View Full Version : Florida landlord tenant laws
vesky40
Dec 5, 2008, 01:41 PM
What are my rights?
I have lived in the same apts. For over three years.
My roommate and I signed a lease. I signed what I was to believe to be the lease not in the apartments office but in my roommates bedroom. Since that time management
Changed, then ownership, then management again.
So to the point, My roommate wants to throw me out,not evict but have me put out on the street.He claims that I was never on the original lease or any other. He spoke with the current manager and was told that if he wanted me out and that if I was not on the lease,
He should call the police and he would accompany the officer and escort me to the street.
The dispute is over dilinqent rent, nothing criminal or violent.
What can I do? My roommate also states that even if I paid the rent on time he still doesn't
Want me here.
ScottGem
Dec 5, 2008, 01:59 PM
Your roommate and the manager don't have a clue. What you are describing is an illegal eviction. The police will NOT get involved here because this is a civil, not a criminal matter.
Do you have a copy of the lease you signed? That would help you, but its not necessary.
Since you have lived there for several years you can provide proof of residency. Therefore, the roommate has to go through the formal eviction process. That's the good news. The bad news is he can get this done fairly quickly, since its Florida.
If you can't show you were on a lease filed with the landlord, then your roommate is your landlord and you will be deemed to have a periodic lease. He then has 2 choices. He can serve you a Pay or Quit notice. This will give you 3-10 days to pay up or vacate. The number of days depends on local laws. But since he wants you out no matter what, he can serve you a 15 day termination of tenancy. In Fl, a month to month lease only requires 15 days notice to terminate.
If you do not vacate by the deadline, he then has to go to housing court to obtain an eviction order. Depending on the court's calendar, this can take a fe days or weeks to get a hearing. At the hearing, the judge WILL issue an eviction order since you have no defense. That order will give you a new deadline to vacate. If you are still not out, then he hires a sheriff to physically remove you.
If he puts your belongings out or changes the locks, HE will be breaking the law and you can then sue him.
If I were you, I would tell him, you understand he wants you out, but you need some time to find a new place. Then start looking.
LisaB4657
Dec 5, 2008, 02:03 PM
First, your roommate cannot just throw you out. They have to follow the law. Second, the police will not remove you. You are a tenant and if your tenancy is being terminated then they must give you appropriate written notice. If you still haven't left after the notice period is over then they must file a lawsuit for eviction. If anyone tries to throw you out or change the locks without going through the notice and court procedure then you should call the police.
As for the lease, you need to see a copy of what you signed. Even if you signed a lease 3 years ago, it is likely that the lease you signed expired and you became a month-to-month tenant at that time. If that is the case then the landlord can terminate your tenancy with 15 days written notice.
Please note that if you signed a separate agreement with your roommate rather than a lease with the landlord, then your roommate has the right to terminate your tenancy. If you signed the actual lease then only the landlord has the right to terminate your tenancy. That's why it is very important that you see a copy of what you signed.
Fr_Chuck
Dec 10, 2008, 09:02 PM
Of course while they can't legally, it will not help you a lot when you come home one day and find all of your clothes thrown across the yard and some homeless people down the street wearing part of them.
There are 100's of illegal evictions done every day, so after it happens then you have to sue the person who did it.