Re: Mold, Security Deposit, and Last Months Rent

Re: Mold, Security Deposit, and Last Months Rent by NY-LL on July 9, 2012 @11:45

By all accounts, this seems to be an attempt to legalized an unauthorized early lease termination …

*The landlord stated that the tenants were making excuses to terminate the lease agreement.
*The landlord stated that the tenants denied access on multiple occasions to inspect the mold for remedies.
*The landlord stated that the remediation service advised that the minor mold condition was due to failure to ventilate the interior premises.

Therefore, the tenants created a non-hazardous mold condition (which was remedied by the landlord), but decided to terminate the lease agreement (while denying access to the premises) without advance written notice to the landlord. A non-hazardous mold condition would not make the premises uninhabitable, nor would it be grounds to terminate the lease agreement.

[ Reply ] [ Return to forum ]

Re: Mold, Security Deposit, and Last Months Rent by Anonymous on July 9, 2012 @15:39	[ Reply ]

Under Flordia law, yes it is, as the landlord is required by State Statue to remedy the repair within seven days after be notified (by tenants attorney). That's the law, no way around it, no matter how you look at it! If it's not done, then the tenant can withhold rent, or move out withour penalty.

Re: Mold, Security Deposit, and Last Months Rent by NY-LL on July 9, 2012 @16:10	[ Reply ]

Landlord: "... the tenants hired an attorney to send me a demand letter that I have 10 days to cure the mold situation, or they will move out, and file suit against me in the local district court. I then responded to the letter with my prescribed method of remedying this situation, and they actually let me in the property to begin the work. Then 3 days past, and the tenants moved out over a weekend without telling or notifying me beforehand. They moved out on a Saturday, and Sunday, and then notified me after the fact the following Tuesday. This was a total contradiction from the attorney's letter since I began the work and 10 days had not yet elapsed." Florida Bar Association Finally, the tenant has the right to move out. If there is a written lease, the tenant can move out when a written lease is up. If there is no written lease, the tenant may move out for no reason by giving written notice of his or her intent to leave no less than seven (7) days before the next rent payment is due if the rent is paid weekly or fifteen (15) days if the rent is paid monthly. The tenant may terminate the rental agreement if the landlord has failed to live up to one of his or her major obligations, provided the tenant has sent written notice to the landlord, seven (7) days before the rent is due (there are some exceptions to the right to move out). http://www.floridabar.org/tfb/TFBConsum.nsf/0a92a6dc28e76ae58525700a005d0d53/e21a25a8c288bed98525740800537588?OpenDocument

Re: Mold, Security Deposit, and Last Months Rent by Anonymous on July 9, 2012 @17:41	[ Reply ]

What you have found, has nothing to do with the requirement that the landlord must repair within seven days if the landlord recieves notice from the tenant or tenants attorney that if not repaired, the tenant will either; move out, with hold rent or repair and deduct. The tenant moved out under Florida law. The landlord should have reacted quicker to the request. The landlord had no 'mold addendum' with the tenant, big mistake! Every landlord in Florida knows about mold in rental property and what needs to be done to prevent it. What should happen is, the two attorneys should work this out. The way the landlord is proceeding will just be a more expensive lesson. There are thousands of mold litigating attorneys in Florida because landlords do not understand what their responsibility under the law is.

Re: Mold, Security Deposit, and Last Months Rent

Re: Mold, Security Deposit, and Last Months Rent - Landlord Forum thread 260193