I live in a townhome in Florida with two other girls, one of whom signed a lease with me and a third who is not on the lease. This third roommate moved out in November after paying rent for December. However, she did not pay utilities for the month of December. It is now the end of the month and this roommate still has belongings in the house and has not turned in her keys. Since she is not named on the lease, what rights do we have in this matter? If January 1st comes along, are we entitled to anything from her? What responsibilities does she have as a tenant. Are we able to hold her belongings until we receive peyment owed to us for utilities and rent? This is a sticky situation since all we have with this roommate is a verbal agreement. Any help concerning Florida's laws on this issue would be a great help. Thanks.

You should contact a Realestate Attorney in your area. They can better advice you on the laws in your state.

However, this is a sticky situation. As a Maintenance Technician, I see this problem all the time where tenants leave and don't take all of their belongings.

Therefore, the best advice that I can give you is since she is not living there, hold on to her stuff - they do come back for their things. You are not able to charge her for rent, but you can charge her for storage.

Just between me and you, however, you can attempt to charge her for storage and you should get it, but if she refuses, give her her things and let her go on. For some reason, people get real emotional about their things.

I have gotten into fights and tenants have come to me with poles and everything because I wouldn't release their stuff. It is not worth the pain - just give 'em their stuff and let them go.

Although the law says one thing, it is a total different story on the property. You may have every right to their things, but they just don't understand that.

Hope this answers your question!

ADDITIONAL RESOURCE(S)

Florida Landlord Tenant Law

REFERENCE(S)

1. Attorney William Bronchick, What to Do if a Tenant Abandons the Property(Online: The Landlord Protection Agency, Inc. 2006) Abandonment of Rental Property

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Originally Posted by dazzler22

I live in a townhome in Florida with two other girls, one of whom signed a lease with me and a third who is not on the lease. This third roommate moved out in November after paying rent for December. However, she did not pay utilities for the month of December. It is now the end of the month and this roommate still has belongings in the house and has not turned in her keys. Since she is not named on the lease, what rights do we have in this matter? If January 1st comes along, are we entitled to anything from her? What responsibilities does she have as a tenant. Are we able to hold her belongings until we receive peyment owed to us for utilities and rent? This is a sticky situation since all we have with this roommate is a verbal agreement. Any help concerning Florida's laws on this issue would be a great help. thanks.

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This is actually a small claims case. Not going to be easy to prove since you don't have anything in writing. Did she give you any money by check, are receipts available? Figure out how much she owes you for the time that she lived there and think about small claims court. Since there was nothing in writing, the most you can hope for is a 30 day responsibility for rent beyond the time she spent there. Bring all your proof with you. Under no circumstances get rid of any of her belongings. She can come back at you for their value. Did the landlord know that she was living there? Did he approve of her living there? He might be a good witness. Your co-tenant will probably say she was a "guest" and not a co-tenant and therefore does not owe you anything. Think about how to prove your position before you go into court.

Who rented to her ? Did you and the other room mate sub lease (rent) to her. Or did the owner of the property find her and rent to her ?