with their help.

The Florida Statute 83.49 clearly states that:

  83.49  Deposit money or advance rent; duty of landlord and tenant.–(1)  Whenever money is deposited or advanced by a tenant on a rental agreement as security for performance of the rental agreement or as advance rent for other than the next immediate rental period, the landlord or the landlord’s agent shall either:

(a)  Hold the total amount of such money in a separate non-interest-bearing account in a Florida banking institution for the benefit of the tenant or tenants. The landlord shall not commingle such moneys with any other funds of the landlord or hypothecate, pledge, or in any other way make use of such moneys until such moneys are actually due the landlord;

(b)  Hold the total amount of such money in a separate interest-bearing account in a Florida banking institution for the benefit of the tenant or tenants, in which case the tenant shall receive and collect interest in an amount of at least 75 percent of the annualized average interest rate payable on such account or interest at the rate of 5 percent per year, simple interest, whichever the landlord elects. The landlord shall not commingle such moneys with any other funds of the landlord or hypothecate, pledge, or in any other way make use of such moneys until such moneys are actually due the landlord; or

(c)  Post a surety bond, executed by the landlord as principal and a surety company authorized and licensed to do business in the state as surety, with the clerk of the circuit court in the county in which the dwelling unit is located in the total amount of the security deposits and advance rent he or she holds on behalf of the tenants or $50,000, whichever is less. The bond shall be conditioned upon the faithful compliance of the landlord with the provisions of this section and shall run to the Governor for the benefit of any tenant injured by the landlord’s violation of the provisions of this section. In addition to posting the surety bond, the landlord shall pay to the tenant interest at the rate of 5 percent per year, simple interest. A landlord, or the landlord’s agent, engaged in the renting of dwelling units in five or more counties, who holds deposit moneys or advance rent and who is otherwise subject to the provisions of this section, may, in lieu of posting a surety bond in each county, elect to post a surety bond in the form and manner provided in this paragraph with the office of the Secretary of State. The bond shall be in the total amount of the security deposit or advance rent held on behalf of tenants or in the amount of $250,000, whichever is less. The bond shall be conditioned upon the faithful compliance of the landlord with the provisions of this section and shall run to the Governor for the benefit of any tenant injured by the landlord’s violation of this section. In addition to posting a surety bond, the landlord shall pay to the tenant interest on the security deposit or advance rent held on behalf of that tenant at the rate of 5 percent per year simple interest.

(2)  The landlord shall, within 30 days of receipt of advance rent or a security deposit, notify the tenant in writing of the manner in which the landlord is holding the advance rent or security deposit and the rate of interest, if any, which the tenant is to receive and the time of interest payments to the tenant. Such written notice shall:

(a)  Be given in person or by mail to the tenant.

(b)  State the name and address of the depository where the advance rent or security deposit is being held, whether the advance rent or security deposit is being held in a separate account for the benefit of the tenant or is commingled with other funds of the landlord, and, if commingled, whether such funds are deposited in an interest-bearing account in a Florida banking institution.

(c)  Include a copy of the provisions of subsection (3).

Subsequent to providing such notice, if the landlord changes the manner or location in which he or she is holding the advance rent or security deposit, he or she shall notify the tenant within 30 days of the change according to the provisions herein set forth. This subsection does not apply to any landlord who rents fewer than five individual dwelling units. Failure to provide this notice shall not be a defense to the payment of rent when due.

(3)(a)  Upon the vacating of the premises for termination of the lease, if the landlord does not intend to impose a claim on the security deposit, the landlord shall have 15 days to return the security deposit together with interest if otherwise required, or the landlord shall have 30 days to give the tenant written notice by certified mail to the tenant’s last known mailing address of his or her intention to impose a claim on the deposit and the reason for imposing the claim. The notice shall contain a statement in substantially the following form:

This is a notice of my intention to impose a claim for damages in the amount of _____ upon your security deposit, due to _____. It is sent to you as required by s. 83.49(3), Florida Statutes. You are hereby notified that you must object in writing to this deduction from your security deposit within 15 days from the time you receive this notice or I will be authorized to deduct my claim from your security deposit. Your objection must be sent to  (landlord’s address) .

If the landlord fails to give the required notice within the 30-day period, he or she forfeits the right to impose a claim upon the security deposit.

the tenant must receive his/her Security Deposit Money back within fifteen days or a written notice within thirty days stating that the landlord is retaining all or some of the Security Deposit Money and neither happened. 

The best advice I can give to anyone wanting their Security Deposit Money back is to take pictures when you move in and take pictures when you move out.  The law sounds good but the judges do not uphold the laws as they are written without an attorney.  Always make sure that you get a receipt at the time you give  them any money or do not give them money until they give you a receipt.

Make sure you hire an attorney because the judges do not like people that do not have an attorney and in most cases you will get screwed.

Small Claims Court cost about three hundred dollars and the attorneys that I talked to want $1,000.00 and above.

Deposit Money

Now the 30-day limit begins when you move out.  Was the letter dated on the 20^th or was the date on the actual “Certified Mail” stub dated the 20^th of the month.  If the letter was dated the 20^th of the month and it was not given to the post office until after the 30 days was up, then the landlord is required to give you back all of your security deposit money.

If the mail was mailed before the thirty days was up then it would probably be up to a judge to decide because of the third party which is it US Post Office.  In this case you will need to talk to an attorney.  You will need to find out who is at fault, the landlord or the Post Office.

 The Landlord has to have the letter in the mail before the end of the 30^th day after you move out.

 

If you have any more questions feel free to contact me again.  I hope this will help you.  Good luck

 

Ronald Norman

Meeting with Miami-Dade County Commissioner Bruno Barreiro

 

Sunday, December 28, 2008

An update on my meeting with Miami-Dade County Commissioner Bruno Barreiro.  My first meeting was back in September. 2008 and I gave him 65 pages of documents and over 100 pictures showing where the Building Code Inspectors were not doing their job.  He told me that he was going to look into the situlation.  Two months later I had set up another meeting with him again because I have not heard from him.  I asked him what was going on and why I didnot get any response back.  He told me that he was going to write a letter to the governor because he didnot know exactly know what to do.  Two weeks after this meeting I heard nothing again so I called his office and asked him to call me.  This call and ten more calls were never returned. 

Do we really need this type of a person as a County Commissioner?  I don’t think so.  We have enough people in government that don’t do anything.  With the commissioners no doing their job hurts everyone.

 

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

I had a meeting with Miami-Dade County Commissioner Bruno Barreiro this morning about city, county and state government agencies not doing their job.  I had showed him pictures of the building that I was living until I got evicted for asking the landlord to get rid of the bugs and to stop making the building a matchbox.  I was not evicted because of not paying the rent.  The landlord always got his rent money, but I was paying two hundred dollars more for this apartment and it was to be better and was not. 

I gave the commissioner a 74 page report on what had happened to me and the bottom line was that if the government agencies would have done their job in the first place I would not have ever had a problem with the landlord.

Florida Statute Chapter 509 totally specifically states that the government agencies such as the Building Code Enforcement and other agencies are to inspect every apartment building in the State of Florida at least once a year and this is not done.  Why? 

I also asked him why the inspectors have not been inspecting the sidewalks and why the Planning and Zoning designed sidewalks with pipes, telephone poles, benches, signs, trees, and other stuff in the middle of the sidewalks? 

I told him that I had moved by the train station and there was a sign that was laying down and that the base of the sign was sticking up out of the sidewalk about ten inches and they came by and painted it so you could see the pipe sticking up.  The sign was maybe fifteen feet away lying on the ground and all it needed was two bolts and put back in place.  The good news is that they did fix this problem after the sign laid there for almost a year.  I told him that the security guards, police, maintenance people are to report this and wanted to know why it took almost a year to replace two bolts.

We also talked about the raising the fares on the trains and buses.  I told him that raising the prices was uncalled for mainly because the money was mishandled and the poor should not have to pay for their mistakes.  Commissioner Bruno Barreiro told me that he voted no to raising the fare.  This is a good sign.

The Commissioner told me that he would get back with me about this. I am sure that there is more that we talked about but right now I cannot think of it.  Come back later and lets see what will happen.

Florida Statute Chapter 509

Florida Statute Chapter 509 is the Florida Statute that states the the Division of Hotels and Restaurants of the Department of Business and Professional Regulation regulates the inspections for the apartment buildings 5 units and more.  If you look at the Florida Statute 509.032 Duties (2) INSPECTION OF PREMISES.– it will tell you that the Division of Hotels and Restaurants of the Department of Business and Professional Regulation must inspect the apartment buildings for non-transists every year.  But to get this enforced you have to call them many times and then they tell you that they do not do the inspections or that they are short of money and men and cannot do all of the inspections.  This is totally unacceptable.   For more information go to www.maimicomplaints.com.  When the Division of Hotels and Restaurants of the Department of Business and Professional Regulation get the complaints about their job description they usally tell you that it is a civil matter and that way the tenant has to pay to have the laws enforced.  Who do  you think should enforce the Florida Statutes?

Florida Statute 509.032

509.032  Duties.–

(1)  GENERAL.–The division shall carry out all of the provisions of this chapter and all other applicable laws and rules relating to the inspection or regulation of public lodging establishments and public food service establishments for the purpose of safeguarding the public health, safety, and welfare. The division shall be responsible for ascertaining that an operator licensed under this chapter does not engage in any misleading advertising or unethical practices.

(2)  INSPECTION OF PREMISES.–

(a)  The division has responsibility and jurisdiction for all inspections required by this chapter. The division has responsibility for quality assurance. Each licensed establishment shall be inspected at least biannually, except for transient and nontransient apartments, which shall be inspected at least annually, and shall be inspected at such other times as the division determines is necessary to ensure the public’s health, safety, and welfare. The division shall establish a system to determine inspection frequency. Public lodging units classified as resort condominiums or resort dwellings are not subject to this requirement, but shall be made available to the division upon request. If, during the inspection of a public lodging establishment classified for renting to transient or nontransient tenants, an inspector identifies vulnerable adults who appear to be victims of neglect, as defined in s. 415.102, or, in the case of a building that is not equipped with automatic sprinkler systems, tenants or clients who may be unable to self-preserve in an emergency, the division shall convene meetings with the following agencies as appropriate to the individual situation: the Department of Health, the Department of Elderly Affairs, the area agency on aging, the local fire marshal, the landlord and affected tenants and clients, and other relevant organizations, to develop a plan which improves the prospects for safety of affected residents and, if necessary, identifies alternative living arrangements such as facilities licensed under part II of chapter 400 or under chapter 429.

(b)  For purposes of performing required inspections and the enforcement of this chapter, the division has the right of entry and access to public lodging establishments and public food service establishments at any reasonable time.

(c)  Public food service establishment inspections shall be conducted to enforce provisions of this part and to educate, inform, and promote cooperation between the division and the establishment.

(d)  The division shall adopt and enforce sanitation rules consistent with law to ensure the protection of the public from food-borne illness in those establishments licensed under this chapter. These rules shall provide the standards and requirements for obtaining, storing, preparing, processing, serving, or displaying food in public food service establishments, approving public food service establishment facility plans, conducting necessary public food service establishment inspections for compliance with sanitation regulations, cooperating and coordinating with the Department of Health in epidemiological investigations, and initiating enforcement actions, and for other such responsibilities deemed necessary by the division. The division may not establish by rule any regulation governing the design, construction, erection, alteration, modification, repair, or demolition of any public lodging or public food service establishment. It is the intent of the Legislature to preempt that function to the Florida Building Commission and the State Fire Marshal through adoption and maintenance of the Florida Building Code and the Florida Fire Prevention Code. The division shall provide technical assistance to the commission in updating the construction standards of the Florida Building Code which govern public lodging and public food service establishments. Further, the division shall enforce the provisions of the Florida Building Code which apply to public lodging and public food service establishments in conducting any inspections authorized by this part. The division, or its agent, shall notify the local firesafety authority or the State Fire Marshal of any readily observable violation of a rule adopted under chapter 633 which relates to public lodging establishments or public food establishments, and the identification of such violation does not require any firesafety inspection certification.

(e)1.  Relating to facility plan approvals, the division may establish, by rule, fees for conducting plan reviews and may grant variances from construction standards in hardship cases, which variances may be less restrictive than the provisions specified in this section or the rules adopted under this section. A variance may not be granted pursuant to this section until the division is satisfied that:

a.  The variance shall not adversely affect the health of the public.

b.  No reasonable alternative to the required construction exists.

c.  The hardship was not caused intentionally by the action of the applicant.

2.  The division’s advisory council shall review applications for variances and recommend agency action. The division shall make arrangements to expedite emergency requests for variances, to ensure that such requests are acted upon within 30 days of receipt.

3.  The division shall establish, by rule, a fee for the cost of the variance process. Such fee shall not exceed $150 for routine variance requests and $300 for emergency variance requests.

(f)  In conducting inspections of establishments licensed under this chapter, the division shall determine if each coin-operated amusement machine that is operated on the premises of a licensed establishment is properly registered with the Department of Revenue. Each month the division shall report to the Department of Revenue the sales tax registration number of the operator of any licensed establishment that has on location a coin-operated amusement machine and that does not have an identifying certificate conspicuously displayed as required by s. 212.05(1)(h).

(g)  In inspecting public food service establishments, the department shall provide each inspected establishment with the food-recovery brochure developed under s. 570.0725.

(3)  SANITARY STANDARDS; EMERGENCIES; TEMPORARY FOOD SERVICE EVENTS.–The division shall:

(a)  Prescribe sanitary standards which shall be enforced in public food service establishments.

(b)  Inspect public lodging establishments and public food service establishments whenever necessary to respond to an emergency or epidemiological condition.

(c)  Administer a public notification process for temporary food service events and distribute educational materials that address safe food storage, preparation, and service procedures.

1.  Sponsors of temporary food service events shall notify the division not less than 3 days prior to the scheduled event of the type of food service proposed, the time and location of the event, a complete list of food service vendors participating in the event, the number of individual food service facilities each vendor will operate at the event, and the identification number of each food service vendor’s current license as a public food service establishment or temporary food service event licensee. Notification may be completed orally, by telephone, in person, or in writing. A public food service establishment or food service vendor may not use this notification process to circumvent the license requirements of this chapter.

2.  The division shall keep a record of all notifications received for proposed temporary food service events and shall provide appropriate educational materials to the event sponsors, including the food-recovery brochure developed under s. 570.0725.

3.a.  A public food service establishment or other food service vendor must obtain one of the following classes of license from the division: an individual license, for a fee of no more than $105, for each temporary food service event in which it participates; or an annual license, for a fee of no more than $1,000, that entitles the licensee to participate in an unlimited number of food service events during the license period. The division shall establish license fees, by rule, and may limit the number of food service facilities a licensee may operate at a particular temporary food service event under a single license.

b.  Public food service establishments holding current licenses from the division may operate under the regulations of such a license at temporary food service events of 3 days or less in duration.

(4)  STOP-SALE ORDERS.–The division may stop the sale, and supervise the proper destruction, of any food or food product when the director or the director’s designee determines that such food or food product represents a threat to the public safety or welfare. If the operator of a public food service establishment licensed under this chapter has received official notification from a health authority that a food or food product from that establishment has potentially contributed to any instance or outbreak of food-borne illness, the food or food product must be maintained in safe storage in the establishment until the responsible health authority has examined, sampled, seized, or requested destruction of the food or food product.

(5)  REPORTS REQUIRED.–The division shall submit annually to the Governor, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the chairs of the legislative appropriations committees a report, which shall state, but need not be limited to, the total number of active public lodging and public food service licenses in the state, the total number of inspections of these establishments conducted by the division to ensure the enforcement of sanitary standards, the total number of inspections conducted in response to emergency or epidemiological conditions, the number of violations of each sanitary standard, the total number of inspections conducted to meet the statutorily required number of inspections, and any recommendations for improved inspection procedures. The division shall also keep accurate account of all expenses arising out of the performance of its duties and all fees collected under this chapter. The report shall be submitted by September 30 following the end of the fiscal year.

(6)  RULEMAKING AUTHORITY.–The division shall adopt such rules as are necessary to carry out the provisions of this chapter.

(7)  PREEMPTION AUTHORITY.–The regulation of public lodging establishments and public food service establishments, including, but not limited to, the inspection of public lodging establishments and public food service establishments for compliance with the sanitation standards adopted under this section, and the regulation of food safety protection standards for required training and testing of food service establishment personnel are preempted to the state. This subsection does not preempt the authority of a local government or local enforcement district to conduct inspections of public lodging and public food service establishments for compliance with the Florida Building Code and the Florida Fire Prevention Code, pursuant to ss. 553.80 and 633.022.