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Landlord Problem in Florida

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  • 10-09-2006, 03:28 PM
    eh034
    Landlord Problem in Florida
    Greetings. I had some maintenance problems with my landlord and handed him a seven day letter notice of my intention to leave if he did not fix these. I showed up today to court and my case was dismissed since according to the judge, there were not enough causes for me to break my lease. My landlord failed to fix my AC within the specified time ( he fixed it 2 weeks after the deadline of the letter). I had paid for that months rent, after I noticed it seemed he was doing something about my problems, but as soon as he got his check, nothing else was done. So I left. A month after I got cited because of this. Among the many things listed I stated problems with complying with the Florida FIre code and I had the fire department to show to my complex and notify them about the problems I had stated, a month ago. Until that date, nothing was done about them. There was garbage all over the stairways and some naughty odors were felt on some parts of the complex. Worst is that since the complex is pet friendly, people took their pets to the yards but never removed their pets residues. One section of the lawn seems like a crap pool. And despite all of this the judge said that it was not enough to break the lease. In the end I got screwed up because basically, I should have stayed on my apartment and asked for a reduce in my lease because of my problems, despite the fact that my place was at 100 F with the AC running. This unit is too small for my apartment so it is not cooling, nor heating at all. Is there any authority that may enforce codes so that this people don't get away with all the damage they have caused? I feel I have been scammed since the tenant act has not helped me in any sense, despite the fact that my landlord has no respect for human life, when he clearly violates the Florida Fire code, and gets away with it at court. Thanks for all the help provided.
  • 10-10-2006, 06:26 PM
    GreatGadsby
    Re: Landlord Problem in Florida
    unfortunately, in FL Air conditioning is not a required item for the LL to maintain, only the heater. I had similar issues.
  • 10-10-2006, 07:52 PM
    profiler_jack
    Re: Landlord Problem in Florida
    i've found most landlords are very effective and timely about collecting rent money, and thats about it.......im guessing that since they dont have to live in their rentals, they dont have much motivation to work on them.....

    not trying to offend any landlords out there, just my personal experience.....
  • 10-11-2006, 10:10 AM
    eh034
    Re: Landlord Problem in Florida
    Thanks for your response people. I just want to shar a good advice a friend of mine gave me for the next moving ocassion. Before signing any document with your landlor, do a background check of the complex. Some websites, like Apartment reviews

    (http://www.apartmentreviews.net/)

    allow you to post reviews of your complex and read comments from other people. This is a right people have ("freedom of speech") but still, you have the option to leave an anonymous review. Second, check court cases listed online on your county's court database. A landlord that has many cases filled, might seem suspicious. People will sometimes refuse to pay rent without reason, but sometimes they have more than enough causes for as not to do so. If your landlord has a considerable amount of cases at court, don't sign a contract with him. They usually hire the same lawyer to represent them, and it is possible, like in my case, they get along too well with the judge handling your case. Taking this steps, and letting other's now about them might save you the trauma of being stuck with a terrible landlord and paying for expenses you don't have to.
  • 04-04-2007, 06:08 AM
    BW01282006
    Re: Landlord Problem in Florida
    You can do what I have done and maybe you can get results. I live in GA and I am having some issues with my landlord fixing some issues in my home as well. After over a year of complaining, I finally called the county chamber of commerce and reported them. Within a few days, it was fixed.
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