I rented my home out to a lady in January. Only SHE signed the lease but she did mention (verbally) that her 20-year-old daughter would probably live there with her. Now it is April and the lady has moved out (to Minnesota) with no warning, leaving her daughter and now her daughter's boyfriend is living there... are they technically squatters? I am kind of expecting no payment in May from the lady on the lease... or from the kids, since they don't appear to have jobs (a neighbor told me). Should I get ready to evict squatters if no payment happens in May? Please advise me, as I am clearly ignorant of any knowledge regarding renter/landlord/squatters laws, rights, rules, etc...

They are not considered squatters by law but are actually residents. You need to follow the Florida eviction process and it can take over a month. Since you say your are not well versed with the laws you may want to consult an attorney. Guidelines for Florida Residential Eviction (http://rhol.org/csu/evictions/Florida/FloridaSteps.htm)

Thank you ballengerb1. I will research your link, and I appreciate the direction. In the meantime, could you educate me as to why the daughter and boyfriend are considered "residents" instead of "squatters"? Neither of their names are on the lease agreement. To me, it seems as though there are two unknown and unauthorized adults living in my house... I appreciate your (or anyone else's) insight in this matter.

Squatters ( really no such term in most legal since now adays) they are either tresspassers or residents or living their illegally.

The mother allowed them to come in, you appear to have known there were there and did no action about it, And even so, the eviction would be on the person on the lease.

The police just don't do or get involved with this, so you have to go though eviction procedure

Neither of their names are on the lease agreement. To me, it seems as though there are two unknown and unauthorized adults living in my house... I appreciate your (or anyone else's) insight in this matter.Hello c:

In terms of the law, they ARE tenants. But, it really doesn't matter what you call them because, in the final analysis, there's only ONE remedy available to you to have them removed. As the Padre said, the cops won't put them out. YOU can't put them out. The only people who WILL put them out, is the sheriff, and that's only after you've obtained a lawful eviction order.

excon

Wow. Ok. This is good information. Thank you so much, excon and Fr_Chuck. Looks like I have some work to do... I am going to go research ballangerb1's link now. If anyone else has some experience/opinion/ideas regarding my predicament, please comment! I appreciate any/all knowledge you can share.

What you didn't mention was if April's rental fee was paid or not. If it was paid then you can't really do an eviction. If it was NOT paid then you can proceed with the eviction. Never mind, I read that you are not expecting May's rent.

I owned a duplex in South Florida some years ago and found that I had "musical" tenants that would constantly move in and move out regardless of what they told me. You need to be much more picky about just who you let rent your home in the future. Usually folks from out of state will come, live there for a few months and leave when they cannot find a suitable job and leave you in the lurch for a tenant. It's best to rent to folks who have lived in the area a few years (not months) instead. Your home may stay empty for a bit longer than you wish but remember you can always deduct the monthly rental fee when it's empty from your taxes as a loss.

If the present tenants are paying rent you are ahead of the game (this time). Once they stop paying rent, you need to do a proper eviction proceeding.

twinkiedooter I love the term you used, "Musical tenants" --- that describes my situation EXACTLY!! So far, everyone is paying and the house looks really good, but the tenants names are not the names on the lease. Am I silly for not rocking the boat yet? I don't really want to evict a paying tenant (so far) who keeps my house clean and nice...

Well, in that case, you need to either change the lease and make it into their names and have the mom's deposit put toward their deposit. You need to talk to mom and see if she would be willing to transfer her deposit for her daughter and her boyfriend. This way if you must evict anyone at least you'll have a lease to have a leg to stand on when you have to appear in front of a judge.

I hope for your sake that they keep paying the rent and keep staying good tenants. Good paying tenants in Florida are hard to come by. In the 4 or 5 years I owned my duplex I think I had 7-8 tenants. What a pain. I had to keep recleaning the carpets after each tenant moved out and clean the place top to bottom myself.

Musical tenants like musical chairs - that's what my late mother called them!

Not sure how your lease reads, make sure it is drawn up by an attorney to say exactly what you want. If the person who signs lease is not living there, is that a reason to evict if the rent is being paid, in my leases yes, what does yours say.

If there are people who are living there over the few nights allowed for guests, does your lease allow you to evict, mine does, what does yours say.

What you can and can't do with a lease is all or should be spelled out in the lease