Bees in a Miami-Dade rental: who calls, who pays, who lets them in

What section 83.51 actually says

Start with the text itself, since it is short and it is what both sides will be held to. Florida Statute 83.51 has two layers. The first applies to every residential rental: the landlord must follow the building, housing and health codes that apply, or where none apply, keep the roofs, windows, doors, exterior walls, foundations and other structural components in good repair.

The second layer adds duties for a dwelling unit other than a single-family home or duplex. Unless the parties agree otherwise in writing, that landlord must make reasonable provisions for exterminating rats, mice, roaches, ants, wood-destroying organisms and bedbugs. Honey bees are not on that list. Neither are wasps.

So the statute does not settle a bee problem by itself. What it does give you is a framework: bees nesting in the structure touch the landlord's repair duty, and the lease fills in the rest.

Inside the walls or out in the yard

Where the colony sits matters more than anything else. A hive behind stucco, under roof tiles, inside a soffit or in the gap above a window frame is living in the building itself. Getting it out properly means opening that part of the structure, pulling every piece of comb and closing it back up, which is repair work on the landlord's property. See our page on colonies inside block and frame walls for what that job involves.

A swarm clustered on a tenant's patio chair, barbecue or parked scooter is different. It is a temporary resting cluster on the tenant's own things, and it often moves on by itself within a day or two. A lease may leave that kind of outdoor nuisance to the occupant.

Section 83.51 also says the landlord is not responsible under that section for conditions the tenant, the tenant's family or guests caused through a negligent or wrongful act. Leaving a stack of empty boxes open in a shed for months may fall on the tenant. A gap in the eaves that was always there usually does not.

Read the lease before anyone books

Pull out the signed lease and search it for the words pest, vermin, insects, extermination and repairs. For a house or a duplex, Florida lets the landlord and tenant change the structural repair duty in writing, and the statute's pest list does not apply to those dwelling types at all. A single-family lease that makes the tenant handle yard pests, for example, can carry real weight.

For apartments and other multi-unit buildings, the pest list does apply unless the lease says otherwise in writing. Separately, Florida Statute 83.47 makes a lease clause void to the extent it tries to waive the rights, remedies or requirements in this part of the law, so a blanket line like "tenant accepts all conditions" cannot simply sign those protections away.

If the lease is silent on insects, fall back on where the bees are: in the building points to the owner, on the tenant's belongings points to the tenant. Rentals in Miami, Hialeah or Kendall all follow the same state statute, so the lease wording is usually what tips it.

Put the notice in writing

A phone call to the property manager feels faster, and you should make it if bees are flying indoors. Before the day is out, back it up with something written. Florida's remedies for a landlord's failure to keep up the structure run on written notice: under sections 83.56 and 83.60, the tenant's notice must specify the problem and state what the tenant intends to do about it, and seven days have to pass before the tenant may terminate or withhold rent over it.

Send the notice to the name and address the landlord gave you for notices; section 83.50 requires the landlord to disclose that in writing at or before the start of the tenancy. Include the date you first saw bees, the exact spot on the building, how many seem to be going in and out, and two or three photos. Say whether anyone in the household is allergic.

Do not withhold rent on your own reading of the law. The statute sets conditions for that step, and a mistake there can cost you the tenancy. A tenant lawyer or legal aid office can tell you whether your facts qualify.

Letting the crew in

Once a removal is booked, the next friction point is the door. Under Florida Statute 83.53, a landlord may enter for repairs with reasonable notice, which the law defines as at least 24 hours, between 7:30 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. The landlord may also enter at any time to protect or preserve the premises, and in an emergency. A tenant should not unreasonably refuse access for necessary repairs.

Things go more smoothly when the tenant and owner pick a window together. Exterior work under a roofline may not need anyone inside at all. A colony behind drywall in a bedroom does, and the room will need to be cleared of furniture near the wall.

Pets should be shut in another room or taken out for the visit. If bees are already coming through an outlet or a light fixture, close that room off and treat it as urgent; our around-the-clock bee emergency line puts people being stung first.

Condos and apartment buildings

In a condominium, add a third party. Florida Statute 718.113 makes the association responsible for maintaining the common elements, except for limited common elements the declaration assigns to unit owners. Exterior walls, roofs and shared landscaping are often common elements, so a colony there may be the association's job, not the unit owner's and not the renter's.

That means a tenant in a Miami Beach or Aventura tower may need to tell their own landlord, who then tells the board or management company. Ask the landlord to forward your written notice instead of retelling it. The declaration of condominium, not the lease, says which balcony rails, planters and stucco belong to whom.

Associations and commercial property managers often ask for paperwork before a crew sets foot on the property. Proof of insurance in the form of a COI is available for HOAs, condos and businesses, and the page on condo and high-rise colonies covers lift access, balconies and board approval in more detail.

Who pays, and how to keep it fair

When the colony is in the structure and the lease does not say otherwise, the cost normally follows the building. When the tenant clearly caused the problem, or the lease puts outdoor pests on the occupant, it may follow the tenant. Either way, the fight is easier when both sides see the same numbers.

Ask for one free quote that names the location, the access needed and any repair work. A low swarm or a small ground-level colony tends to run about $300 to $400. A hive spread through a wall or roof that needs opening, comb removal and patching can climb into the thousands. If the call has to happen at night or over a weekend, expect that visit to cost more than one booked for a regular weekday.

An itemized invoice and photos of the comb and the finished patch are available on request, which helps a landlord file the expense and helps a tenant show the work was done. Repairs come from our own licensed contractors, roofers and painters, so the patch and paint after removal is part of the same job rather than a second hire.

Why a can of spray makes it worse

A frustrated tenant sometimes reaches for wasp spray or caulk to seal the entry hole. Both create a bigger problem for whoever ends up paying. Sealing the hole traps foragers inside, and they hunt for a different exit, which may open into a bedroom. Spraying may kill the bees at the entrance while the comb, honey and brood stay in the wall.

Abandoned comb does not stay quiet. Honey can seep through drywall and ceilings, and the leftover wax draws roaches, ants and beetles, which brings you right back to the pest list in section 83.51. Dead brood smells.

A live removal spares landlord and tenant that chain of costs. Thermal imaging maps where the nest ends inside the wall, so only that section of the rental gets opened. Every sheet of comb, honey included, is pulled through the opening, the empty cavity is cleaned out and shut, and the colony leaves alive for relocation with a beekeeper. The workmanship is warrantied: should a colony move back into a cavity our crew closed, a crew returns, no matter which party booked the visit. Read why bees return to the same spot for the reasons.

Questions people ask us

Removal pages that go with this article

Where in Miami-Dade this comes up