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Tina67 · Sep 11, 2011, 04:45 PM

I rented out my house to two tenants, before they moved in I told them about the roof leak in the garage, they said no problem as long as it does not leak in the heated living space, which it does not. The reason I have not fixed it yet is because I truly do not have the money nor can I get a loan ( I tried). I decided to tarp the entire roof and luckly so far so good, no water has come into the garage since I did that. 4 days ago they called to tell me the air conditioner is not working so I sent someone over there and was told it needs a compressor and he would charge me $400.00 total, since the tenants have not deposited the rent yet (due on the 1st, it is the 11th) I told them to give the money to get the air conditioner fixed, it has been 3 days now and they have not contacted the guy for the AC, he called but no one is returing his call. I would like to break the lease and would like to know if I have if the above is reason enough.

twinkiedooter · Sep 11, 2011, 06:13 PM

You are responsible for fixing the a/c, not the tenants. If they won't take the rent money and fix the a/c with that money, then you need to wait until they pay the rent and use that money to fix the a/c. And no, you just can't evict them if they don't want to do as you say with the rent money. They may be afraid you'll say they didn't pay their rent and try to evict them. I can see what you are trying to do by at least trying to get the a/c up and running, but they don't see it that way.

Being a landlord can be a very expensive proposition when things break down. What did you do with their deposit money - spend it or keep it in a separate account to help out with repair bills?

ScottGem · Sep 11, 2011, 06:19 PM

Since they are late on the rent, send them a letter that since they have not contacted the a/c repairman, their rent is way late. Therefore they either need to pay the rent with late fees in x days or vacate. The number of days depends on local law. ANY question on law needs to include your general locale as laws vary by area.

ballengerb1 · Sep 11, 2011, 06:49 PM

Your title sure does not describ what you are asking. No matter, you can't mix things like rent and repair. From what you say the AC failed after they were already late. You can't just tell tenants to pay their rent to another party like you think you can. They owe you rent, you owe them a habitable home. Is the AC described as part of the rental lease. If so you must repair it and pay for it. If you want to evict them for nonpayment then follow eviction laws for your state.

Tina67 · Sep 11, 2011, 09:02 PM

Ok I understand what you mean about being responsible for paying for the AC repair, let me clarify. I live in another state, the ac repair guy lives close by my rental.The tenants withheld the rent until the ac is fixed, the tenants asked for the ac to be repaired right away, I would not be able to send the money right away but in 4 days, so the tenant said they would give him the $400 to fix it instead of depositing it for the rent of September. The Ac was fine until a few days ago it actually stopped working about 6 days after the rent was due so since they had not deposited the money yet for the rent we agreed for that money to go towards repairing the AC. The Ac guy has tried to call them to set up a day to go repair it but they are not responding to his calls neither to mine. Even if they send the rent or give it toward the ac I do not want to accept the rent and evict them, they are never on time always about 10 dats late, so my question is if they offer to send the rent is it OK for me not to accept it and proceed with eviction.

Tina67 · Sep 11, 2011, 09:26 PM

@Twinkiedooter: I always put the deposit toward repairs, it was $600.00, about 2 months after they moved in they asked me to change the door that goes from the kitchen to the garage,it closed and the lock worked though it is an inside door but it looked old so I changed it, the tenants painted one of the bdrms a dark forest green, I had just recently painted the whole house a light neutral color was pissed about that because he did not ask me and the lease is clear about stuff like that. I found out because my friend went to the house one day to change a fan in that bedroom, he is said it was a bad paint job too, I used some of the deposit to repaint. They may not see it my way, but this is how I see it. They don't pay the rent on time, I have fulfilled all their requests except for the roof leak which we discussed before they moved in, plus it is only in the garage, put a tarp it has been fine, no leaks. I was honest about the roof leak before any lease was signed or money exchanged hands, they said no problem, and they have not had any leak problems,now the Ac is out, OK I will of course fix it, but since they have not sent the rent but say they have it, we agreed as I said before to put that money toward ac repair, sounds fair to me. I am a landlord but actually rent right now due to having to move to another state for a job, as a tenant I always pay my rent on time, if I am to be late a couple of days I notify the landlord right away. As a landlord I know I am being taken advantage of right now, no I am not the big bad wolf just trying to make ends meet. I do not want to accept rent from them anymore and I want to know if I could evict them now. Property is in pasco county Florida. If anyone here is from that area and knows anything about evictions let me know if I have a legitimate rason to evict them now even if they want to pay the rent.

ScottGem · Sep 12, 2011, 03:28 AM

First, FL law does not allow you to use deposit money. In fact it requires that the money be deposited in a bank account. And you are required to inform the tenant where it is. So if you used the deposit money you are in breach of the lease.

Second, If you issue a pay or quit notice, if they pay up you are required to allow them to remain. However, chronic late rental may be grounds for terminating the lease. Also a tenant is not allow to withhold rental for repairs without following certain rules. However, since you agreed to allow them to put the money towards the repair, they can still do that.

I would still do as I suggested (FL allows for a 3 day pay or quit) and serve them a vacate notice. If they pay up, then serve a 30 day termination notice if they are late again.