Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in Florida

I have rented a private home for the past two years. We moved out on July 31, 2010. We had a terrible walk through with the owner(she's very emotionally attached to her home and neighbors). We had a $1100 deposit. We truly left the house in better shape than we received it. She has no memory of that, she was out of town and her realtor and our realtor were there for the original signing of the lease. She said her realtor was going to be there for the walk thru(her ealtor had an open house) and never showed up. We have received a certified letter from the owner stating that she is keeping our deposit and she has a laundry list of issues totaling $1650. We are to respond in 14 days according to her letter. What is our recourse, the home is located in Valrico, Florida. We now live in Jacksonville,Florida.


Asked on 9/02/10, 5:11 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
William Gwaltney William W. Gwaltney, Attorneys at Law

You have the right to dispute the amount she is assessing, but you must do so in writing and immediately. If you are unable to reach a satisfactory outcome then you may have to go to court to find resolution, and you will have to go to Hillsborough County.

You should also take a close look at your lease and see what exactly it says you are responsible for. You should review the walk-through sheet that you did when you moved in to see if she is charging you for anything that was already in disrepair when you moved in.

If you end up in court, you will likely have to attempt a mediation before the judge will hear the case. If the judge hears the case and you lose you will have to pay her court costs and maybe even an attorney fee if she hires an attorney.

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Answered on 9/08/10, 9:08 am


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