Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in Florida

Hello I live in South Florida, I currently live with a roommate under a verbal agreement. Back in November of 2020 we verbally discussed ending the roommate situation and for me to become the sole occupant of the house.

I've recently discovered roommate is possibly doing hard drugs due to slip up on their part and is currently on parole for a charge unrelated to drugs at all. If I report Roommate to their Parole officer and they happen to fail a random drug test they will most likely be hauled off to jail.

My questions are as follows, If Roommate get arrested legally how long would i have to hold onto their property before it's considered abandoned.

If I don't report them and they leave at the end of the month but don't take any of their property same question, how long would i have to hold onto their property before it's considered abandoned.


Asked on 2/10/21, 6:56 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Barry Stein De Cardenas, Freixas, Stein & Zachary

You need to speak to an attorney and not just hope for an answer on this site. The oral agreement is voidable or can be ended by either party at any time. What you dont mention is how is that your roommate has a right to rental the premises. Under what authority does the roommate have a right to the tenancy? this matters since the owner of the premises would control the removal of any tenant who abandons, not you. I am not going to address the what if or stuff posed as it is not really relevant to your entitlement to the premises. You need to figure out who owns the house and what rights the roommate was given , if any, by that person. the property left behind is not anything that you can deal with. The owner of the property is the one who would have to deal with it.

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Answered on 2/10/21, 7:24 am


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