Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in Florida

I own a unit in a coop building in Hallandale, Florida since 2013.

Ever since the purchase, i've had multiple serious water leaks into my unit from the unit above.

The coop Board of directors have always been aware of the unit above's negligence in maintaining his unit but have never done anything about it, even though the Coop Rules state the Board have the authority to force an owner into maintaining his unit-fixing his plumbing etc..

Last year in February, a major leak in the kitchen occurred and my insurance company covered it ($9,000.00 damage). I had to pay an out of pocked deductible of $1,000.00.

Some members of the Board entered the unit above to try to see the reason of the leak and witnessed the extreme conditions the unit was in (garbage and debris all over the floor, cockroaches, flying bugs, smell of drugs, mold everywhere, dozens of open beer bottles everywhere, etc.

In addition, the unit above is in violation of many more Rules including giving a key of their unit to the Board in case of an emergency, yet, the Board has still never warned them about anything, let alone enforce the Rules.

3 months ago, i had yet another leak from the unit above this time in the main bathroom and hallway. The occupant of the unit above (the daughter of the owner) and her boyfriend were at their unit, but fled as soon as i tried warning them about the leak.

I called 911 and the fire department and police came. They broke down the door of he unit above and witnessed the 'unfit conditions for human habitation' as quoted in the police report.

Since then, the unit above is now for sale.

I had an estimate done of my damages and it comes to around $3,000.00 but could increase if once part of the walls and ceiling are broken open, additional mold and or humidity is found.

I am trying to avoid calling my insurance for the second time in less than a year for the exact same problem as i fear they will not want to insure me any more, or might heavily increase my premiums.

I sent a letter to my Board of directors saying they should be responsible for my damage since they have never enforced the Rules and by not doing so, allow the unit above to continue to be grossly negligent.

They responded by saying they are not responsible, even though they have paid for damages in my unit in the past years for the previous leaks (except the one in the kitchen from last year).

My question:

How to be made whole without having to call my insurance company, if possible?

If I cannot get around calling my insurance company, how can i recover my other out of pocket expenses, such as deductibles (the one from last year and the current one), plane ticket fees to come supervise the repairs (I am from Canada, I do not live in Florida), my lost wages, the stress of having to dear with all of this every 2-3-6 months, etc. ? (small claims court ??)

Thank you

Steven Campese

Montreal, Canada

514 952 9398

1 Answer from Attorneys

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