Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Florida

My husband and I moved into a rental house here in Florida being managed by Coldwell Banker. When we first moved in we noted a crack in the ceiling of the living room on the walk through sheet that was signed by our property manager. About 3 weeks later that crack turned into a hole and now leaks every time it rains. We notified the property manager about it immediately by phone and when that was not returned, by email the next day. One week later we received a response from him saying he told the owner about it and would be sending out a roofer to provide the owner with an estimate soon. About 5 weeks later the repair had still not been made so we called the manager of the Coldwell Banker office. Once we did that, a roofer was out to give an estimate a few days later. It has been one week since the estimate was given & no repairs have been made. I contacted the property manager again today and he says he sent the owner the estimate but has not heard anything from him yet. It's been 6 weeks now since we first reported the problem and we want to take some action, what can we do?


Asked on 5/11/10, 11:11 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Alterraon Phillips APLaw, LLC

You have the option to put the owner and property manager on notice that if the issue is not resolved by _____ (select a date) you will have the roof and ceiling repaired and deduct it from the next rent payment. Give them at least 7 days to respond. If they do not respond to the first notice, send a second stating the same thing and give them a date to which you will have the repairs done. Then you may proceed with having the roof and ceiling repaired and deduct from the rent payment unless your lease agreement states otherwise.

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Answered on 5/16/10, 2:12 pm


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