• About
  • Complaints
  • Contact us
  • Forms
  • Disclaimer
  • Copyright

Florida Landlord-Tenant Law

~ a digest of Florida Landlord Tenant Court Decisions

Florida Landlord-Tenant Law

Monthly Archives: July 2015

No penalty for failure to escrow security deposit

23 Thursday Jul 2015

Posted by apjlaw in Landlord - Tenant, Security Deposit

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

83.49, co-mingle, escrow, florida, LANDLORD, security deposit, TENANT

get-out-of-jail-freeA Sarasota County Court has ruled that although it is a violation of Florida Statutes 83.49(1)  for landlord to co-mingle the security deposit with operating funds,  the statute provides no penalty for such violation.   Tenant’s claim  that  landlord’s failure  to put the security deposit  in escrow should result in  forfeiture of landlord’s right to make a claim on said deposit and for attorneys fees and costs was denied.

OBENDORF, v. RASMUSSEN. County Court for Sarasota County. Case No. 14 CC 4623 SC. July 1, 2015.

Advertisements

Rate this:

Florida extends protection to tenants under foreclosure

16 Thursday Jul 2015

Posted by apjlaw in Uncategorized

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

83.561, florida, foreclosure, notice to vacate, TENANT, tenants under foreclosure, writ of possession

Effective July 1, 2015,  purchasers though foreclosure sale are required to give “tenants”  in possession a 30 day notice to vacate before issuance of a writ of possession.   Although the statute provides that the “tenant”  is obligated to pay rent,  it states that a landlord-tenant relationship has not been created except to the extent that the “landlord”  may not exercise self-help to remove the “tenant.”

Click here for the 30 day notice to vacate.

Here is the full text of the new statute.

83.561 Termination of rental agreement upon foreclosure.—

(1) If a tenant is occupying residential premises that are the subject of a foreclosure sale, upon issuance of a certificate of title following the sale, the purchaser named in the certificate of title takes title to the residential premises subject to the rights of the tenant under this section.

(a) The tenant may remain in possession of the premises for 30 days following the date of the purchaser’s delivery of a written 30-day notice of termination.

(b) The tenant is entitled to the protections of s. 83.67.

(c) The 30-day notice of termination must be in substantially the following form:

NOTICE TO TENANT OF TERMINATION

You are hereby notified that your rental agreement is terminated on the date of delivery of this notice, that your occupancy is terminated 30 days following the date of the delivery of this notice, and that I demand possession of the premises on   (date)  . If you do not vacate the premises by that date, I will ask the court for an order allowing me to remove you and your belongings from the premises. You are obligated to pay rent during the 30-day period for any amount that might accrue during that period. Your rent must be delivered to   (landlord’s name and address) .

(d) The 30-day notice of termination shall be delivered in the same manner as provided in s. 83.56(4).

(2) The purchaser at the foreclosure sale may apply to the court for a writ of possession based upon a sworn affidavit that the 30-day notice of termination was delivered to the tenant and the tenant has failed to vacate the premises at the conclusion of the 30-day period. If the court awards a writ of possession, the writ must be served on the tenant. The writ of possession shall be governed by s. 83.62.

(3) This section does not apply if:

(a) The tenant is the mortgagor in the subject foreclosure or is the child, spouse, or parent of the mortgagor in the subject foreclosure.

(b) The tenant’s rental agreement is not the result of an arm’s length transaction.

(c) The tenant’s rental agreement allows the tenant to pay rent that is substantially less than the fair market rent for the premises, unless the rent is reduced or subsidized due to a federal, state, or local subsidy.

(4) A purchaser at a foreclosure sale of a residential premises occupied by a tenant does not assume the obligations of a landlord, except as provided in paragraph (1)(b), unless or until the purchaser assumes an existing rental agreement with the tenant that has not ended or enters into a new rental agreement with the tenant.

History.—s. 1, ch. 2015-96.

Rate this:

PURCHASING AN OCCUPIED PROPERTY

14 Tuesday Jul 2015

Posted by apjlaw in Landlord - Tenant, Legal requirements, Notice Requirements, Real Estate, Security Deposit

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

contract, eviction, foreclosure, occupant, purchase, reo, TENANT, unknown, writ of possession

PURCHASING AN OCCUPIED PROPERTYstranger

When you buy a property it is subject to the existing lease.    The new owner steps into his shoes and assumes the  landlord’s obligations under the lease.    If the tenant had made deposits (i.e.  last month rent and security deposit )  the new landlord is liable to the tenant for those deposits.  The buyer does not have the right to terminate the tenancy or change any of its terms. Telling the tenant he has to move out because the house has been sold  could be deemed  unlawful eviction and punished by a fine of 3 month’s rent.

A buyer must require the seller to provide an estoppel   letter signed by the tenant verifying the amount of the rent and security deposit and the lease terms.   The seller should provide the tenant’s social security number and  date of birth so you can obtain a non-military status affidavit on-line in the event you have to evict the tenant.  If you do not have this information,  you must have a factual basis for swearing out an affidavit that the tenant is not active duty military in order to obtain a default judgment.

The buyer should receive prorated the rent and credit for the deposits  from the seller on the closing statement.

The seller must  disclose in the  sales contract the property is subject to an existing lease,  or the buyer could sue for failure to deliver possession at closing.

FORECLOSURE

How does the filing of a foreclosure against the rental property affect the tenancy?  Legally the foreclosure does not affect the tenancy until the foreclosure auction has taken place.    Foreclosure auctions can be cancelled at the last minute,  so the parties should check the court docket online to verify the case status.   Until then,  the lease is fully enforceable.   If the tenant does not pay the rent,  they can be evicted.  A foreclosure in progress is not a defense to the non-payment of rent.

Post foreclosure:   Any lease that is junior to the mortgage is subject to being foreclosed.  The tenant should be named as a party defendant and served.   Check the docket of the foreclosure case.   If the lease was entered  into after the lis pendens of foreclosure was filed it is subject to the foreclosure. A  buyer  may obtain a writ of possession  directly on application to the Clerk of Court,  or by  filing a motion for a writ of possession  depending on the language in the judgment of foreclosure.  You can obtain a copy of the judgment of foreclosure from the Clerk of Court’s website.

The  Federal Law (Protecting Tenants Under Foreclosure Act)  requiring a  90 day notice to move  expired December 31, 2014.

The buyer may solicit the tenant to sign a new lease,  or to stay as a month to month tenant until the buyer can re-sell the property.   If you accept a rental payment from the occupant you have created a new month to month tenancy.  Month to month tenancies may be terminated by providing  a notice of non-renewal at least 15 days before the next monthly lease term.  Once you have created a new tenancy,  you must file an eviction to obtain possession rather than get a writ from the foreclosure judge.

REO PROPERTIES

Be careful on REO purchases as the bank puts a waiver in the sales contract that they do not guarantee possession at closing.   In fact,  the bank may claim to  have no knowledge as to who is living in the property,  or if they are the former owner, a former tenant,  or a trespasser.   Unless a new tenancy was created post foreclosure,  you may obtain possession by applying to the foreclosure court for a writ of possession.

Be absolutely sure that the seller obtained a condominium estoppel letter. The banks are very sloppy about paying delinquent condo dues and their title companies equally sloppy about obtaining estoppel letters.  If you close without a condominium estoppel letter,  you may end up liable for the delinquent condominium dues.

LANDLORD’S FAILURE TO PAY ASSOCIATION DUES.

In condominiums,  if the landlord is not paying the association dues,  the association may seize the rent by sending a written demand to the tenant.  If tenant has already paid the rent,  the  tenant  must provide evidence of such to the association within 14 days.   The payment of the rent to the association is a defense to  any claim from the landlord for non-payment of the rent.   The association is entitled to evict  the tenant for non-payment of rent   (although  one would wonder how that would benefit the association, other than generating a legal fee for their attorney ).    The association has no obligation to perform repairs.

In some cases, the non-payment of dues has become so rampant that the condominium put the delinquent units into court receivership.  In this instance the receiver has the power to enter into new leases, collect rents, and incur significant expenses against the unit.    Be sure the seller has an estoppel letter from the receiver and has paid these charges.   You may be stuck with the new tenancy,  so be sure there is no receiver before you close.

 

Rate this:

The race to the court house

08 Wednesday Jul 2015

Posted by apjlaw in Landlord - Tenant

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

florida, jurisdiction, LANDLORD, TENANT, voluntary dismissal

Zack Bacon riding Grand Cherokee, Sam Padilla riding Sauxsoe, Don Proctor riding Suntana and Marcus Chet Delorme riding Mucho Mite try to catch Don Herber riding Dudon as they make their way around the final turn Sunday at Pari-Mutual Horse Races at the Brown County Fairgrounds in Aberdeen. Herber and Dudon won the race. Photo by Dawn Dietrich-Sahli taken 5/17/09.

In a race to the court house,  a landlord narrowly avoided a ruling in favor of the tenant by filing a voluntary dismissal two hours before the court entered  the judgment.  On the landlord’s appeal of the judgment for the tenant,  the circuit court wrote once the landlord filed a voluntary dismissal,  “the trial court was without jurisdiction to enter a final judgment on the merits.” See Pino v. Bank of New York, 121 So. 3d 23, 32 (Fla. 2013) [38 Fla. L. Weekly S78a]; Colucci v. Greenfield, 547 So. 2d 224, 225 (Fla. 3d DCA 1989).  [Editors note:  in this case,  the tenants were pro se,  if they had had an attorney,  the landlord would still be considered the “losing party”  by filing a voluntary dismissal,  and liable for the tenant’s attorney’s fees].

WILEY Appellants, v. JUPITER HOUSE LLC, Appellee. Circuit Court, 15th Judicial Circuit (Appellate) in and for Palm Beach County, Civil Division. Case No. 502013AP000061XXXXMB, Division AY. L.T. Case No. 502013CC008256XXXXMB. February 23, 2015. Appeal from the County Court in and for Palm Beach County, Judge Sandra Bosso-Pardo . 22 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 1008a

Rate this:

The 10 Most Affordable Rental Markets in The USA

06 Monday Jul 2015

Posted by apjlaw in Landlord - Tenant

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Affordable, Buffalo, Cincinnati, Columbus, housing, Lexington, Omaha, rental, Spokane, Springfield, Toledo, Wichita

As the economy contracted earlier this month, we’re reminded that the effects of the Great Recession are still being felt. Home ownership is down, incomes are down, and more and more people are renting. We decided to help out our fellow Americans by putting together a list of the most affordable places to rent, nationwide.

Using HUD Fair Market Rents, Gross Family Income, Data from the American Housing Survey and the National Low Income Housing Coalition, we look at where rents will take the least chunk out of your salary. Our listing methodology is based on the % of Gross Income a 1 Bedroom apartment will take out of your total salary. The lower, the better. We defined a Metro as an area with at least 100,000 households and 33% of the population renting.

Surprisingly,  some  of the metros that met our criteria were on either coast of the USA.  Also surprising is the average median income for the area, and the purchasing power those dollars provided. It makes sense to live in cheaper areas in more ways then one. Ohio is by the most affordable state, with nearly all of its metro areas making our list.

Click here for the results

Rate this:

About this Blog

This blog contains articles about Florida landlord-tenant law written by a practicing Florida lawyer.

There are free landlord-tenant forms on the Forms Tab above, and even more free forms on my website FloridaREI.com (click on the link below).

You can search the articles by terms in the search tab above, or click on the categories below to browse.

Comments and feedback are welcome and I will try to answer your questions (within reason).

Click "subscribe" below to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Click on the Monkey below to subscribe to our real estate investors newsletter

The Florida Bar urges you to read the disclaimer above.

Click here for more forms

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Subscribe to our newsletter

Categories

  • Foreclosure
  • Landlord – Tenant
    • 15 Day Notice / Termination of Tenancy
    • 3 Day Notice / Non-payment of rent
    • 7 Day Notice / Lease violations
    • Commercial
    • Damages
    • Foreclosure
    • Lease Terms
    • Legal requirements
    • Notice Requirements
    • Repair issues
    • Requirement to post rent into court registry
    • Security Deposit
  • Real Estate
  • Scams
  • Tax Deeds
  • Uncategorized

Pages

  • About
  • Contact us
  • Forms
  • Disclaimer
  • Complaints
  • Copyright

Archives

  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • July 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • January 2017
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012
  • December 2011
  • November 2011
  • October 2011
  • September 2011
  • August 2011
Advertisements

Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com.

Cancel
Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy