ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – Following the death of Miya Marcano, the family and lawmakers said a new piece of legislation has been agreed on, with the goal to protect the physical safety of Florida’s tenants.
Senator Linda Stewart said for the past month, the group has come up with the best ways to better protect people, calling it “Miya’s Law.”
“I have no doubt that the Miya foundation will make sure that her name is lifted up,” Stewart said. “These measures that have been agreed upon by all of the associations and the people that deal with apartments, getting their sign off on this and the family to review the legislation and agree that this would be acceptable.”
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Stewart said the bill requires landlords with five or more units to give a 24-hour notice to enter any apartment, instead of the current 12. Nation background checks will also be required for staff, and Stewart said the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation will oversee and fine any violators.
“I want to make sure that this happens now so that a lot of times when people sign leases, they don’t think of these things. These are not things on the top of their list, asking these questions,” Stewart said.
With the goal to make Florida’s tenants safe when at home, Stewart said the bill has bipartisan support as it heads to the committee.
“They won’t have to worry too much about those things because we are making a law that says this has to happen, so they should feel more confident and safer going into apartment living.”
The full language of the bill is expected to be released on Friday.