All Forum Posts by: Tim Baldwin

Yours is a legal question. Get advice from a landlord attorney. 

Hire landlord attorney. Best wishes. 

You didn't address your need for help in the eviction case, but it appears you may need an attorney. Even though we have good LL-T statutes in place in Florida, some judges play loose with them. Having an expert landlord attorney involved will help you a lot.

As for the actual question, it is very difficult if not impossible to "stop" a tenant from damaging your property, because you are not inside the property to know what they are doing. You will learn of any damage after the fact. 

F.S. 83.681 provides for the landlord petitioning for an injunction, but your eviction case doesn't appear to fit that situation. If there is evidence of intentional destruction of the property, you can call local police authorities, but in my experience, they do not get involved in any situation that "smell" of civil action; they will simply tell you that it is a civil matter. 

Best wishes. 

Start with a business organizations/corporate attorney. 

In my law practice, I see a lot of property management agreements, and it is rare to see a requirement of financial disclosures. Your idea of doing so is not a bad one at all, but what you may find is that owners may rebuff the disclosure and try to find another company that doesn't require disclosure.  

In Florida, you cannot enforce an "agreement" to waive fundamental rights in the statute, and there are several. One of the most fundamental rights that a tenant cannot waive is the landlord's obligation to terminate tenancies through due process. There is no "self-help" in Florida, and likely that's the case for all 50 states. You should seek legal advice in that state to get a legal answer though. Best wishes. 

Our law firm is seeing an increase in eviction filings this year. Our average eviction turn around is 20 days from filing to writ of possession. Rents are either stabilizing or lowering in Florida, in general.

Does the lease not limit your payment on the utility? I would consider putting that into a renewal lease if you do not have a cap built in. You should ask a lawyer in that state if that violates a statutory provision or case law interpreting your landlord-tenant act. In Florida, I can see an argument from the tenant that "locking" the thermostat is a violation of FS 83.51 and 83.67. Best wishes.

Several reasons: market rates, cost of operations, risks of the tenant in particular, rental history, turnover potential, loss of rent during turnover period, "hot" or "cold" market, etc. If the lease agreement does not define or limit the rent increase, consider all relevant factors and make a decision. best wishes. 

It's possible the tenant was negligent if they knew or should have known that the hose was not connected. In general, tenants are liable for damages caused when they breach a duty. The duty here would be created by virtue of any agreements they entered into, rules posted to follow, or by virtue of instructions given to them to operate the washing machine. It's a factual and legal question. Before asserting the tenant's liability, I would encourage you to seek legal advice in the state where the property is located and move forward from there. Best wishes.