Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Florida

Hi. Under Florida law, you cannot hold back the payment of rent. Your rights fall under 83.51 and 83.56(1) of Florida Statutes, as follows:

If the landlord materially fails to comply with s. 83.51(1) or material provisions of the rental agreement within 7 days after delivery of written notice by the tenant specifying the noncompliance and indicating the intention of the tenant to terminate the rental agreement by reason thereof, the tenant may terminate the rental agreement.

My advice to you: you should pay your rent, read 83.51(1) and send landlord a 7 day notice pursuant to the terms of the statute.

My first question is what does the lease agreement state? The landlord does have a duty to maintain a 'habitable' environment. But, if for some reason you did not use reasonable care, then then landlord might not be responsible. With respect to the eviction notice, you can either pay the amounts due or you can wait to receive the eviction complaint. You will have a certain amount of time to respond, 3 days. YOU MUST RESPOND to the court and state the reasons for non-payment. The court will then schedule a hearing and you and the landlord must appear and plead your case. Then, the Judge/Magistrate will rule on whether you can stay; whether the landlord must fix the problem; and so forth.