Full question:
My question is that my landlord has given me a "7-Day notice to cure noncompliance or vacate premises" letter. The reason stated is for behaving in an obnoxious and threatening manner towards the management and staff. However, this is not the case. Both my husband and I have been trying to talk to the property manager for 5 months about several problems that we have. She avoids us and never once talked to us during those 5 months and we tried on NUMEROUS occasions to speak with her (we've both been in and out of the office trying to talk to her, and made SEVERAL phone calls trying to talk to her), and won't speak to us, the other staff lies and says she isn't in. One day I went in and said that I know what car she drives and I know when she is in the office and she will be hearing from me again when I have more time to talk. We then get this letter later that day stating I threatened her and to remedy the situation, or vacate the premises. Both my husband and I went in to remedy the situation, but she REFUSED to speak to us and said we are evicted and we must be out in 7 days. Is this legal? There is no way we can move out of our apartment in 7 days! especially since we didn't do anything wrong, all we were asking is for the property manager to do her job.
- Category: Landlord Tenant
- Date:
- State: Florida
Answer:
You should carefully review your lease agreement to understand your rights and obligations, as well as those of your landlord regarding eviction and termination. In Florida, the following statutes may be relevant:
Fla. Stat. § 83.44 imposes an obligation of good faith in the performance of rental agreements. Fla. Stat. § 83.51 requires landlords to maintain the premises in good repair and comply with applicable codes.
If the landlord materially fails to comply with their obligations, you may have grounds to terminate the rental agreement after providing written notice (Fla. Stat. § 83.56). If you believe the eviction is retaliatory, you can raise this as a defense (Fla. Stat. § 83.64).
For noncompliance, if the landlord gives a 7-day notice to cure, it must specify the issue and allow you to remedy it (Fla. Stat. § 83.56). If the landlord refuses to communicate or address your concerns, this may strengthen your position.
In summary, you may have legal grounds to contest the eviction, especially if you can demonstrate that the landlord is not fulfilling their responsibilities. Consider seeking legal advice for assistance in your situation.
This content is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice. Legal statutes mentioned reflect the law at the time the content was written and may no longer be current. Always verify the latest version of the law before relying on it.