repairs and eviction notices

[MaryKniff]

We have rented this home in florida for a year now.It has been one nightmare after another. The home is managed for the landlord by a Realtor in our town.
1. We were told upon move in that any repairs we did would be taken off the rent.We made many repairs and the landlord only would pay for a few of them.
2. All the window cranks do not work (never have) or are missing. My husband climbs a extension ladder to open/close them.
3.The new manager told us that the law is the landlord only has to repair electrical problems, and plumbing, nothing else.
4.The front door is broken and has to be kicked open, the landlord and manager said nothing is wrong with it. They saw how it had to be opened..this is one of the ways out in case of fire...our home is a stilt home.
5. The landlord showed up without notice with the manager and the whole time he was here, every other word was a swear word. There was no call for that.
6.The home came with a dishwasher that does not work due to the knob and soap dispenser being broke..he won't fix it.
7.It came with 3 so called working a/c's which never worked, and it took them 9 months to get new ones that we installed.
8.Now, they want to evict us. The manager gave us a 3 day notice, we have the rent to pay her, but she refused our check, says it has to be cash. She also stated if we did not pay by the 3rd day, she would issue a 5 day evict notice, and on the 12th day, the sheriff would be here to watch us take out all our things.
9.Can a landlord/manager put a person out in the street with no where to go with only a 7 day notice? We have been informed that it is a 30 day process.
10.It started out to be ok, but now we feel that they are going to make our stay here as miserable as possible so we will be forced to move.
11.The house was a mess upon move in...we had to clean the inside for free, we had to arrange for a junk car to be hauled off with a pile of junk left by other tenants, we were told it would be gone befor our move in date..3 weeks later it was done, we waited another month for a range..the one here went out 3 days after we moved in, the fridge motor went out the first day, and we lost $50 in food.
12. We pay $1,250.00 for this home plus utilities, it is not cheap. Due to financial problems right now, we are looking for a cheaper place..we need to downsize.
13. My biggest concern is the evict process, and our rights. The 3 day notice does not say that she has to have cash anywhere...does she have the right to refuse payment by check? Also, the 3 day notice says we are month to month renters and we are not.Our lease is a 2 year lease..nothing about month to month.

Thank You...Marykniff

 

[LL]

If you look on the US currency bills, you will find them marked "Legal tender for all debts, public and private".

It is the law that these bills can be used to pay any debt. Other forms of payment are used only by mutual consent of the parties.

What is your objection to paying cash, if the landlord requires it? Just be sure to get a receipt, and pay on time.

 

[djdj]

DO NOT EVER PAY IN CASH.......THEY WILL STEAL THE MONEY

You are dealing with Southern Rednecks who will slash your tires in a minute.

They will NOT give her a reciept......

Give them a money order instead from the US post office,

NO you cannot be evicted WITHOUT your day in court,and it will take at least 30 days.. This is still America and not some 3rd world dictatorship.

BUT You have a 2year lease, you have a copy with dates on it RIGHT?...Then she cannot evict you unless you dont pay the rent.....anything else is bogus

And if she refuses the rent, well you will have to ask the judge to ORDER her to honor the lease, or better yet maybe you can work out a deal in court, ask for an arbitrator and propose to end the lease in 30 days use your secrity for the last months rent AND that the landlord cannot sue you for anything.

[Edited by djdj on 02-07-2001 at 04:16 PM]

 

[LL]

The landlord doesn't have to accept a money order, even from the US Post Office.

In California, she would be guilty of Unlawful Detainer for not paying rent on-time. The judge would not order the landlord to accept it. The tenant would be evicted and have an unlawful detainer on her record.

I don't think this is good advice, dj.

Also, she can't use her security deposit for rent. The judge won't order that either.

 

[djdj]

Maybe we in New York are more civilized.......

The landlord must take the rent, in a check, unless you have bounced a rent check, and then you pay by money order.

If ANY landlord refused to take a MO, and demanded cash only, i would automatically figure he is not claiming the money to the IRS. and a judge would too.

Therefore no unlawful detainer.....

And here we have mediators who will have both sides sit down and if they can agree to a stipulation, it will be presented to a judge instaed of having a trail...it could include that the security be used as the last months rent, and all legal actions are forever barred.

See we are civilzed here....not like those gun totin, slumlords, gun racks in truck, redneck Yahoos....we all seem to get on this board!

[Edited by djdj on 02-08-2001 at 12:48 AM]

 

[LL]

How does it work in FL?

and What if you don't reach an agreement to stipulate?

 

[MaryKniff]

Lanlord/Tenant Issues

First I want to thank all of you who have responsed to my question. I don't really know the law in florida that well, but so far I am getting the impression that it's not so great.
We had a check for the whole amount of rent to give to the manager for the property yesterday...we called to tell her we had it, she then proceeded to tell us we had to have a money order..not a check or cash..no reason was given. By that time it was to late to cash the check, get a money order and give to her. So, she called at 7:20 P.M. last night while we were at church, she stated that since we were not able to get it to her, she would start legal proceddings this morning. She left no number to reach her after hours...so we called and left a message on her office machine, stating we would have it to her as soon as the bank opened here...9a.m., she called our home at 8:45 this morning and says "I have no money yet, what is the problem"? We told her the bank did not open till 9 a.m., and everyone who lives on this island knows that!!!!!!!!! We said we would be there as soon as they opened and we were able to cash the check and get her money order.
That is that!
Just because a person is late once with the rent, and that is only a few days late, the landlord/manager should not treat you with such disrespect. We normally have it paid, but one time when a person is down and out for a few days, someone wants to kick you futher down. That is not right.
We are planning to move here soon, and we no longer will have to deal with such unhappy people.

Again, thanks to all your input!!!!! Marykniff

 

[djdj]

First off what does your lease say?

Next time you will NEVER sign a lease that does not give you at least a 5 day grace period to pay the rent. and if there is a late fee after the 5 days that must be paid too.

Make sure you get a reciept from the agent...no reciept no money order...a judge will like that one too...scam scam scam

-----------------------
and i will keep YELLING AT AT EVERYONE......

THIS IS AMERICA....NOT A 3RD WORLD REDNECK DICTATORSHIP

YOU HAVE A RIGHT TO A FAIR HEARING IN A COURT OF LAW,

AND NO ONE CAN TAKE THAT RIGHT AWAY FROM YOU.........

UNLESS YOU DONT SHOW UP IN COURT ...... THEN THE LANDLORD WINS BY DEFAULT!


now to LL:

If the tenant and landlord cannot reach an agreement then it setdown on the calendar for a TRIAL, which depending on the case load could be immediately, or later in the day, or maybe up to 10 days later especally if its around the Holidays....and here in New York that includes JEWISH Holidays... and there are no judges available to hear the case.





[Edited by djdj on 02-08-2001 at 02:11 PM]

 

[MaryKniff]

We got a cashiers check from our bank and took that to the manager. She then told my husband that her office, which happens to be just her, only accepts cash or money order payments. Well, for the amount of rent we have to pay, we would have to get 3 or 4 money orders. That to me is insane when you can get ONE cashiers check which is the same as cash..well it is supposed to be anyhow..I am beginning to wonder what cash is anymore!

She did however take it this time, and said she would not accept anymore cashiers checks. She then proceded to show my husband the "legal papers" she had prepared if we did not pay, and he told her he did'nt even want to see them, why should he, he just paid her! Our lease states after the third day it is considered late, and we did pay the late fee. No where on the lease does it state HOW the rent is to be paid...cash, check, money order, cashiers check.

The problem with this is we had a previous manager (realtor) that we paid, the landlord in the past week fired that company, and hired this one, no new lease was written up. So, we assumed that payments would be accepted by her as they were with the other company...our mistake I guess.

Never did she say when she took over how payments were to be made. She does not want to hear any complaints, just pay the rent. Also, she stated that landlords are NOT responsible for installing fire detectors...any comment on that one. As far as I know, it is the law that all rentals are to have one before move in.

I guess florida is just what people say it is...a whole different world. They say one thing to get you in the home, promises and the like, then once your in...they don't know you anymore except when they want their money. How I wish we could afford to buy...but florida's so called "affordable living" is insane. A mobile home in the slums here goes for $90,000.00 and up!!!!!!!

Marykniff