Q: Is it legal to force tenants to use the broadband company their management company requires?
I live in Palm Harbor FL at a ZRS Managed Property. From day one they were aggressively adamant that I had to use WOWAY Internet Provider since that's who they worked with. I found that a little odd since in my decades of living in Apartment Complexes from New York to New Orleans I had never experienced that. I did some research when I finally had a break from work and found that on February 15th 2022 the FCC announced they were prohibiting cable operators and other service providers from entering or enforcing agreements for exclusive or "graduated" revenue-sharing with owners of residential or commercial apartment building or condominiums, deeming the contracts to tenants unenforceable. I know Florida has some pretty wild laws usually in favor of the landlord but this is federal so I was just wondering if there was anything I can do about this. I am totally prepared to hire an attorney as I may have to for another issue with them.
Thank you,
Alfred Kokoszczynski
A: Welcome to Florida -- yes, it's different. Generally, the way I interpret this is the service providers cannot demand it is exclusive but that would not stop an owner from requiring a tenant to use an exclusive provider. Tenants have the option of entering into a lease with all kinds of restrictions or rejecting the lease and finding housing elsewhere. The courts are not real favorable to trying to change the terms of a signed agreement unless it is vague and ambiguous. If there is a community association that brings in a whole new set of laws under the Florida Statutes that govern bulk service providers and the right of an association to enter into an agreement.
Charles M. Baron agrees with this answer
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