Illegal Lockout

[7evens]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Florida
My question involves an eviction in the state of: Florida
Background: I moved into a residence in 2006 owned by my then friend. We had a written lease. He graduated and moved back to S. FL and other guys moved in including his cousin. In 2007 he presented a written lease that we could not agree upon, yet he did not enforce its signing. I ran into some financial difficulties in the summer which caused me to fall behind in rent. We had made an arrangement that i would pay him for the August rent in after the first week, and when i received my financial aid in September I would catch up and i could stay to finish my degree in December. My three other roommates moved out at the beginning of August. He instructed me to try to fill the other rooms, but was unsuccessful because most students already secured places before the school year. His cousin had the utilities under his name and i knew that when he left he would discontinue the utilities and i did not have the money to pay a deposit to turn them on again. My phone was also out of service temporarily until i paid my bill. I decided to go home to Tampa on a Friday to figure some things out.. I didn't want to be in a city with no money, lights, or a phone, so i returned to stay with my family for a week.

Present: Upon return i found that the locks had been changed, and all of my property removed. I sent him an email and his response was that he was putting the house on the market and it had to be cleared. He also said that I would receive my property once i paid him back rent. after explaining the legal ramifications of such an act he then said he considered it abandoned, even though my bed was made and all of my property was still there including my personal computer. ( I believe that he just wanted me out because he didn't think that i was going to pay and that he could do it himself because we didn't have a written lease for the year.) I stayed with friends for a week to try to work things out with him before i contacted the authorities. he refused to comply so i contacted the authorities and filed for legal aid representation. He has since agreed to give me back my property. I don't wish to pursue criminal charges but this ordeal has caused severe setbacks including withholding access to my property, eviction without notice, and putting my education on hold because i don't have a place to live. What are my options?

 

[Zigner]

You left with no notice, leaving the utilities off... you abandoned the property.

 

[Gail in Georgia]

You can consider suing him in small claims court for this illegal eviction. However, I'm not sure how you'd come up with a money figure on what you think you should be reimbursed for.

He will then, likely, countersue you for all of the back rent you owe him.

Your posting implies that you did not notify your landlord that you would be leaving for a week to go home and mull things over. He will likely argue in court that with the history of owed rent, no utilities and no notice of when you were leaving and when you'd be back, one could very likely come to the conclusion that you had abandoned the property.

Gail

 

[Zigner]

You can consider suing him in small claims court for this illegal eviction. However, I'm not sure how you'd come up with a money figure on what you think you should be reimbursed for.

He will then, likely, countersue you for all of the back rent you owe him.

Your posting implies that you did not notify your landlord that you would be leaving for a week to go home and mull things over. He will likely argue in court that with the history of owed rent, no utilities and no notice of when you were leaving and when you'd be back, one could very likely come to the conclusion that you had abandoned the property.

Gail

Yeah - what she said!

 

[7evens]

You can consider suing him in small claims court for this illegal eviction. However, I'm not sure how you'd come up with a money figure on what you think you should be reimbursed for.

He will then, likely, countersue you for all of the back rent you owe him.

Your posting implies that you did not notify your landlord that you would be leaving for a week to go home and mull things over. He will likely argue in court that with the history of owed rent, no utilities and no notice of when you were leaving and when you'd be back, one could very likely come to the conclusion that you had abandoned the property.

Gail

The utilities were in his cousin's name so he knew that they were going to be off until i was able to pay it. I came back with the intention to restore service, I contacted the utility company but they could not restore until after the weekend. That weekend is when he returned and removed my things and changed the locks. I found this online:
A landlord may recover rental property if the tenant abandons the premises. [See CC §§1951.2, 1951.3, 1951.4.] The landlord may establish abandonment pursuant to CC §1951.3:

* The landlord must have given written notice to the tenant, stating the landlord’s belief that the tenant has abandoned the property and including a termination date.
* The tenant must then have failed to give the landlord written notice, before the termination date, stating that he or she does not intend to abandon the property and providing an address for service of a UD action.

Tenant abandonment is essentially a landlord’s tool for recovering rented premises without getting a UD judgment, but it carries some risk—if the landlord is mistaken about the abandonment, he or she may face a claim for wrongful eviction. [See Kassan v Stout (1973) 9 C3d 39, 43.] Therefore, strict compliance with CC §1951.3 is critical.

 

[Zigner]

The utilities were in his cousin's name so he knew that they were going to be off until i was able to pay it. I came back with the intention to restore service, I contacted the utility company but they could not restore until after the weekend. That weekend is when he returned and removed my things and changed the locks. I found this online:
A landlord may recover rental property if the tenant abandons the premises. [See CC §§1951.2, 1951.3, 1951.4.] The landlord may establish abandonment pursuant to CC §1951.3:

* The landlord must have given written notice to the tenant, stating the landlord’s belief that the tenant has abandoned the property and including a termination date.
* The tenant must then have failed to give the landlord written notice, before the termination date, stating that he or she does not intend to abandon the property and providing an address for service of a UD action.

Tenant abandonment is essentially a landlord’s tool for recovering rented premises without getting a UD judgment, but it carries some risk—if the landlord is mistaken about the abandonment, he or she may face a claim for wrongful eviction. [See Kassan v Stout (1973) 9 C3d 39, 43.] Therefore, strict compliance with CC §1951.3 is critical.

Well you already have all the answers...what was your question again?

 

[TenantBlues]

LOL Zinger