Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in Florida

I AM DESPERATE! I have lived in my apartment for 1yr 11 months. I am up for renewal, this is the BIG problem! (section 42, hard to get into apts. on) New tenants moved in the first week of this month (August) 2009 and I will be needing to sign a new lease by or before October 1, 2009. SINCE THESE TENANTS MOVED IN IT HAS BEEN NON STOP DRUG SMOKING OF WHICH IS COMING THRUOUGH THE WALLS, THROUGH THE AC FRESH AIR AND CLOSED OFF FRESH AIR VENTS AND INTO MY APT. VIA THE AC!!

I made an inqury at the office as to what could be done and the Asst. Manager, Lisa said she would get w/the manager and it would for sure be looked into .Also Children and Family Services were called out, of which the MANAGRER in the complex literally called me up and accused me of calling them as well as the fact I went to the above tenants ONE time right after they moved in and asked them if they would PLEASE stop moking or doing whatever it is as it is making me cough, nauseated, wake up not being able to breathe during the night, engulfing my apt. w/the smell and smoke not to mention ruining my clothes, AND I DO KNOW what crack and other smoking of dope smells like. The female tenant I spoke with above me stated she was gone for six days and the only thing they smoke are cigarretts.( Funny thing is, THAT IS THE ONLY ODOR I DO NOT SMELL!)

The manager refuses to do anything about it, verbatum her words to me "I will let you out of your lease because I am not going to do anything about the problem as I walked through their apt. and found NOTHING" (she (above tenant) left w/the little boy for a week after CFS came out and put papers in their door and would not answer when the CFS person knocked (even though I heard him, male tenant or someone walking around the entire day and week she was gone, so h, CFS worker,e came down to MY door to ask if I knew if they were home or not) I do not personally know of anyone who leaves their crack around their house, epecially after CFS has been called out on them as they have a precious little around 4 year old son.

Not certain if this couple is married but since I've lived here, the two apts. above me have ALWAYS been occupied and NEVER have I smelled THIS DRUG smoke, or any other odor, smell for that matter before, w/the exception of the Indian lady who cooks a certain dish about once a month who lives beside me and I can smell the currry. I cannot even smell her daughters cigarettes in my apt.

The manager wants to blame it (this drug/crack smell) on someone else around us but everyone has have lived here longer than my above tenants. NONE OF THIS STARTED UNTIL THE SECOND NIGHT THESE NEW TENANTS MOVED IN AND ON THE VERY DAY THEY MOVED IN THE YOUNG MAN (white, of which I too am) could say to me when I introduced myself to him was that if they got somewhat loud that night or soon after it was because they were going to have a PARTY and for me to PLEASE LEASE PLEASE (verbatum again) DO NOT CALL THE COPS! Now, I have not ever heard a stereo that was loud enough to call anyone or maybe they do not even have one so WHY would I consider calling the police if it were not for some OTHER reason??? Also, his friend, a white male also backed him up on the "please please please do not call the cops" on us and they both looked at me and acted quite strange after they made this comment. I never gave it a thought until I started smelling all this drug smoke.

This smell has NOT stopped but for maybe, and that is a BIG MAYBE, for only one afternoon, but it was most definitely after a BIG NIGHT of partying, of which I've kept logs of these dates. They had a good reason this particular night because a notice was sent around the prior weekend that we were going to have our Annual Inspection within the next three days beginning on Monday and going thru Wed. Well, I'll give you ONE guess when they fired it up and it was sooooo bad I literally could NOT breath that night, it awakened me as I had literally stopped breathing, and had to leave the next day after having to get up at 3:30am to open all my windows, which is TOTALLY NOT SAFE as it is pitch black behind our bldg. because management will not put a new flood light back in. It burned out, this is not to say I haven't asked them too, and other tenants have as well. We live in the very darkest corner of this entire complex when NO light is on, which has been for about a year now.

Now, I have called JSO and they said they had to have a good cause to get a search warrant and that management would have to know it was ME who called them. I said I did NOT care that management knew about me and they said OK. Well, the next thing I know I'm literally getting BLOWN OUT OF THE WATER by the Manager Whitney Pringle who stated to me that even if the people above me where to "dangle a bag of pot" (verbatun) "from their windows at JSO that JSO could NOT GO into their apartment at that time and she would rather have ME move out and let me out of the last month of my lease than to lose these tenants above me." Also, she is consistently telling me she can rent my apartment ASAP so I need to just back off of this issue! She stated she was and did not want to hear any more regarding it, in other words, no more complaints as she put it, from me. She has on more than one ocassion made the statement that since I was Section 42 she could get more money for MY apartment, in other words, the way I have taken this comment, is "don't make any waves for me or I will "find" a way to get rid of you and rent your apartment for full price."!!! Kind of felt threatened the first time she said it but now I DO FEEL THREATENED! My apartment is immaculate, never missed rent, never late and I could go on with just how reclusive I am and how very few people even see me and there is a good reason for it. I just leave everyone alone as I have my own life. Except when other tenants lives started affecting my health, etc!

I am disabled, legally blind with a myriad of health problems and I waited two years to get into this apartment and it is VERY upsetting that I do not have the finances to move again as I had to borrow the first go around and Im still paying a family member that money back. Before I sign a new lease and have to move as I am having to go around to family members homes at night just to get sleep because that is how MUCH they are smoking it upstairs, or, allowing others to smoke it, I wanted to see what options I might have LEGALLY. I cannot imagine anyone having THAT much money for drugs unless there is more going on, i.e., it being sold and should that be the case then the tenants can get ALL THEY WANT if they are allowing someone to sell it out of their apartment (it's called a "trap" when someone just sits up in your apartment all day long and people come and go purchasing it and smoking it). I learned much about this as I worked in a rehab facility when I was able to work and I do have a couple family members who used to do this until one of them died.

I know this is an extremely long email and I hope you can get the jest of my problem. As I am typing this I can smell it to the point I again will have to take something for nausea and a headache, I get migraines and this is NOT GOOD, so the sooner I might be able to hear back from anyone in your office the better it will be for me or I am going to more than likely be on the streets, literally! Family members I have are not able to take me in as I live on a very small SSDI check and it was a long wait getting into this apartment with lots of prayers! I am 52 years of age, female, and worked for most of those years leading up to my disability, sight loss. I lost the majority of my sight (Doctors at Mayo say I have LESS THAN ONE PERCENT TOTAL vision). Also, my only child, my son of 30 years, passed away last June 16, 2008 of heart disease and he was saying all the time how he was going to be here to take care of me and he helped me as much as he could but he only made it for the first 5 months after I moved in and then I found him passed away in his sleep on day in his bed when I went to awaken him. My point, I have struggled greatly to make it on my SSDI check since and thought it made a difference that I have NEVER been late ONE TIME, NEVER gave the complex any problems, etc., and thought and believe I AT LEAST DESERVE A CHANCE of this situation of drug smoking going on upstairs being investigated more rather than just "looking at what their (really just her) application states, that being because "she (the new tenanat, no mention of where HE ) works for an attorney" per Whitney the Manager, however, that does not mean, and mean it does NOT MEAN, she is totally not doing something illegal!!!

It is beginning to feel as though just because I am the ONE on SSDI and SHE is the one WORKING that possibly I am 100% being totally discriminated against!!! The strange thing is neither one of them work during the day as their cars are their almost 90% of the time and her car really looks more like a person who "cannot afford" a car and I would think she could afford one that does not have several different car parts attached to it and a variety of colors and most of all, at least not a model in the 1990's. Her car is old, his is a somewhat late model as in quite late model Camry but there are many many many cars out in the parking lot at night/early morning (I go and look at ALL hours since the smell of crack keeps me up) that DID NOT EVER used to be there and like I said, only one other small two bedroom family has moved in and more have moved out of our bldg. IT DOES NOT TAKE A ROCKET SCIENTIST TO LOOK AT THE SITUATION, SMELL IT, INVESTIGATE IT AS I HAVE OFFERED WHITENEY TO SIT IN MY APARTMENT JUST ONE TIME OF WHICH SHE TURNED DOWN BECAUSE SHE IS NOT INTERESTED. HER WORDS.

PLEASE HELP ME OUT IF YOU CAN WITH MY OPTIONS BEFORE I GO LOOKING NEXT WEEK FOR A NEW APT. IN THE HOPES THEY WILL WORK WITH ME ON A DEPOSIT, RENT, ETC., AS I DO NOT WANT TO SIGN A NEW LEASE FOR ANOTHER YEAR AGAINAND TRULY I'M IN QUITE A FINANCIAL BIND.

ANY ASSISTANCE YOU MIGHT GIVE WILL BE MOST APPRECIATED!

Most Sincerely,

Theresa Wood

Pine Meadows Apartments

(904)996-1600

PS PLs overlook any typos, grammatical errors as I can type about 75wpm but my proofing is no where as proficient in that realm; thanking you in advance for all you might be able to do for me and for overlooking any errors :)

1 Answer from Attorneys

Related Questions & Answers

More Landlord & Tenants questions and answers in Florida

Looking for something else?