How Do I Evict Tenants Who Signed a Lease Under Rental Fraud of a Vacant Home?

Full question:

Homeowner victim of trespass of home with no legal assistance from the Police Department when contacted 911. I own a house in Florida which I had been trying to rent for the past 8 months. The house has been vacant but I visit the house every month and my daughters check on the house at least once a week. I had my home advertised on a particular website but since I was not getting any good hits on the website, last month I contacted a real estate management company to rent and manage the property. I met with the agent at my house and was told by the real estate agent to leave the house keys in the house and to provide him a spare house key to put in the lock box. The real estate agent gave me the combination of the lock box since I was going out of state. I signed all the paperwork authorizing the real estate agency to rent and manage my home. 2 weeks later after submitted all documents required by the real estate company, I was called by the real estate agent and was notified that they could not represent me because my house was on foreclosure. I informed the real estate agent that if the house was on foreclosure, I would have been the first to know this and would have never contacted his company to rent the house. My daughters that live in Florida and check on the house once a week contacted me and notified me that there seemed to be things happening inside the house as if someone was going into the house. They found the A/C heater turned on which I had turn off, they found window blinds open and they even noticed that someone had painted the walls of the house. I took a trip back to visit the house with the intent to replace the locks on the doors and to ensure that the real estate agent had removed their lock box since they stated they could not represent me. To my surprise, when arrived at my home, found my garage door opened and an individual in the garage. I asked the individual what was he doing in my property and asked who had given him the right to be in my home without my consent. I was told that the house had been leased by someone I believe was impersonating me and my husband. The individual even showed me a lease with my name which I had never signed and stated that this person told them that they were currently living overseas in the UK and requested for them to send the lease payment via western union. I dialed 911 and contacted the Police Department and they dispatch a police vehicle to my property. I informed the Police Officer that someone was in my house claiming that they had a signed lease. I requested the Police Officer to have them vacate the property.The Police Officer informed me that he could not charge the people with trespassing nor force them to vacate the property immediately. The Officer stated that I had to evict them and that they had 30 days to vacate my house. I asked the Officer why would I have to go through the eviction process since that lease was never signed by me and that the individuals have trespassed. I also inform the officer that every time I travel back to Florida this is where I come home to stay and asked them why as the homeowner would I have to seek accommodations in a hotel or elsewhere when there are unauthorized people in my property not paying any rent to me?? I also informed the officer that some of my personal property was still in the house and that my house keys and mail box keys were still in there. This is my primary home. I believe that my rights as a property owner have been violated when the law would be on the side of the person breaking and entering and trespassing. I asked the individuals in the house how they were able to enter my home and they stated that the people who rented the home told them that there were keys in the house and that they had left a window open for them to go into the house that way. I need some legal advise as to what to do and who can I sue for the stress, pain and suffering, and financial debt I am currently experiencing as a property owner while the individuals that broke the law are currently living in my home are living there not paying me a cent. To top it off the Officer explained that I would have to have my mail forwarded as they also have my mailbox keys. That to get a copy of the police report I would have to pay a fee and also pay a fee for the eviction notice. My immediate concerns are: who will compensate me on the cost of eviction, cost of police report, cost of having to restore my home back to rental condition, cost of my having to seek hotel accommodation, not receiving any rent payment while trespassers are living in the house? Cost of me having to travel back and forth to ensure that my property is protected?

• Category: Real Property
• Subcategory: Foreclosure
• Date: 04/07/2025
• State: Florida

Answer:

You may need to seek a court order to have the property vacated immediately. The court may decide under a bona fide purchaser theory that the tenants can have the benefit of the lease if signed without knowledge of the fraud, but require the tenants to pay you for the use of the property, or require you to give them statutory notice as a landlord.

Rental fraud involves a con artist renting property which they don’t own, such as an abandoned or vacant property, and disappearing after collecting rent and security deposits.The person who leased the property will need to be identified to seek recourse for fraud, identity theft, trespassing, burglary, etc. There may be criminal and civil claims for damages available. We suggest you contact a local attorney who can review all the facts and documents involved.

In Florida, first notice must be given to the tenant. The form of the notice depends on the type of tenancy that exists and the reason for the lease termination. For instance, with a residential lease where the rent is not being paid, Landlord may demand payment of overdue rent from a residential tenant within 3 days from giving the Notice.

Please see the links below for more information on the laws of Florida with regard to lease termination and for forms related to evicting a tenant.

Please see also:

http://www.blog.landlordlifeline.com/2009/06/16/beware-of-rental-fraud-on-vacant-properties/
http://www.news10.net/news/story.aspx?storyid=54630&catid=2