Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in Florida

I found a house to rent in need of lots of cleaning and minor repairs. I came to a verbal agreement with the land lord to clean and fix the place for a 400.00 dollar security deposit. I went in and took pictures of everything. I gave her 400.00 for firsts month rent, and had planned to give her 400.00 for last months rent on august 1st so I could move in. I haven't signed a lease. While I was cleaning I had an electrician come in to change ceiling fans and look around, the electrician says the wiring in the house is bad and could cause a fire. And while I asked the land lady about water spots in the roof she told me it was fixed and dried in, but since I've been doing this work it has been leaking. There is black mold in one of the ceilings. I have told her about it all but She doesn't seem to want to fix anything I have mentioned to her. She thinks I should repair it all but our agreement was minor repairs not roofing and electrical. I am not sure how to proceed with her. I called her and told her about the electrical problems and she doesn't want to fix them, she said she would only give me my 400 dollars back but all the time and money for cleaning and repairs I wasn't getting anything for. If I will get my 400.00 firsts month rent back plus all the supplies and work I have put in to the house.I am a single mom and Can't afford this kind of thing. I need help understanding what to do.


Asked on 7/18/10, 11:10 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Lesly Longa Longa Law P.A.

There is information on Florida landlord tenant law available at: http://www.800helpfla.com/landlord_text.html. There's information on that site about how to give notice to vacate if you are month to month with no lease. The landlord does have a duty to make repairs, but the problem here is that you agreed to make some repairs. The problem with an oral agreement is that it is difficult to prove what the agreement was. It's your word against hers. If you had something in writing, it would be proof for either party and will remind the parties what they actually agreed to do. I hope the info on that site is helpful. Regards,

Read more
Answered on 7/20/10, 12:16 pm


Related Questions & Answers

More Landlord & Tenants questions and answers in Florida