I had sent my Landlord a Termination Of Lease letter on July 7th 2010 due to the debilitating state of repairs of the property. The roof was leaking, rodents, clogged kitchen sink etc. On July 10th I contacted code enforcement and my landlord was cited for numerous code violations. My landlord started to repair the property and on July 31st he informed me that all the repairs would be completed on the property and I would be allowed to stay there until they were complete and upon my satisfaction and completion of the repair work we would negotiate a new 12 month lease. I paid him the rent for August and on August 10th I was served a letter of termination of my month to month lease. This lease had a stipulation that after September 1st I would be considered an unlawful tenant and I would be liable for double rent until I vacated the premises. I sent him a check for September rent which was returned by his attorney. On September 11th I was served with eviction papers which I filed an answer to within the 5 days allowed by the notice. The court has scheduled a rent determination hearing on October 13th 2010. I vacated the residence on October 1st 2010 and I am unsure what the legal process is at this point. My defense to the eviction is that the landlord is retaliating against me for contacting a government agency. I reside in Broward County, Florida. My rent payment was $1,200 per month. I surrendered the residence to my landlord on 10/01/2010. He is still in possession of my security deposit which has been held since 02/2008.

Since you vacated on October 1st, the eviction is moot. Was the rent determination hearing scheduled after you vacated the premises? Because it seems as though the only thing to be determined is the amount you owe.

Since you tendered the September rent, it is questionable whether you are obligated for the double rent (which I assume comes from the terms of the lease). So the only thing left to be determined would be damages, if any, and whether the LL is entitled to costs and attorney fees for the eviction action. Subtract those things from the deposit and what remains, if any, is due to you.

Or was double the old rent based on current or new rental value of the apartment after major repairs.?

You basically bring any and all papers ever received and sent to prove your case, bring the exact dates you moved out and all information. I may also have come comparison rentals of the unit in the new condition

I agree with the other 2 answers. I just want to stress to take EVERYTHING with you that helps your case. If you have any witnesses, photos of the horrid conditions, ANYTHING at all. Cancelled checks...

Florida is typically a very landlord friendly state, AND these cases are heard by a Justice of the Peace (or whatever their equivalent is) and they rule based on their INTERPRETATION of the law as it applies to your situation, so if can be a little dicey. Especially if you're going up against your ll's lawyer.

And, if you vacated on Oct 1 the LL probably has 30 days (see your lease terms) to return your security deposit along with a statement showing any deductions they are taking. So they still have time to legally return your deposit.

Thank you for the prompt response. The hearing was scheduled on the 20th of September. You did answer my question. The most important thing is that the eviction process is over and done with.