Gov. Ron DeSantis signed House Bill 1293 (HB 1293) into law in June, making Florida the first state in the nation to criminalize residential rental application fraud specifically. The law takes effect Oct. 1, 2026.
The legislation creates a new offense called fraudulent entry of a residential dwelling unit, making it a third-degree felony to knowingly and willfully use certain false identity statements, forged or counterfeit documents, or another person’s identity to enter into and take possession of a residential rental unit.
The law comes as Florida renters continue to face a housing market where the cost of securing a home can outpace what many working households can realistically afford. For low-income renters, the issue is bigger than whether an application clears a landlord’s screening requirements. It is whether their income can clear the bar in the first place.
That tension is where HB 1293 gets complicated.
What Triggers a Fraudulent Entry of a Residential Dwelling Unit Charge Under HB 1293?
Under the new law, a person commits fraudulent entry of a residential dwelling unit if they enter into and take possession of a residential dwelling by knowingly and willfully engaging in certain fraudulent conduct during the rental application process.
The statute specifically addresses:
- False identity statements: Making a materially false written statement about one’s identity on a residential rental application.
- Forged or counterfeit documents: Presenting falsified documents to a landlord, including a driver’s license, identification card, bank statement or pay stub.
- Applicant impersonation: Impersonating another person whose name appears on a rental application to execute a rental agreement or take possession of the dwelling.
The distinction matters. The statute does not make every mistake or discrepancy on a rental application a felony. It requires knowing and willful conduct, and the offense is tied to entering into and taking possession of the residential dwelling.
A violation is classified as a third-degree felony, punishable under Florida’s criminal sentencing statutes.
For renters, that means conduct that previously could have resulted primarily in a rejected application or other civil consequences can, under the new law, carry criminal exposure when the statutory elements are met.
How Does the New Seven-Day Lease Termination Rule Work?
HB 1293 also changes the landlord-tenant consequences of fraudulent entry.
The law amends Florida’s residential landlord-tenant statutes to treat fraudulent entry as noncompliance that cannot be cured. A landlord may terminate the rental agreement, and a tenant in possession because of fraudulent entry has seven days to vacate after receiving the landlord’s notice of termination.
That provision creates a separate consequence from the criminal case.
A person does not have to wait for the rental dispute to play out as an ordinary application disagreement. Once the statutory conditions for fraudulent entry are met, the law provides landlords with a specific termination mechanism.
For housing providers, the change addresses a problem the Legislature characterized as fraudulent acquisition of residential property. For tenants, it creates another potential path from an application dispute to loss of housing.
Why Florida’s Housing Affordability Crisis Matters
Florida’s rental market was already putting pressure on household budgets before HB 1293 became law.
According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition’s 2026 Out of Reach report, Florida’s two-bedroom housing wage is $37.93 an hour, while fair market rent for a two-bedroom home is $1,973 per month. A minimum-wage worker earning $14 an hour would need to work 91 hours a week to afford a modest one-bedroom rental at fair market rent.
That math matters because landlords don’t evaluate rental applications in a vacuum. Landlords typically consider income, credit, employment history, rental history and other screening criteria when deciding whether an applicant qualifies.
The University of Florida’s Shimberg Center for Housing Studies paints an even broader picture. Between 2019 and 2023, Florida’s median rent increased by nearly $500 per month, from $1,238 to $1,719.
The center also estimates that 904,635 low-income renters in Florida pay more than 40% of their income toward housing, while the state has a shortage of 660,282 affordable and available rental units for households below 60% of area median income.
Those numbers do not establish that HB 1293 will cause more homelessness or that renters will resort to fraudulent documents. They do, however, show the economic pressure the law creates.
How Could the Law Affect Low-Income Renters?
The people most likely to feel the pressure of Florida’s housing market are not limited to people who are unemployed.
United For ALICE’s 2026 Florida report found that 47% of Florida households were below the ALICE Threshold in 2024, meaning their income was below what the organization calculates is necessary to cover basic household costs. The figure was even higher for Black households (61%) and for single-female-headed households with children (81%).
ALICE stands for Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed. The designation is important because it captures households that may be working but still cannot afford the basic cost of living in their communities.
For those households, the problem isn’t necessarily a lack of employment. It can be the gap between what a household earns and what a landlord requires to approve the application.
That is where HB 1293 introduces a new level of risk.
Knowingly submitting a forged pay stub, bank statement or identification document to obtain and take possession of a rental home can now expose an applicant to a felony charge.
The law does not make financial hardship itself a crime. But it does place criminal consequences on specific fraudulent conduct used to obtain housing at a time when many Florida households are already struggling to meet rental costs.
The Housing Pressure Is Not Distributed Equally
The financial strain is particularly significant for Black households and single-parent families.
United For ALICE’s 2026 Florida data show that 61% of Black households were below the ALICE Threshold in 2024, compared with 41% of white, non-Hispanic households. Among single-female-headed households with children, 81% were below the threshold.
The wage gap is another piece of that equation.
Earlier national analyses have found that Black women working full time and year-round earned roughly 61 cents for every dollar earned by white, non-Hispanic men. Florida-specific research has also documented significant racial and gender earnings gaps, including a 61-cent figure for Black women in northeast Florida.
Those numbers are not evidence that Black women are more likely to commit rental fraud. They show the economic conditions that shape who has room to absorb an unexpected rent increase, security deposit, income requirement or rejected application.
That distinction is worth keeping intact.
What Does HB 1293 Mean for Florida Renters?
Florida’s new law makes rental application fraud a crime and gives landlords a specific mechanism to terminate a tenancy when a residential dwelling was obtained through fraudulent entry.
For renters, the practical lesson is straightforward: knowingly using forged, fictitious or counterfeit documents, making a materially false written statement about identity or impersonating another applicant to obtain and take possession of a rental home can carry consequences far beyond a rejected application.
But Florida’s housing crisis does not disappear because the Legislature has criminalized one form of rental fraud.
The state still has hundreds of thousands fewer affordable rental units than low-income households need. Hundreds of thousands of renters are paying more than 40% of their income toward housing.
And millions of working households are navigating a basic-cost equation that does not always work in their favor.
HB 1293 changes the consequences for fraudulent entry. And there was no opposition from either party.
The larger question is what happens when that new criminal framework meets a housing market where getting approved for an apartment can already feel like qualifying for a life many working Floridians cannot afford.
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