Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in Florida

Re: holding of personal belongings

Hello: I just read your question. Since there are facts I do not know, I can't give a formal legal opinion. As an overview, if she agreed to pay rent, this could still be interpreted as a landlord/tenant relationship. As such, she may be liable for pro-rated rent for the time she was there.

She may argue their relationship was not a legal landlord/tenantr relationship, but rather a friend helping a friend for a period of time. However, this is a weak argument and should only be raised if it is true (i.e., that she never agreed to pay rent).

As far as getting her peresonal belongings back, the other girl has no right to keep them...even if this is a landlord/tenant relationship. Your daughter can file a civil suit against the other girl. This is not a criminal case. If she sues her under a section fo Fla.'s Statutes on landlord/tenant (chapter 83...which you can review on-line), and she wins, she can recover the court filing fees and her atty. fees (if she uses an atty., which I would recommend) and court costs from the other girl. Sometimes, a letter from an atty. demanding the other side comply and advising of suing that party gets them to comply with you. The other side may give in after being served with the lawsuit.

'Hope this helps. Tom Rosenblum