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lease is broken - apt rented -- sec deposit refund?

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ericgkarl

Guest
My daughter is a student at FSU, she signed a lease 3/30/00 and paid a $140 non refundable cleaning/application fee and a security deposit of one months rent ($355) The lease was scheduled to begin on August 15th. On April 25th her circumstances changed and she needed to get out of the lease. The landlord verbally told her that he could sublease the apartment which would officially free her of any financial and damage responsibilities. He said her $140 fee would not be returned and he would charge her a subleasing finders fee of $175 if he could lease the apt before the date she was to occupy the premises. He would then refund the balance of the deposit. Landlord was able to rent the apartment well before my daughter was to take possession. Landlord now states that my daughter never had it in writing and not only loses the $355 deposit but also must pay $175 finders fee. Hasn't he mitigated damages by renting the apartment out before the commencement of the lease. Is he allowed to keep her first month's rent in the state of Florida??
 


HomeGuru

Senior Member
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by ericgkarl:
My daughter is a student at FSU, she signed a lease 3/30/00 and paid a $140 non refundable cleaning/application fee and a security deposit of one months rent ($355) The lease was scheduled to begin on August 15th. On April 25th her circumstances changed and she needed to get out of the lease. The landlord verbally told her that he could sublease the apartment which would officially free her of any financial and damage responsibilities. He said her $140 fee would not be returned and he would charge her a subleasing finders fee of $175 if he could lease the apt before the date she was to occupy the premises. He would then refund the balance of the deposit. Landlord was able to rent the apartment well before my daughter was to take possession. Landlord now states that my daughter never had it in writing and not only loses the $355 deposit but also must pay $175 finders fee. Hasn't he mitigated damages by renting the apartment out before the commencement of the lease. Is he allowed to keep her first month's rent in the state of Florida??<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Although it may sound like the landlord has graduated from FU University, he is entitled to some expenses in accordance with the applicable State L/T law. True he has mitigated damages but needs to come out whole ie. additional advertising expenses etc. He may not have enough expenses though to keep the entire security deposit.
 
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Tracey

Guest
L is full of it. By changing the deduction terms, L has screwed himself royally!

L can only charge your daughter for expenses he actually incurred in re-renting the apt. If L had lots of units & was advertising them, he didn't have to pay any extra money to advertise her apt specifically. The application fee is to cover tenant screening costs (credit checks, reference checks, etc.) & "cleaning". If he charged the new tenant the same $140 application fee, your daughter doesn't have to pay for the new tenant's screening costs. She is entitled to a refund of the entire deposit less any advertising that was *necessary* after she broke the lease. ALSO, if L charged the new tenant the same "cleaning fee", your daughter should get that money refunded also. (L can't charge the same cleaning fee to 2 people.)

Under 83.49, L has 15 days from termination of the lease to refund T's money or send T written notice of the deductions L will be taking from the deposit. T has 15 days to object to any deductions. After T's 15 day's pass, L must refund the balance of the deposit within 15 days. This gives L a maximum of 45 days to send the check. If L fails to send the notice of claim within 15 days, L cannot withhold ANY of the deposit.

Have your daughter send L a letter (certified, return receipt) demanding a full refund because L didn't comply with 83.49. If L had stuck to the original $175 liquidated damages agreement, he could have argued that he didn't have to send her a letter of his intent to deduct that $$ formt he deposit. However, since he reneged on the agreement, he had to comply with 83.49.

L's claim that he's not bound by his oral promise works to your daughter's advantage! :) L now has to refund the entire deposit and sue her separately for breach. In a separate suit or counterclaim for breach of lease, L has the burden of proving every penny of damages he wants awarded. This is why daughter gets the cleaning portion of the fee back. She can claim that L was unjustly enriched because he collected 2 cleaning fees but only had to clean once. (Daughter will need to talk to the replacement tenant to verify this.)

Also, I doubt the new tenant is a sublease. To be a sublease, your daughter had to sign a separate sublease contract. The new tenant is just a replacement tenant.

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This is not legal advice and you are not my client. Double check everything with your own attorney and your state's laws.
 

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