Jacksonville's New Rental Registry Shows Code Violations

• Jacksonville Area Legal Aid launched a free rental registry at jaxstablehousing.org on September 18, 2026.
• You can search any Duval address or owner for City code enforcement cases and eviction filings.
• Code data covers the City of Jacksonville only. Jax Beach, Atlantic Beach, Neptune Beach and Baldwin aren't included.

Duval County recorded about 82 eviction filings for every 1,000 renter households. UNF's JAX Rental Housing Project says that's more than any other Florida county. City Councilman Jimmy Peluso went shorter at the launch: "We all know Jacksonville is the eviction capital of Florida, and that ain't right."

What Is the Jacksonville Rental Registry?

The Jacksonville rental registry is a free search tool at jaxstablehousing.org. Jacksonville Area Legal Aid (JALA) launched it on September 18, 2026. Renters can search any Duval address or property owner for City code enforcement cases back to 2019. Eviction filings go back to 2013. The City of Jacksonville supplied the code data.

JALA got the records the way any of us could, with a public records request. Then it matched 13-plus years of eviction filings to property parcels, so we only have to type an address.

How to Search a Rental on JaxStableHousing.org

1. Go to jaxstablehousing.org and click "Find out about my prospective or current rental housing." That opens the Jacksonville/Duval Rental Registry.
2. Search by street address or by owner of record.
3. Click a result. You'll see the year of each code case, what caused it, whether it got fixed, and eviction filings by year.
4. Run the owner search too. It lists every parcel tied to that owner, which tells you more than one building ever will.

Resolved cases stay on the record, marked closed. JALA CEO Jim Kowalski said the goal is to show which landlords respond, not only which ones got cited.

His example was a tree through a roof on a rainy day. In Florida, that's a forecast, not a character flaw. A row of open cases is the thing to ask about.

Peluso wants something simpler. He'd like a renter to notice "there were cockroaches here two weeks ago" and pick another place.

What the Registry Doesn't Show

• Code cases outside the City of Jacksonville. Jax Beach, Atlantic Beach, Neptune Beach and Baldwin stayed separate cities when Jacksonville and Duval consolidated in 1968. The registry honors that decision too.
• Anything outside Duval. Orange Park and Fleming Island are in Clay County, so they aren't in the registry at all.
• Problems that aren't code violations. An example is an amenity the lease promised and the property never delivered.
• Anything recent. The data runs through early August 2026 and updates from time to time. It isn't an official county or court record.
• Every eviction. Filings get matched to parcels by address, and some couldn't be matched with confidence.
• Who manages the building. Ownership held through several LLCs makes that hard to trace.

Why Legal Aid Built It Instead of the City

A 2023 state law, HB 1417, put regulation of landlord-tenant relationships under state control starting July 1, 2023. Council members and Kowalski said that kept the City from creating its own registry. So JALA built one, and the City supplied its code enforcement data.

Kowalski also worried that a City-run version might not get steady funding from Council. Landlords don't sign up for this one. The records were already public, and now they're in one place.

The UNF research cuts both ways. Five owners accounted for 20% of all eviction filings in the county. Local mom-and-pop landlords were the least likely to file evictions or have code violations.

Found a Problem? What Florida Law Requires First

Kowalski said tenants generally can't stop paying rent over a repair problem. Florida law sets an order.

1. Call Municipal Code Compliance at (904) 255-7000 or 630-CITY and request an inspection. Ask for a copy of the report, and take dated photos.
2. Give your landlord written notice by hand delivery or mail. Name the problem and say you'll withhold rent or end the lease if it isn't fixed in seven days. Add five days if you mail it.
3. Keep copies of everything, and don't spend rent you're withholding.

Florida law also bars a landlord from evicting you only because you complained to a government agency about code violations.

Skip a step and a repair dispute can turn into an eviction case. This isn't legal advice, so talk to JALA before you withhold anything.

JALA's Eviction Defense Self-Help Project serves households up to 200% of the poverty line. Appointments are on Wednesday afternoons. Call (904) 356-8371.

Rent and Utility Help Listed on the Site

• Start with 211. United Way is the shared intake point. Several programs require a 211 referral before they'll book you.
• Jacksonville Eviction Diversion Program. It pays up to three months of back rent. Your household needs a child, a senior over 60, a veteran or a disabled adult. Your landlord has to agree and submit the consent form. Applying doesn't pause an eviction, so you also need to notify the court. The program covers all of Duval, including the Beaches and Baldwin.
• BEAM. It offers emergency rent and utility help if you live or work in 32082, 32224, 32227, 32228, 32233, 32250 or 32266.
• Paperwork. Most programs pay the landlord or utility company directly. Have your photo ID, proof of income, lease and past-due notice ready. Call ahead, since funding runs dry and refills.

Quick Win: Search Before You Sign or Renew

Look up the address and the owner before your next lease or renewal. If open cases show up, ask the leasing office what happened and when it'll be fixed. Get the answer in writing.

Moving here on military orders? Run every address from our NAS Jax neighborhoods guide through the registry first. For rent trends, our Jacksonville housing market guide for renters is the next stop.

The registry's developers say future updates could add who manages each property. Someday the answer to "who owns this building" might not involve a stack of LLCs.

More renter and relocation guides live in Learn About Jacksonville. None of them require a public records request.