Can one break lease under mental distress from the landlord, without losing deposit money?

Full question:

Can one break lease under mental distress from the landlord, without losing deposit money? When I came here it was with the understanding that when my dying mother came to visit from abroad that my sons dog could come to visit and give mental rest for a sick woman. Now, if the dog comes here, with a leash, and does not use her property for natures calls she comes flying out of her house screaming about calling police, etc... This is all in the night and afterwards we are all stressed and flustered and the landlady is just screaming. Most likely, I will have to relocate to Finland to take care of my mother and I would like to know if that is possible without losing deposit or rent.

• Category: Landlord Tenant
• Subcategory: Lease Termination
• Date: 04/07/2025
• State: Florida

Answer:

A tenant has an implied right to the peaceful and quiet enjoyment of the premises. It would be a matter of subjective determination for the court to determine whether the landlord's actions are disturbing enough to be considered to be depriving the tenant of the intended use of the premises or constitutes harassment that undermines the security of the tenant and constitutes a breach of the lease. If written lease terms prohibit pets, it may be a matter of one person's word against the other's that the pet restriction was orally waived.

The terms of the lease should be read carefully to determine if there are provisions allowing for early termination. If a tenant wishes to terminate a lease before the lease expires and it's not due to any fault on the landlord's part, the tenant may be held liable for the full term of the lease and the security deposit may be used for rent due. However, the landlord has a duty to mitigate, or minimize, damages by making a resonable attempt to relet the premised to another tenant, such as by advertising the property and showing it to prospective tenants. It is possible in some cases for a tenant to negotiate to terminate a lease early, usually by offering some form of compensation to the landlord.

The following are Florida statutes:

83.01 Unwritten lease tenancy at will; duration.--

Any lease of lands and tenements, or either, made shall be deemed and held to be a tenancy at will unless it shall be in writing signed by the lessor. Such tenancy shall be from year to year, or quarter to quarter, or month to month, or week to week, to be determined by the periods at which the rent is payable. If the rent is payable weekly, then the tenancy shall be from week to week; if payable monthly, then from month to month; if payable quarterly, then from quarter to quarter; if payable yearly, then from year to year.

83.57 Termination of tenancy without specific term.--

A tenancy without a specific duration, as defined in s. 83.46(2) or (3), may be terminated by either party giving written notice in the manner provided in s. 83.56(4), as follows:

(1) When the tenancy is from year to year, by giving not less than 60 days' notice prior to the end of any annual period;

(2) When the tenancy is from quarter to quarter, by giving not less than 30 days' notice prior to the end of any quarterly period;

(3) When the tenancy is from month to month, by giving not less than 15 days' notice prior to the end of any monthly period; and

(4) When the tenancy is from week to week, by giving not less than 7 days' notice prior to the end of any weekly period.